It's been a few days since Ino last saw Toru. In that short span of time, it has been announced who will be the new Hokage, after all, the previous one died in battle against Orochimaru, the guy who for some reason is looking for Sasuke and Toru.
The ceremony of the new Hokage was held two days ago. All of Konoha has been in a bit of an uproar because of it.
'Ha~ Toru, I want to see him again...it's been a long time since I told him my feelings. Now that I remember...Yamato-sensei hasn't informed us about any mission. What is he doing now, shouldn't he be doing his job as a ninja?'
He shook his head while tossing and turning on the bed.
'I was planning to visit Toru today... if Yamato-sensei doesn't call us to complete missions, that means we'll have a little vacation. So, I'll take advantage of that time to be together with him. And for the occasion...' She got up from the bed and quickly ran to the closet.
He opened the door with force, causing the typical sound of wood banging against the wall.
"I was lucky I bought this!"
Peering inside the closet with a smile, there were different clothes, all in a variety of colors and design, but despite the variety of outfits there, only one stole Ino's attention.
It was two pieces of clothing. Their color was as black as night. As for the design, it was very similar to the clothes she was currently wearing, only with slight changes.
The vest was almost the same as the previous one, with the collar raised, only this one now had one of its sleeves long, reaching a little above the wrist. The second piece that made up this outfit, was the same skirt with slits on both sides, only this time its color has changed, besides being a little higher than before, reaching the middle of her thighs.
"I know I'm beautiful, but I'm not sure if my beauty will captivate Toru's heart. So, I will strive to improve my appearance more and more, so he can see me and fall in love with me. kya! I feel embarrassed just imagining it!"
She tightly hugged the clothes she had taken out of the closet as she tossed and turned on her bed.
Now she knew how she felt, she wasn't going to hold back and show Toru how much she loves him. This time, she won't let anyone snatch him from her arms, that's why she will use her beauty as a weapon in this war she called "love".
"Well, I'll change my clothes right now and leave right away."
Remembering the boy with the expressionless face, Ino sighed with a smile and closed the curtains and the door. That way her father wouldn't come in unannounced like last time.
***
'I look good. I didn't think the color black would go so well with me. Well, I chose this color because Toru seems to like black clothes, I also kept the bandages on my legs, also, in order not to leave my left arm unprotected, I put this bandage from my elbow to my wrist. It's a good combination, very nice."
She looked at herself in the mirror as she posed, appreciating her own beauty.
Adding a few more things to this new outfit, Ino opted to leave the belt with the metal badge, whose emblem showed that she is a kunoichi of Konoha. Of course, she thought it was not necessary to change her image too much, so she left the same hairstyle as always, well, now that she has short hair, she left her bangs as they were, covering one eye, and to hold what was left, she used a dark blue headband.
"Now yes, I have to go."
Opening the door, Ino ran in the direction of the exit, but as she was about to arrive, she heard a voice that made the smile on her face change to an angry expression, just a little.
"Where are you going, Ino?"
A man, whose hair color was very similar to Ino's appeared. This man is Inoichi, this girl's father.
He poked his head out, seeing his daughter near the exit door. However, though he asked in a soft and kind voice, Ino only replied with cutting words, as sharp as daggers.
"I'm going to Hinata's house. I'll be late."
Ino replied, then left the house, slamming the door a little hard.
Inoichi stared at the door. He realized that his daughter was growing up faster than he expected. It was obvious that she wasn't going to Hinata's house, after all, she changed her outfit, he could even smell a bit of perfume. So obviously, this was making Inoichi sad.
"When I meet the bastard who wants to steal my daughter from me... he'll never see the sunlight again."
***
'Always wondering where I'm going. No matter if I go to complete missions, he appears out of nowhere, spoken like a fool. Ha~ Why can't he understand that I'm not a child anymore...?'
Crossing her arms, she let out a tired sigh.
The day had barely begun, and she already felt as if it had been a long time.
"Well, now that doesn't matter anymore. I'm going to see Toru today, nothing will stand in my way.'
She clenched her fist as she looked up at the sky with a smile.
