chuunin_archive | Second Post: Simple Smile (Reply)

Title: Simple Smile
Series: Naruto
Disclaimer: Everything owned by Kishimoto except this spin off idea.

Part 2

That afternoon, Naruto was permitted to leave the hospital, handed the scroll to Tsunade
when she came to visit him, found out that Sakura and Kiba only had minor scratches and were
fine, and went home. No one on the streets could help staring at him though, but they stared
moreso at the bouquet of flowers he held in his hands. The daisy did seem oddly placed but
most simply stared out of shock that he received something from someone. No one ever gave
him anything. No one. It was like a forbidden rule to do something so... so caring to a
demon spawn like him.

As usual, Naruto ignored the glares and headed straight home. Well, passed by Ichiraku, ate
his lunch, and then kept going.

--------------------------------------------

"Ja, Chouji. Take care ne? I'll bring you a few more snacks next time I come round and I'd
better see all those chip bags empty!"

"Hai, hai Ino-chan!" Chouji smiled and mock-saluted her as she left, scowling at him.

Ino found Shikamaru just outside the room, greeted one another and kept going since he
wanted to go and had just arrived. While walking out, she overheard some nurses chittering
about some kind of 'demon child' but had become a 'masculine demon man' or something stupid
like that. 'Che, fangirls... Idiots, the whole lot of 'em. Sucks to have been one though...'
for she too knew that she had been a part of the Uchiha Sasuke fanclub long before but had
stopped during the time around the Chuunin Examination. The rest was all for play, but she
had to admit that she was actually quite bitter at his betrayal to Konoha. That was
something that she'd never forget, forgive? Perhaps, but not anytime soon.

As she had promised long ago on that Christmas day, she passed again by the memorial grounds
having kept a couple flowers close to her and placed them above her grandparents' tombstones.
Half an hour passed and she slowly got up and headed back home.

Since Christmas was only a week away, she was given a week's break from missions. She had
already planned to meet up with the Rookie Nine sometime, hopefully at the party Sakura
was planning. That, and to clean out her closet! It was ages since it was fully cleared out
and she was a tad worried about finding moths living in her clothes. Running upstairs, she
opened the closet and set to work.

Five hours into the cleaning (it was night by then and dinner had already been served), she
stumbled upon a bag with something heavy inside. Taking a peek, she saw nothing but an
orange jacket. Immediately recognizing that it was Naruto's, she couldn't remember why she
had it. She shrugged, put the bag aside, and kept on working and eventually, after midnight,
her entire room had been cleaned and reorganized again. When she turned the lights off, the
last thing that came to mind was the jacket but she still couldn't remember why she had it.

------------------------------------------------------

"Shikamaru! Chouji! Ino-bata! (Oi big forehead! What is it?)" Sakura scrunched her face at
her old nickname, but caught up to the trio to tell them the details of the party. It was
to be held at her house this time round, but she warned them not to bring any liquor or
alcohol of any sort since her boyfriend was going to be there (Lee of course) and they all
had either seen or heard of the tales of the Drunken Fist Technique and they all paid heed
to her words. Agreeing to come, Sakura went off again in search of the other Rookie Nine,
but had decided not to tell Sasuke-kun since no one would have felt comfortable with him
around. Most specifically, Naruto. Mentioning him, she had been looking for him the past
few days but had not even spotted a hair of him around. Wondering why he was so secretive
lately, she kept pushing on and eventually stumbled upon Tenten and Neji and invited them
anyway. They were close friends with some of the Rookie Nine (Eight if you don't count
Sasuke).

Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji had afterwards left to go to their barbecue restaurant. Passing
near Ichiraku, Chouji wanted to drop in just to wish the cook and his daughter a Merry
Christmas even though they didn't plan to eat there. Rude perhaps? But he was sure that
the two would appreciate it since they were all on first name basis by then as he was their
second most frequent customer lately. Shikamaru was the one who noticed Naruto sitting by
himself as the other two went and greeted the cooks. Being lazy though, he didn't say a
thing but when Ino saw Naruto, she went over and told the other two that she'd meet them at
the restaurant. They both raised an eyebrow, but went along but not without saying a
greeting to Naruto who said the same to them. He returned to his ramen without sparing
another glance at Ino.

She, who by this time, was beginning to get annoyed with him for absolutely no reason,
struck up a mini-conversation. She just felt like she needed to talk to him. So after having
just met Sakura, she asked, "You going to the party? Or did Sakura not find you yet?"

"Party? (slurp) Sakura? What?"

