Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Fox and Boar ❯ Around the Fire ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or make any money off of writing this story.

 

Around the Fire

 

 

They had been like that, his arms around her neck, for almost five minutes now. Ino didn't entirely hate the feeling of having him wrap his arms around her. She felt protected, comforted at having him right there next to her. She smelt him, on his jacket and in his hair. It was overpowering her nose, but it was nice. She felt better, being his source of comfort.

 

He continued to hold on, wishing for her to accept him, for anyone to accept him. He just wanted someone to acknowledge him, not the beast inside that created chaos and fear so many years before. He had been forced to live with the Kyuubi's taunts whenever he would be given power. It would sicken his body to have to suppress all of his anger and sorrow. “Thank you,” he said briefly before thinking more of his embrace. He felt her hands crawl up his back and wrap themselves around him.

 

---

 

It had been a week since they completed their mission. They had returned to Konoha safely, each knowing more about each other. Ino had learned a lot of his past, why he was such an idiot at the academy, how he had learned his new jutsu and how he had been trained by Jiraiya to control the Kyuubi's power to some extent.

 

“Hey Ino, are you okay?” She looked up suddenly at Shikamaru who had suddenly asked the question. They were eating at Chouji's favorite restaurant after a long training session.

 

“Yeah, sure. Why?” She was distracted by a small piece of meat on her plate almost immediately after answering.

 

“You seemed off today at training and even now you have a different look on your face.” Shikamaru still stared relentlessly at her, after all, he was known for his scrutiny.

 

“It's nothing, leave it alone.” Her reply signaled that she was done with the conversation. The plate before her was still covered in food, Ino only having taken a few bites.

 

“You have seemed different since you got back from your mission with Naruto… Did something happen?” Chouji had stopped eating long enough to ask.

 

“I said leave it alone.” She began to get up to leave, when she turned and said, “I'm just a little stressed is all, don't worry about it, okay?” In reality she was stressed, the thoughts of Naruto holding on to her and been just beneath the surface of her mind for an entire week now. She couldn't tell herself to forget about how nice it was to be held like that. She found it sad that they broke their embrace when the fire had gone completely out, leaving them in the faint glow of the moonlight as it played across the water. She thought it as so romantic to be like that, trusted and alone in the woods with someone.

 

“Yo, Ino.” The voice belonged to Naruto as he ran to catch up with her. “How've you been?” He still barricaded himself with a smile around the village, never really portraying his true emotions.

 

“Okay, you?” They still put on a show in public, not wanting anyone to think that they had something going on between them. They both had busy lives as shinobi and only had gotten to talk once since the mission. She looked over and saw that he was real sweaty and his hands seemed to be burned a little.

 

“Yeah, Kakashi-sensei had me train longer today with my Fuuton: RasenShuriken. He said that if I had enough chakra control, I could use it more often then life or death situations.” Images filled her mind of the only time she had ever seen it. He was exhausted and injured for a week afterwards but the damage… The chakra was amazing; covering everything with a mammoth explosion. The crater had to be at least a kilometer wide. “How was your training?” The question brought her back to the present.

 

“Okay,” she said smiling, “not as action-packed as yours though. We mainly worked on our formations and strategy today, as usual.”

 

Naruto opened his mouth in response but was cut short by a low growl that escaped his stomach. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly, “I've been training since this morning. I wasn't even allowed to take a break to have lunch.”

 

“I think Ichiraku Ramen is only a couple of blocks ahead, want to have a quick bite?”

 

“Okay…” he was waiting to see if it was a joke. Ino herself was surprised at the statement she just said. This could look like a date to some people. Was it even socially acceptable to be seen on a date with Uzumaki Naruto? “I mean, he has made a name for himself now, he even seems more mature than last week. He's so much stronger and smarter than he used to be. Naruto, have you always been like this?” She continued to think to herself as Naruto lead the way to his favorite ramen hut.

 

“O-chan!” Naruto said enthusiastically as he moved the thick cloth aside at the front of the store. “Two miso-pork ramens please. That's okay with you, right?” He inclined, looking back at Ino while his hand still held the heavy drape.

 

Her head nodded slightly at the question. They both sat down, waiting for their dinner. “Hey Naruto-kun, where have you been? We haven't seen you in a while.” Ayame asked out loud while carrying in a box of cooking supplies from the back.

 

“Oh, umm… Kakashi-sensei has kept me busy training and Tsunade-baachan gave me a tough mission with Ino last week. Sorry, I've been really focused on trying to perfect my jutsu.” Two hot bowls of steaming ramen appeared before the two. “Itadakimasu.” Naruto cried happily before taking a piece of pork off the top of his dish.

 

Ayame and Teuchi both noticed something weird about Naruto. Instead of devouring his meal like usual, he was keeping a steady pace and taking his time with it, much like Ino next to him. He didn't even do that with Sakura.

 

“Here you go,” Teuchi said, sliding the check across the bar to Naruto. He reached for Gama-chan, only to get a snort from Ino.

 

“What is it?” he asked mildly confused.

 

“What is that?” she replied holding in another outburst at the sight of the frog purse.

 

“Are you mocking Gama-chan?” questioned a shocked Naruto. He waited a few moments before pulling out the money for both their dinners.

 

“Good, he at least has some of the old Naruto in there. I thought he was completely different from before, but he is still a loudmouth goof-ball sometimes.” She took another minute to look at him, marveling at how much he had changed since then. “Of course, I never really paid much attention to the old Naruto…”

 

His hand reached out to pull aside the cloth once more, waiting for his unofficial date to pass before continuing himself.

 

“I don't like her with Naruto; he didn't eat nearly the same he usually does. He was acting different around her too. Didn't you notice?” Tsuchi asked his daughter before going back to deep frying noodles.

 

“Yeah, but… he seemed happier, didn't he? I hope he stays like that.” Ayame answered quietly before heading back into the depths of their store.

 

 

A/N: I'm going to make it maybe 4-5 chapters long, maybe more, depending on if I can think of enough stuff to write about. Thanks for all the comments and reviews. I'll probably start chapter 3 also today. I feel like it is going well; having some layer of trust between the two of them and both hiding a secret from their friends and teammates. I think I'm doing better, my old writing used to really suck, but at least now I'm trying. I enjoy what people say about my work, tell me if you think it is good or if it is the worst thing that you have ever laid you eyes on, just give a reason.