***
There was no doubt that the road to Toru's house was smooth and short. It only took ten minutes to get there, well... she was so excited that she ran at full speed to get there faster.
She was now just a few meters away from the apartment complex where Toru lived.
'Hm...?'
It was as if fate was sabotaging her moment of happiness, for in front of her, just behind a concrete pole, stood Hinata, looking at the door of Toru's house sheepishly.
To Ino there was no way of knowing why this girl was there, but she still had her suspicions.
"Hinata..."
"Ahhh!"
When Ino reached over and put her hand on Hinata's shoulder, Hinata gave a small jump accompanied by a startled cry.
"...Ino-san...?"
Hinata opened her eyes and remembered her date with Toru a few days ago.
"Your clothes..."
But although she was distracted for a moment, she quickly noticed Ino's change in appearance.
"Oh, I changed her this morning. How does she look?"
"She looks very cute..."
Trying to cover her embarrassment, Hinata looked at the ground. She was trying to find an opportunity to run away from there, but Ino was faster.
"You wanted to visit Toru?"
Sensing that this had happened before, Ino looked at her friend and asked a question.
"Um... no, I just wanted to..."
"Ha~ I was going to visit him too, do you want to join me?"
'This is sad... I thought I could be alone with him, but if Hinata's there.... I don't think I can leave her alone'
Ino felt a little disappointed. She had hoped to be able to be alone with Toru, so she could win him over, but with Hinata here, the mood would only be ruined. Still, she could spend the day off with her teammates, have some fun and chat about trivial things.
It was like a reunion of friends, it was a fun idea.
"Well... I..."
"Come on, don't be shy."
Ino took Hinata's hand and, together, they went up the stairs leading to Toru's apartment. When they were in front of the door, Ino knocked three times in order to get Toru's attention, so that he would come out to greet them like the time she was with Hanabi.
"...? Isn't he home?"
Although she knocked on the door more than three times, no one came to the knock. It was as if the house was empty. Still, he knocked on the door again, this time, it opened slightly revealing a silver eye in the darkness inside the apartment.
"Toru-kun..."
"Hi, Toru. Do you have some free time?"
Recognizing that eye color, Ino quickly opened the door excitedly, but when they saw the inside of the apartment, they noticed something strange.
The person who had opened the door was standing there. Yes, it was Toru, but there was something different.
His hair was disheveled, dark circles under his cheeks, and he was wearing the same clothes he wore when he joined Team 11.
"Ino... Hinata?"
Toru rubbed his eyes, trying to get used to the sunlight.
It looked as if this boy hadn't left the house these past few days. There was an emotionless expression on his face, some of his hair covered his face. It was as if the Toru of the past... had come back....
"Oh, well. I said it before, do you have any free time? I was planning to go out for a while to walk around Konoha, eat delicious food... like a date. Hinata's here too."
Ino smiled and Hinata looked at Toru sheepishly.
This made him widen his eyes. He touched his head a little painfully and a small smile formed on his mouth.
"Yes, I have time. Just... give me a few minutes..."
Toru closed the door.
Hinata and Ino looked at each other as they waited. At the same time, banging sounds could be heard inside Toru's apartment, as if someone was running back and forth inside the place.
After a few minutes, the door opened again, revealing Toru in his usual clothes. Black shirt, bandaged pants, the same clothes as always, only this time he didn't have his cloak on.
'My clothes look a lot like Toru's... I wonder what he thinks of my clothes...'
Precisely for this was that Ino bought new clothes, so that Toru would look at them, but it seems that wasn't working, as Toru walked past her without even looking at her.
"Where are we going?" stepping forward, walking down the stairs, Toru asked.
Ino and Hinata also hurried down the stairs.
"I had planned to visit the park, we could also go shopping for sweets. Another thing I had in mind, could be to visit other towns, but that would take us a long time. So we should stick with the first two options, then we would come up with something else later."
"I understand..."
Ino was happy to be together with Toru. She hadn't seen him directly in a long time, so being next to him, walking leisurely through the village, was something that made her heart feel calm. Although she also had a small problem.