"Sheesh, you really are out of it. You know how we have a party every year for Christmas
and New Y-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know that, I'm not a complete idiot," and adding quickly before Ino could
say anything, "it's just that I don't think I'm gonna go this year."

"What? Why?" asked a bewildered Ino.

"I'm... just not up to it this year." Naruto was slightly agitated when saying this, but Ino
didn't noticed and kept asking him questions.

"Is it because of Sasuke?" and then she realized that she had stepped into private territory.
"Ah, nevermind, no wait! But seriously, why not?"

Naruto was trying to reign in his anger, but was not one hundred percent successful. "Look,
like I said, I'm not up to it, I'm not ready for it, and it's not like I really like the
parties anyway. Got it?" He abruptly got up, slammed down some money on the table top and
hurriedly left. Ino couldn't help but look at his retreating back and even after a few
minutes, she kept staring at the same spot where he left. Shaking her head, she apologized
to the cook and left Ichiraku to find her friends back at the barbecue place.

-------------------------------------------------

Back in her room, she lay in bed staring at the ceiling and wondering why she was still
thinking about him of all people. It's not like she knew him well, heck, she only knew his
name, rank, and his obsession with orange. Oh, and his birthday since it was on the same
day as the Kyuubi Attack. Other than that, no, she didn't really know him at all. Wait! His
birthday's on the same day as the Kyuubi Attack, and a memory suddenly resurfaced itself.

"I'm the last one here with no one but the class idiot... Sheesh... I wonder where his
parents are though... He's always here on his own. But it doesn't matter! 'Kaasan isn't here
yet and augh! If she's gonna keep giving me the same excuse that she was busy at the
flower shop or had met an old friend or had met 'tousan on her way here, I'm gonna blow!"

She remembered how back then, when they were only 10 and still at the Academy, how she had
said that on the exact same day as today. Then two memories were brought forth.

Ino looked up and noticed that snow had been falling for a short while but she was too
engrossed in her heated self-monologue to see it. Shivering a bit (since she was clad in
her purple pants and shirt, and nothing else but bandages), she closed her eyes and promptly
reopened them when she felt something warm wrap around her shoulders and warm her back.

Where her bare shoulders were, now there was something tattered, orange, and somewhat fuzzy
(was that miso she could smell!?). Scowling, since she realized that it was Naruto's
(ugly!!!) jacket, she bent her head back but didn't see him. Looking back at the swing, it
was empty. 'So now what? I owe him something? Sheesh... He really IS annoying! Mou, I have
to get this back to him. I'd DIE if someone saw me in this.'

Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, Naruto said, "Na, Ino, if you wanna go
somewhere else, go ahead. I'm gonna go grab lunch now so I'll see ya later, 'kay?" Smiling
again (with his eyes still closed as Ino noted), he left and went in the direction of
Ichiraku once again with more vigor in his step (as he was trying to get away from Ino as
quick as possible). When he was a good distance away, Ino recalled that she still had to
give him back his jacket.

"Maa, I'll just give it to him another day. Like the first day of school or something like
that. Right, I just need to remember."

Ino sat up in her bed and gasped. Looking to one corner of her room (where everything placed
there was always neglected), she saw the bag with the coat inside. So that was why she had
it still.

Obviously, the following day after she had the jacket from Naruto back at the Academy, she
dumped it in her closet trying to hide it from her parents so they wouldn't ask questions.
She of course, left it there forgotten until a few days ago when it was rediscovered (and
thankfully without moth balls or live moths living off it).

Then there was the question of Naruto and his parents. Being born on the same day, Ino
could understand if his father was killed in action, but his mother too? Unless she died
giving birth to him or either parent never came for him after school or he was neglected or...
The possibilities kept rushing into her head, but she shook herself to rid her of the
thoughts since those were things for him to deal with. She couldn't do squat even if she
wanted to. 'Hey wait! This is perfect! I can get him to go to the party by saying that I
have something to return to him! Haha!' Ino smiled at her short term goal and got up again
with renewed energy and got ready to head out to find the sunshine-haired boy.

At the Hokage Mountain, Naruto was paying his respects to all four, but especially to
Sandaime and Yondaime. He told Sandaime of how well Konohamaru was growing up and had made
chuunin on his first try along with Moegi-chan and Udon-kun. He also told him of how he
was doing, and turning to Yondaime, he simply said, "Thank you, for everything. I've
learned to endure the pain, and I might be a bit bitter, but still, I say thanks for
having protected Konoha in the end to the best of your abilities. And I'm tellin' ya! I'm
gonna be the next Hokage and (now he said this to all five faces on the mountain including
Tsunade-baachan) I'm gonna be the best one out of you all!" Grinning despite himself, he
bowed his head in respect and left. Had he turned around, he might have felt as though the
eyes of the Yondaime, filled with love and compassion, follow his movements away from the
mountain.

