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Ino would like to say she had sat introspectively in her hiding spot. That she patiently filtered through the whirlwind of thoughts that made her mind come to a logical conclusion. But truthfully, she had only cried for what felt like an hour or so. The hateful words sent her way, the reminder of her old self, the foolish words she had said, and the pained expression of Naruto. Each grim thought hit her like a sledgehammer, sending her into the next batch of tears.
Only once her eyes ached and her face felt ice cold from crying in the cold weather did she stop. Ino was sure most would've been too exhausted to dwell on things much further. But the only thing the exhaustion had achieved was making her mind partially more precise.
Ino had always been one to express herself openly. Such was necessary to become who she was now. Yet, it has always been a troublesome thing. She and Sakura had clashed over harsh words multiple times. She had even upset the aloof and collected Shikamaru once. It had become a double-edged sword of sorts. It helped her become liked, yet had made her a gossiper. And finally, her terrible habit of saying whatever came to mind had backfired. Objectively, she knew it to be true. Her friendship with one Naruto Uzumaki, in fact, had been the singular reason for her new fall from grace. It upset her, but she didn't hold it against the blonde. Naruto didn't choose it, nor was he deserving of their scorn.
It was an unfortunate situation, the stress of being publicly shamed, the humiliation of it happening in front of her team, and her annoyance with Naruto getting in her face. She had lashed out, a desperate attempt at exerting any form of control. Ino doubted she would ever forget the look on Naruto's face. His ordinarily warm and vibrant eyes had become expressionless even if for only a second. Wide open as if not completely understanding what was happening. His usual smile was nowhere to be seen, his lips thinned into a line as he contemplated her words. Betrayal slapped straight into his face, flashed briefly in his eyes, further expressed by the slight frown on his face. She had seen a sheen in his eyes, unshed tears, she was sure.
It had hit her hard. It's more complicated than it ever should have been. Ino may have craved social approval before, but she never let his (Naruto's) opinion affect her. Once she had first met Naruto, she hadn't been overly impressed. He was stronger than she had thought, but not monstrously so. He could be a bit of a joker, yet he took his job seriously and could be funny and witty at the same time. He was a nice guy before, but she now knew he was simply kind and naturally caring. Naruto had faced Neji down when he had dismissed them as worthy teammates. Neji was quick to make them realize the gap between them. Ino deemed it completely impossible to close the gap between them. Despite their complete inability to work together, he was the one who brought them all together. From standing up for her in front of him to fixing his pessimistic personality. It had given her the courage to do so as well. Even defending the blonde in time of his need. That had begun the start of their friendship.
Even worse, Naruto only seemed to get better and better. Ino had come to find his antics endearing. His rare, honest smile could send chills down her spine. His never-say-die demeanor was inspiring to her…
Dear merciless Kami, she was into Naruto Uzumaki…
The idea was alien to her. For years she had pined for one Sasuke Uchiha. A man that frankly seemed to be the opposite of Naruto Uzumaki in almost every way. Naruto was lighthearted and playful, he rarely was down or unfriendly, and took nearly anything in stride.. Sasuke was serious and mysterious. He was always focused and he was never one to be playing around. He also was known for his attitude. Before those differences were the reason she was interested in Sasuke. Now those differences seemed to be the reason she was interested in Naruto. Being around Sasuke was certainly thrilling, but he never cared for their presence. Ino always felt like she was fighting just for acknowledgement.
Naruto always responded, he always listened, he made her feel welcomed. While her pursuit of Sasuke had been a fun chase. But Naruto made her feel wanted, acknowledged, cared for. Maybe the bad boy thing in her magazines had been wrong?
Ino usually loved romance. She had played matchmaker for friends, gossiped about it, and happily gave advice for it as a veteran, even though she was just as ignorant. She had been sure when she finally found someone, she would be giddy and she would strode confidently as she slowly made him fall for him. Slowly stalking her prey and capturing it just as her mother said she had done to Inoichi.