Hinata was also there. But her presence wasn't something bothersome either, however, this date turned into a walk between friends.
"Toru-kun... congratulations..."
"Uh?"
Because she was stuck in her own world, Ino didn't notice that Hinata was now standing next to Toru. So, she walked a little faster to be closer.
"What do you mean Hinata?"
Though she was also curious about the reason why Hinata complimented Toru.
"Yamato-sensei didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"Toru-kun is now chunin, he was promoted in rank four days ago. Yamato-sensei said so."
"Really? I didn't know. In any case, congratulations, Toru. You're amazing."
Ino looked at Toru with a smile, but he didn't seem to hear anything they said. It was as if this boy was disconnected from the world, staring at the ground, with a sleepy-eyed look.
For Hinata and Ino, this was weirder than usual. Yes, Toru is always weird, one way or another, but this made these girls worry.
They didn't know what Toru had been going through these past few days, there was no way of knowing, that's why they couldn't understand why Toru was like this.
'Toru... I see, that's why he didn't notice my change of clothes, huh... So, this should make him wake up.'
Ino quickly grabbed onto Toru's arm and looked him in the eyes.
"Didn't I tell you that you should sleep properly, or did you forget?"
"I'm sorry..."
"Huh?"
Toru just apologized and continued to stare into the void with the same expression on his face. This made Ino frown, as this is getting awkward.
Hinata, on the other hand, looked at all of this not knowing what to do. Right now, Ino was hugging Toru, just like she did that night.
'I was about to...'
She touched her lips as she remembered.
She was about to kiss Toru, but didn't due to this boy interrupting her. However, she wasn't going to let this happen either, she wasn't going to let someone make Toru pull away from her.
So, replicating Ino's actions, Hinata grabbed Toru's arm and hugged him tightly.
This made Toru finally wake up, looking to his sides, two cute girls were clinging tightly to his arms. But there was something strange, Ino and Hinata were looking into each other's eyes, a look that lasted a few seconds.
"Well, Hinata what should we do to make Toru have fun, since, from what I see, he is not feeling well."
"Well... I don't know... I think, we should buy some sweets."
"Good decision."
Even though they were both clinging to the same boy, for some reason they didn't feel awkward. This was fun.
***
A few minutes passed, Ino and Hinata dragged Toru to the nearest candy store, only to find out that Toru doesn't like the taste of candy except for one. The little known bread with fruit filling, although discovering this was somewhat difficult, as Toru was thoughtful, easily distracted and always quiet, more than usual.
So, right now the three of them were walking in the direction of a bakery.
It didn't take them long, since it was close to Toru's house.
The bakery looked a bit old, but somehow, there was a warm and pleasant feeling. There were different kinds of bread on the glass shelves, they were freshly baked. Sweets were also an option to choose from, as there were different kinds of chocolate prepared perfectly.
The owner of the bakery was friendly, an older man, of course. His hair was graying due to his age, still, his body looked strong, after all this man was a Konoha ninja in the past.
When Hinata and Ino entered this place, the man was a little surprised to see the boy accompanying them.
"Welcome..."
The man smiled slightly as he bowed.
Hinata and Ino responded with the same gesture, unlike Toru, who remained silent.
The three of them walked around the place, Toru moved a little away from the group and stood looking at the glass shelf that held the fruit-filled breads.
His hair covered his eyes, hiding the somber look on his face.
The two girls looked at him with confused expressions. No matter what they did, Toru was still acting strange. It was as if he... was being swallowed by darkness.
On the other hand, Shou, the bakery owner, looked at Toru with a neutral expression.
He had already lived for a long time, he had experience in life. So, just by looking at this boy, he could quickly deduce that something was wrong with him. Of course, he already knew Toru, since he almost always came to his bakery to buy that sweet that his mother loved.
'It's ironic... he hated that fruit bread, but for the last five years, he always comes and takes a few with him...'
This man had seen this boy come in and out of his bakery for a long time. I could tell he knew him a little bit.