Ino had run to and fro and had already made about fifteen mistakes thinking that that spot
or patch of yellow was Naruto's hair. That was also done in the past half hour. For the
next half hour, she nearly gave up until she found herself back at her grandparents' grave.
Kneeling down, as it had become a habit for her, she placed one hand on each tombstone and
wished them both a Merry Christmas and promised to come back to visit on New Years. For
some strange reason, she began telling them the story about her broken and rekindled
friendship with Sakura not knowing why. She felt she needed to say something to the two and
not her usual 'my day went well, my team's doing fine' type of speech that she'd done too
often before. The story took a short while and when she was done, she wiped her tears and
wished them again a Merry Christmas. She turned around and finally noticed that Naruto was a
short distance away from her and had been watching her. Her eyes filled with surprise and
she felt ashamed that she was crying in front of him and her hands quickly flew up to wipe
away the tears.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have intruded." He started to leave but was stopped when Ino called
out to him.

"Matte!" He looked back and he waited till she had composed herself. "I have something that
I need to return to you, but I don't have it with me right now. Just come to the party at
Sakura's two days before Christmas and I'll return it to you then. If you don't come, then
you probably won't get it back again unless we're old and senile and somehow manage to
remember to give it back 'kay?" She sniffled but waited for his response.

Naruto having no clue what she was talking about, looked at her before taking her word and
nodded as his form of agreement. Ino smiled which surprised Naruto greatly, and she walked
past him saying, "Well then, see you tomorrow!" She went home and Naruto stood rooted in
his position for the next while still in shock at seeing Ino's smile. It was nothing short
of beautiful.

-------------------------------------------------

The day had come and Ino had remembered to bring the bag with her right after taking her
first step out the house. Cursing again to herself for her poor memory, she set out again
in the direction of Sakura's house. Having gone there many times before, especially when
she was younger, she let her mind wander as her feet guided her there. She thought about
how much everyone had changed. Hinata and Kiba were together ('a good pair!' she thought)
and Hinata herself was feeling a bit more selfconfidant for the past couple years and she
was sure that it was Kiba's doing. Kiba himself had changed to become a bit more mature,
note, she said a bit. He was still capable of acting as an idiot on command when he wanted
to, but Akamaru on the other hand had grown and had become quite large. At times, his
size itself was enough to make the enemies anxious and cautious. Shino had become a
rather mysterious man and so that fit in with the rest of his clan. He too had grown up and
become strong and his knowledge on insects and even plants had grown tremendously. But being
a part of the Aburame clan, he was still single.

Her own teammates had changed and so had she. Shikamaru was perhaps the only one who
changed but in such small increments that it seemed as though there never was any growth or
improvement on his part. Being the smartest out of them all, he had lead many missions
even when he was only a chuunin leading whole teams of jounins about. He had failed only
once ever since he became a chuunin, and that was with the whole Get Back Sasuke Fiasco.
All other missions had been a success. She wasn't sure still, but she was ninety-nine
percent sure that he was seeing Temari from Sunagakure and she silently rooted him on. She
couldn't reveal that secret yet to him but he was suspicious of her already. She couldn't
help but be curious since she had come to think of him as a brother. Him and Chouji really,
were like her second family. Chouji had grown much too, and not just at the belt line. He
was shaping up to be a proud member of the Akimichi Clan and though the red soldier pill
was still dangerous, he had developed another pill, alongside Shikamaru and Shino who
understood plant properties, a pill that was similar but less dangerous but not as potent.
It was still stronger than the yellow pill though and the trio were still working hard at it
since Chouji never wanted another to be in the same position as him back when he was still a
genin fighting Jiroubou. He was still single as well.

Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji were three people that she didn't know all too well, Lee a bit
better than the other two since he was Sakura's boyfriend. What she did know was that Neji's
and Tenten's attitudes had changed drastically after having been around Naruto, even afer
the first Chuunin Examination. Neji wasn't all 'holier than thou' anymore, and wasn't
constantly blabbing about how people's destinies were already planned out and all that. He
had grown into a fine man though, she had to admit, and was seeing Tenten. Or so she
assumed. Tenten on the other hand, had mastered other techniques and was now proficient at
genjutsu of all things along with her weapon combat. Lee, well... Lee's training helped him
improve a lot over time and is as strong as ever. Except after his fight with Gaara, he was
not permitted to gain jounin level since Godaime was worried about him and his condition
and the stress of being at the jounin level. Lee nevertheless accepted this without (much)
regret and had become an instructor for a new group of fledgling genins. He was the first to
become a teacher out of all their friends.