Instead, she felt anxious and overwhelmed. Firstly, Naruto seemed to be relatively happy with their friendship. Hell, she had never heard the blonde even mention dating. Secondly, Naruto had more than enough on his shoulders. Ino couldn't even imagine how difficult it would be to navigate this with all that. It would be selfish of her to demand his attention during all this. Finally, Ino couldn't even imagine facing the blonde at the moment. She swallowed another sob as she made a grim conclusion.
She would hide for now. Avoid Naruto for now. How could she face him with her new discovery and her miserable existence with how she had acted. Instead, she would focus on training. She could make it up to Naruto and earn some reputation back during the exams. Oh yeah, she was a pariah herself... Ya best to avoid him for now… She had her own problems now.
Ino supposed…..
She was still a coward…
Still just a little girl…
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Naruto had looked for Ino everywhere. As hurt as he was, he was determined to fix things between them. He knew Ino was in pain, a pain he knew better than anyone. If he could just talk to her, he was confident he could fix things. Ino must've been better at hiding than he thought, though, because he could not find her anywhere. He had checked the swing near the academy (hey, he had liked hanging out there when he had been young), their training ground, her house (her mother told him she would talk to her when she did get home and thanked him for worrying for her.), the shopping district, but she was nowhere.
Nearly his entire hour was up, and he had not found her. Naruto growled, frustrated. Soon he would be forced into the forest of death, not allowed to leave until the exams. They wouldn't have a chance to talk things over until the exams? His stomach growled, only adding to his misery. He was feeling dejected and decided to eat finally, wanting to enjoy some of his comfort food before roughing it.
"On the house son." Naruto looked up to see a familiar and friendly face. Teuchi was the owner of Naruto's favorite restaurant. Kushina struggled to find food Naruto would eat as a young child. His mother had never been one to sit idly; as such, she had taken her son out to eat at various places. Naruto had stubbornly turned down most food. Kushina, hungry herself at that point, had desperately brought him here. Naruto had been unsure, but it had been love at first bite. Even better, the father and daughter who worked here were kind. They loved how much Naruto loved his food and soon would chat with him whenever he came around. It was a small thing, but that had quickly made the two some of Naruto's favorite people.
"Are you sure, old man?" Naruto said sullenly. "I don't wanna-"
"Shut it, brat. I'm younger than ever." Teuchi replied with a frown. "Besides, you seem down. Can't have my number one getting depressed! Bad for business!"
"And we care about you dearly, Sweety," Ayame said, annoyed at her father's answer, as she exited from the back. She gave Naruto a sisterly kiss on his cheek before she went back to work. "We heard what happened… I'm so sorry."
Naruto swallowed heavily to avoid tearing up. "Thanks…" He said softly.
"Ya, my dear daughter is right. I'm sorry, kid; we know that you are not him. The other fools will come around eventually." Teuchi said with a simple nod as if deciding the matter then and there.
"Naruto." Jiraiya's voice rang out, cutting through the atmosphere. "Sorry, brat, it's time."
Naruto flinched before sullenly climbing to his feet and joining the sage.
"The rumor was true then?" Teuchi asked. "There was mutterings he was being imprisoned." He picked up a nearby label with a death grip. His eyes locked onto Jiraiya, there was fear in them. Clearly he knew who the man was. Yet with the subtle edging towards him it was clear he would attempt to defend the blonde if necessary.
"No, they're having him camp out in the Forest of Death."
"How the hell is that fair?!" Teuchi cried, outraged. His grip on the label caused the metal to groan as he slowly bent it.
"Naruto cannot be treated this way!" Ayame added. Now also wielding a label as her father was.
"Preaching to the choir," Jiraiya replied grimly. "Not even I can do anything about it. You have my word; no danger will come to the blonde. Well… mostly anyway."
"It'll be fine… thanks Teuchi-ji san… Ayame… you guys helped a lot." Naruto said as he marched towards the forest. Jiraiya caught up with ease.
"You okay?"
"Ya."
"You ready?"
Naruto sighed as he garnered his will. "Damn straight, let's get training. I got some people to prove wrong." His voice suddenly regained some of its luster. Though it lacked the normal jovial tone.
"Sounds good brat."