'The ladies accompanying him... it looks like they're trying to get young Toru back in the mood. Ha~ that's not going to work. Sometimes, when a man feels torn up inside, he just wants to be alone, get away from all the hustle and bustle of the world and think things through.'
Taking some breads from the glass shelf, he put them in a paper bag and approached Toru.
"On the house."
He said as he handed him the paper bag.
This made Hinata and Ino look at the scene curiously, but they just watched, they didn't approach as they felt it wasn't a right thing to do.
"Boy, I've seen you come in and out of my bakery almost daily, for the past five years."
Shou moved a little closer and put his hand on Toru's shoulder. He continued talking.
"Like a flower, I feel you are slowly withering away. You are hiding in the darkness of your heart, a darkness we all have. In these last few weeks, I saw you more cheerful than ever, I saw happiness in your eyes. So, don't let that darkness consume you. In fact, I'm glad that gloomy child of five years ago has finally found happiness. That's why, if you feel like you're losing yourself, I'll always be here to talk to you. You will never be alone, that's something you know. Young Toru, you have a bright future, keep moving forward and don't let anything stop you."
Shou gave a small pat on Toru's back, then went back to his work station.
"Thank you... Shou-san."
He took the paper bag in his hands and slowly walked towards the exit door.
"Huh? Toru, wait!"
Hinata and Ino ran after him.
'Good luck.'
This man watched the three children walk away. Shou gave this gift to Toru, because in a way he owed it to him, for that boy came almost every day to this bakery, ordered the same bread with fruit filling and left with the same expression on his face.
***
This small group of three, now found themselves in that old park near the Ninja Academy.
"It's tasty, I've never eaten anything like this before, how come I never found out about that place?"
"Well... I already knew about it, but I never dared to go in."
Hinata and Ino, sitting on a nearby bench talked naturally, as they always usually do, Toru was next to them, sitting in the middle of these girls, but as in the beginning of this date, he kept quiet and thoughtful.
'Toru-kun is still the same. Until now, he never said anything... I... I remember this. He was exactly the same after the funeral of the Asahi and Uchiha clan five years ago.'
He was worrying more than he should have. Hinata wanted to make Toru happy, but seeing him in that state, she could also come to feel the same way he did.
With Ino it was something similar. Although she tried to disguise it, she didn't feel at ease. Every time she looked at Toru like that, she felt as if something in her heart tightened, she could feel something similar to what Toru was feeling, although she had no way of knowing.
Toru looked up, looked at the horizon. It had been quite some time since he left home. The sunlight touched his face, it was already dusk.
"I have to go..."
Toru got up from the bench and started walking with regular steps.
"What, uh, Toru?"
"Toru-kun?"
Ino almost spit out the bread she was eating, while Hinata stared straight ahead unable to say anything.
Toru disappeared as soon as she stood up, she left without another word.
"I don't understand... Why don't you talk to me...?"
Ino looked at the ground as she clenched her fists. Toru spoke very few times all day, sometimes he spoke to apologize or to say thank you. After that, he didn't say anything else.
On the other hand, Hinata felt something different. Although she was worried, she also felt that she should leave Toru alone for a while.
She didn't know why Toru looked so depressed, she didn't understand this feeling, that's why she decided to let Toru think things calmly.
"Ino-san, it's going to be night soon, do you want to go to my place?"
He invited Ino with a small smile on his face. This made Ino feel calmer, so with a sigh, she agreed.
"Ha~ sure..."
'After all I told my father that I would be with Hinata.'
With this last thought, Ino and Hinata got up from the bench and headed towards the Hyuga residence.
-Hours later
Midnight.
The sky has been tinged with the color of night. The moon is absent this time, so the light over Konoha was now only in the lamps of the houses.
It has been a while since he was on the roof of his own house, looking down on everything from above. The cool breeze made him feel relaxed and the sound of the nocturnal animals calmed his negative feelings.
'I left without giving any explanation...'
He touched his head with his right hand.
These days, after making an overnight visit to the Hokage Mansion, Toru has been secluded in his own domicile, thinking... thinking over and over again until his brain got tired.
All to come to this conclusion...
'...Konoha betrayed my clan.'