Team VII had changed the most. Sakura was as said, dating Lee and has been the happiest she
could have been for the longest time. She had tied as second best in the medic-nin world
with Hinata and her genjutsu was still the best amongst all twelve ninjas. Her taijutsu had
also grown exponentially (and quite literally) while training under Godaime. Her ninjutsu
could still use some work, but in battle, everyone knew that they could leave Sakura alone
and know that she would come out of it with at most a scratch that would have already
started healing.

Sasuke... Ino wasn't sure about what she thought about him anymore. She had calmed down over
the years, but if she were to see his face, she wasn't sure what she would do; cry, yell,
scream, rant for all she knew. To her, he was a traitor, and though he was misguided, it
still didn't justify his actions in her point of view. He was currently single, and she
sort of wished or cursed, depending on which side you're on, that he never find a wife to
''rebuild'' his clan with. Another Uchiha and the village was doomed.

Naruto himself, she wasn't sure either. She knew that he had grown in all areas for a
ninja, though his genjutsu and chakra control could still use some work as she had seen on
previous missions when they were together. But those missions only lasted a short while and
so she never really got to know him as well. Lately though, she'd been having strange
feelings towards him, but she brushed it aside.

Clutching the bag tighter, her thoughts landed upon herself and she found that she too had
grown quite a bit. Sure, she was still a nitpicky person when it came to hygiene and
appearance, but she wasn't as concerned about it as she was in the past. Heck, she'd gone
days without showers and hadn't complained (though she really would have liked to) during
her missions. 'I'm such a devoted kunoichi, kyaaaa.'

Looking up, she noticed that she had arrived at the door of Sakura's house and had already
rung the bell. Snapping herself out of her daze, the door opened revealing Sakura in a very
festive Santa Claus suit (minus the tummy bulge) and found the others inside as well. The
only ones missing were Naruto and Sasuke, and she crossed her fingers hoping that the
latter wouldn't show. She noted that in the corner stood Kankurou and Gaara and she was
mildly surprised, but not completely. It was nice knowing that the Kazekage was friends with
their beloved Naruto, but at the same time, having the Sand Trio at the party seemed a bit
strange.

------------------------------------------------

"Che, Ino, stop already. You've had almost two punch bowls to yourself, not to mention that
Kiba had already spiked them both when you got here," drawled Shikamaru (the ever caring
one).

"Demo, (hic), Shika-chan, it's so good! Tee hee!" chuckled a drunk Ino. She hadn't even
known why she started to drink the punch even when she knew it was spiked. Well, okay, she
did. One, she knew that no one would be dumb enough to get her upstairs with someone else
and go at it since everyone was busy with someone else or a sibling to her or had no
relationship with her whatsoever or... you get the point. Two, it tasted good and so
without realizing it, she had already drunk five cups (it was lightly spiked) of the punch.

Shikamaru left her to her own devices saying that it was too troublesome to take care of
girls until he found Temari standing in front of him with her arms akimbo. In his mind, he
repeated the same phrase but on the outside, he forced himself to smile and tell her to go
watch something on the television with him.

It was around 11:30 when Naruto finally decided to show up. Everyone was a little annoyed
with him, but didn't really care as much as they thought they would have. He'd done that
before on previous years so it wasn't that big a surprise when he did it this time 'round.
By this time, however, everyone was already a bit tizzy with the punch and already a few
of the couples were making out on the couch in front of the rest of the people.

While most people stayed in the living room or family room, Ino stayed in the dining hall
where the punch and food was. Noticing Naruto when he poked his head through, she motioned
him to come over. Somewhat apprehensive, he walked up to her and helped her get into a
chair before asking her his question.

"So what did you want to return?"

"Oh, (hic) hehe! Oh yeah, that thingy thing.. thing..."

"Yeah, what's the thingy thing?"

"Tee hee! Bag! In the bag!" said Ino drunkily. She was having so much fun without knowing
why. Naruto's hair seemed to shine in a halo on top of his head when he stood with the
light right behind his head. It looked really soft to her and she had the urge to touch it,
but stopped herself in time.

