Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 100: A Quiet Talk and Sudden Call
Naruto greeted them. He hadn't seen any of them since the day of the attack, but he had learned that Ino had been in the hospital since then.
"How's the leg?" Naruto noted that Ino was wearing a cast around her ankle and using a cane to walk.
"Not bad, but the medics say it'll take a while to heal completely. That sand attack crushed my bones into small fragments…" Ino said with a frown. It hadn't been a great week for her.
"But at least I'm alive," she added while looking at him.
"About that… I wanted to formally thank you for saving my daughter. My family owes you a great deal," Inoichi said.
"If there's anything we can do for you…"
"Dad… do you mind if I talk with Naruto alone?" Ino interrupted her father.
"Are you too busy?" she then said to him.
"Not really. I was just getting some fresh air," Naruto told her. For the past week, he had mostly been locked inside his room, meditating.
He had only left once for the funerals and another time to speak with Kakashi, who wanted to inform him about the village situation and the delay in the Chūnin exam results.
"Great!" Ino smiled. "Then you can keep me company for a while."
"Well then, I'll leave you alone. Just don't walk for too long. You need to let your leg rest," Inoichi told his daughter.
After her father left, Ino walked a bit closer to Naruto.
"Shall we?"
"Where do you want to go?" he asked.
"There's a park nearby...we could sit there. I doubt there's anyone there this early," Ino suggested.
The two walked slowly to the park.
Ino was quieter than usual, and she seemed to be moving with a lot of difficulty, but she never asked him for help.
"Naruto…" When the park was already in sight, Ino stopped.
"Mmmm?" He turned to look at her.
"I'm sorry…" Tears began to fall across her cheeks. "I should have listened to you… to everyone…"
Naruto stood there and listened to her.
Ino went over her grievances and what she considered her own failures.
"You risked your life to save me…"
"I would have fought Gaara sooner or later," Naruto said. And he didn't really feel like he was risking his life either. At most, he risked breaking the tournament rules.
"I guess… still… thank yo—ahh!" She had been standing on one leg for too long and suddenly lost her balance when she tried to move her cane.
Naruto moved closer and picked her up before she could fall.
"Naruto!" she exclaimed after he picked her up in his arms, and her face turned completely red.
"T-thanks…" She had never been this embarrassed when being close to Sasuke, but for some reason, she was a lot more self-conscious when Naruto was near.
Maybe it was because, deep down, she knew that Sasuke had no interest in her whatsoever, so he would never react, no matter what she did.
But Naruto was different.
"No problem." He used his foot to kick her cane up in the air and grabbed it. "If you had asked for it, I would've carried you here."
"No!" Ino hurried to say. "That would've been too embarrassing…if someone saw us like this..."
"I see…" He began to walk toward a nearby bench at the park.
"Besides, I'm still a ninja, you know? I have my pride," Ino added. But she never asked to be put back on the ground.
Naruto placed her on the bench and sat next to her.
"Was there something else you wanted to talk about?"
"I don't really mind, but… you could've visited me at the hospital," she said.
"I've had enough hospital visits for a while," Naruto answered.
"I suppose that's true… but I'm sure Hinata would've also loved a visit or two from a certain blonde boy…" Ino commented.
"How is she doing?" he asked.
"She's… fine, I guess. She was discharged before me, but she still couldn't use chakra properly. Her cousin seemed to have damaged her chakra points very badly… and speaking of Neji…"
"Was he also there?" Naruto didn't think he had damaged the boy too badly.
"He was in a different room, of course. But I did hear a few things from the nurses… apparently, he was unconscious for several days and would always be screaming at night, like he had a lot of nightmares," Ino explained.
"Oh…" Naruto supposed that could be a side effect after being hit by his bloodlust. But there shouldn't be any permanent damage.
"Sakura kept me informed. The entire week has been so weird…" Ino said.
"I suppose." He hadn't really been paying much attention to the village business, if he was honest. His main priority would always be to increase his cultivation.
Everything else would always be secondary to him.
"Say, Naruto…"
"Yes?"
"Do you remember what I said before my match?…"
"You said a lot of things…" Naruto had no idea what she was talking about.
"I meant about… you know… I told you that you could take me on a date if you won the tournament."
"Ahh… that." He had forgotten about that.
"Well… you didn't technically win the tournament, but you did win the last match that was fought before it got canceled. So, I think you deserve a small reward…"
"You wanted me to invite you to dinner, right? That sounds more like a reward for you, though," Naruto pointed out.
"Hey!" Ino poked his shoulder. "I'll have you know that many boys in this village would go crazy for the chance to spend time with me," Ino said with a smug smile.
"Do they?" Naruto had the feeling she was making this up.
"I don't mind if you want to accompany me to some ramen. It's always more enjoyable to eat in company." He didn't have much money left, but he could always afford some ramen from Ichiraku. The owner would often give him discounts.
"Ramen?..." Ino didn't seem pleased with the suggestion.
"What is it with you and ramen?" She had heard it from Sakura, but it seemed to be the only thing Naruto ate.
"What's wrong with it?" Naruto didn't understand it. The food tasted better than anything he'd eaten in his previous life. Why wouldn't someone like it?
"How about this? Why don't you come to my house tonight for dinner? That sounds more like a reward, and my mother has been wanting to meet you for a while," Ino suggested.
Before Naruto could answer, two masked ninjas appeared before him.
"Naruto Uzumaki," one of them said.
"ANBU?" Ino looked surprised. They would rarely show themselves.
"Your presence is required at the Hokage's office," the masked ninja said.
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