"What bag? Where?"

"Over there silly! (hic!) Wow, you must be blinder than a bat!"

Raising his eyebrow, he followed her finger where she indeed pointed to a bag sitting by a
closet and lonely looking. He went over and picked it up, opening it, he was stunned for at
least ten seconds. It was his favourite jacket! Or at least it was back when he was younger.
Now, he'd be lucky enough if the arms even reached any farther than past his elbows. He
looked back at Ino who had stood up and was walking towards him. With a calm face, he waited
for her to say something which she did.

"I was cleaning out my (hic) closet when I found it. I remembered that time a long time
ago when I was cold and you (hic) put that around me to keep me warm even though you only
had a t-shirt on. (hic) I jus' wanna say thanks for that time hehe (hic)" Even with her
hiccups, Ino seemed to have magically sobered down.

"Uh, y-ou're welcome?" said Naruto.

Their faces had already come close together and then it could have been because of the
alcohol or her muddled thoughts, but without any notice, Ino closed the gap and gave him
her first kiss. It was short and sweet, but Ino was also the one who pulled away quickly.
Her eyes seemed to have widened and she seemed to have some sense and bearing of where she
was, who she was, and what she had just done. Looking at Naruto who had yet to move, she
couldn't help but be afraid. She bowed her head down quickly so that he wouldn't see her
face, said a quick ''I'm sorry.'' and hurriedly left the room, out the house, and into the
cold streets.

-----------------------------------------------------

Ino had run out and let her feet carry her wherever they wished which happened to be to her
grandparents' memorial. She didn't want to 'disturb' them with her troubles, so she made up
her mind and headed towards a bridge she went to with her father when she was younger and
when her father had time. It happened to be the bridge that Team VII met on when they were
younger and genins. She leaned back against the railing and began to shiver noticing that
yet again, she forgot to bring something like a jacket to keep her warm. She didn't want to
move though, and it was then that she realized that her face was wet with tears.

Wiping them away in a frustrated manner, she asked herself, 'Why am I crying? What did I do?
Do I really care that much? But why?' "WHY!?" she yelled. Shaking and crying at the same
time, it took her a while to realize that she wasn't shivering anymore. She looked to her
shoulders and there instead of her purple shirt, was another long black coat with orange
markings around it. Fully turning around this time, and not simply bending her head back,
Ino noticed Naruto watching her intently. Embarassed, she put her head back down and turned
away from him so that he couldn't see her tears, though it was already too late.

Feeling arms surround her, she couldn't help but bring her head up and look up at his face.
His eyes were momentarily closed, but when they opened, there was nothing but love shining
though.

"You didn't let me say thank you."

"F-f-for what?" she stuttered.

"My favourite jacket, and for my second kiss."

It was all she could do but stare at him in shock. At this time, he was the one who
initiated the next kiss which was followed by many other short ones leaving Ino and him
breathless. When they pulled apart, Naruto was hugging Ino close to him and he leaned his
forehead against hers. A light smile ghosted over both their lips as they savoured each
other's warmth. Ino giggled a bit and Naruto asked what was so funny.

"It's just, I've been keeping your favourite coat for so long. I'm surprised you didn't
freak out at me throughout all the years that I've had it."

"True, I just figured that I'd somehow get it back after all these years and that it'd come
back in due time."

"Indeed it did." Ino smiled at Naruto and again Naruto thought it was the most beautiful
thing in the world. "Demo, why didn't you just ask it back anyway?"

"Heh, 'cause I was sure you'd yell at me or accuse me or something like that saying that I
set you up or something dumb like that."

"Hey, I don't do dumb things."

"Yeah, you do."

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"DO NOT AND THAT'S FINAL!"

"Man, and you said that I was having a hissy fit back at the hospital?"

Laughing together while holding each other in their arms, they had never felt so happy or
so warm. Until now.

"Ne, Naruto?"

"Hmm...?"

"Merry Christmas... a-and..."

"Heh, Merry Christmas Ino-chan, and I love you."

"I love you too Naruto-kun, and promise me forever that you'll smile your simple smile the way you do now."

"That, I promise you."

~Fin~

Note: kitsukikun, as you were the only one to write anything for my last post... ehehe ^^", if you really want to see another side of this story, I guess I could type it up. Might take a while cuz I'm slow at getting ideas xD

Then again, I could always tack on more to this story.. not sure if that'd go well though... hmmm
Chya, this was so sappy at the end xD

Second part to the story that I made a few days ago.

~Ryoko-nee ^-^