SPOILERS ! This takes place after chapter 283, after the Timeskip.
The anime (even in jap) is still far from that.
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Naruto, Chouji and Shikamaru were walking down one of Konoha's many streets, the sun was still high in the air, burning to crisp those without shade or a hat. It didn't stop Naruto from ranting.
"I can't believe we were attacked here, in the middle of the street, during the day and by one of our own ! Even worse, he ran away before I could get to him !"
Shikamaru turned perpetually bored eyes toward the energic ninja.
"Not "we", you were the one attacked Naruto"
Chouji approved with a nod between two handful of greasy snacks. Naruto clutched his fist and smiled.
"Well... if he comes back, I'll show him !"
Before the conversation could continue, it was cut by a girl yelling and waving hands further down the street.
"Shikamaru ! Chouji !"
Shikamaru barely waved his hand back to her, and Chouji smiled as Ino ran toward her teammates with a big smile. When she reached them, she finally recognized Naruto.
"Hey Naruto ! Welcome back !" Naruto gave her his best grin and noticed how she took the time to look at him from head to toe.
"You sure changed alot haven't you ? I barely recognized you."
It was Naruto's turn to look at Ino and boy, had she changed ! Her blonde hair flowed longer than ever and there was an air of pride about her appearance that she carried naturally. He also noticed her body had grown noticeably curvier, just like Sakura's. He found the view to be a very pleasant one but he quickly realized that people might think he was oogling Ino so he blurted out something quickly.
"Hahaha ! So have you Ino. It feels good to be back home, you don't know what it's like to be with a pervert like Jiraiya for two years and a half."
"No, what is it like to be with one of the legendary three ?"
"Well, he's the kind of guy ready to push you down a cliff so you're forced to learn his techniques or die trying"
"Are you serious !"
Shikamaru wiped the sweat from his forehead and stopped them. "Guys, can we talk more later on, I'm going to faint if I don't find some shade and water, this chunnin jacket isn't the best shirt to wear in this heat"
Chouji took a step forward. "Hey Naruto, why don't you hang out with us this evening, then you can take the time to tell us what you've been doing these two years."
"Allright ! It sounds great, I'll be there !"
Naruto said his farewells to Team 10 and jumped from roof to roof.
"Hah. That Naruto, he can be overenthusiastic sometimes."
"Just like Ino you mean"
"HEY ! I am not too enthusiastic, so cram-it greasycheeks !"
The trio went back to walk toward the academy to meet their teacher but Ino was thinking about their earlier encounter.
For a second there I thought Shikamaru had a handsome friend but it was just Naruto.
Still, it was good to see he was back, so he could annoy Sakura when she wasn't there.
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Naruto's senses were in full alert as he jumped from roof to roof, imagining other all kinds of possible ambushes from the mysterious man from earlier. However he didn't suffer any attacks as he made his way to old hag Tsunade's office.
"Ah Naruto, exactly the person I wanted to see."
Naruto froze when entering the office as he noticed the man who had attacked him was talking just now with the Hokage.
"HIM ! He's the one who attacked me in the street !..."
"Calm down Naruto, he does not mean any harm. His name is Sai and he will join Team 7 as a replacement for Sasuke."
"A replacement for Sasuke..."
Sai smiled at Naruto, the smile of a man amused by a clown.
"I just wanted to test your strength, to see how weak you are."
Naruto started grinding his teeth and closing his fists when Tsunade elevated her voice.
"Enough ! You are now a team and you two will have to learn to get along !"
Naruto bowed to the Hokage before slamming the door behind him. So that's what his attacks were all about. That still didn't explained many things and he was already starting to hate the man...
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The sun was starting to set in the horizon that already Konoha was bustling with renewed life as those who had been hiding in the shade a few hours ago were starting to come out. A general feeling of festivity and energy was affecting everyone as they were enjoying one of the last days of summer. Although winter was mostly unheard of in Konoha, temperature did drop from September until February.
Naruto was in a better mood after seeing the town bustling with activity, filled with laughter and joy everywhere. First to get to the old eastern bridge, the place where he had agreed to meet up with Chouji, Shikamaru and Ino. His thoughts lingered a bit more Ino... She sure had grown in all the right places, what a babe she was. He could still imagine her long slender yet muscular legs, her pale, smooth skin and those hips !
"Why are you smiling like an idiot ?"
Naruto's daydream ended abruptly as Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji were coming by his side.
"Hey guys ! Nothing really, I'm just in a good mood tonight. C'mon, let's find some place to sit down"
The group settled on moss-covered rocks still hot from the afternoon sun and discussed the old times, what had happened during the last 2 years and the missions they had been through. Naruto laughed told his friends about Jiraiya's obsession with peeping as source for his book Come Come Paradise.
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The evening passed far too quickly for Ino. She was realising how good it was to sometimes sit down and talk with friends about the past, worries and expectations but more importantly, she took a closer look at Naruto.
She couldn't detach her eyes from, noticing how more masculine he had become. His jawline seemed more evident, framing the 3 scars on each cheek, he also seemed to have gained muscle because she noticed how his frame was bigger than before. Yes, he was growing into a handsome man, no matter how disturbing it was to think of Naruto as attractive.
The second she thought that their eyes met for a second and she found an iron will and complete confidence in himself, deeply hidden between shades of blue and cyan. Naruto smiled softly to her and broke eye contact to listen to the end of Shikamaru's tale.
"...and so that is why our teacher said he'd never pay lunch for Chouji anymore."
Everyone laughed at that one, except maybe Chouji, who thought this was in no way because of his somewhat bigger appetite.
Naruto slowly stood up "Well everyone, it's getting late so I'm going. It was nice talking again to you all."
Everyone waved goodbyes to Naruto but before he had made more than a few steps, Ino shouted back at him. "Hey Naruto ! It was fun, let's do this more often !" Shikamaru and Chouji nodded in agreement
The hyperactive ninja grinned back and pointed a thumb up. "I'm looking forward to it !"
Team 10 finally decided to go each to own way too. Ino reached her home and threw herself in her bed.
Geez, that was too much Naruto for one day
A few minutes later, she had fallen asleep.
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Every few days, it became an habit for the four of them to meet and talk. Sometimes they'd bring food along or even beer and would talk until late into the night. Naruto became very familiar with Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru but things became more complicated when one day Chouji didn't show up.
Shikamaru explained "Yeah, looks like he ate too much at his family's reunion yesterday and now he says he got killer cramps and stayed in bed all day."
Ino laughed once. "Hah ! It HAD to happen someday, I just knew it would."
"I hope he's fine" Ino gave Naruto a small poke with her elbow.
"Don't worry Naruto, Chouji's stomach can handle ANYTHING"
Shikamaru's eyes seemed to avoid his friends and he looked a bit more stressed than usual, which mean almost invisible to the naked eye. Ino however, knew Shikamaru from a long time so it took her very little time before she asked him.
"What's wrong ?"
"Hum, I know it's a drag but I was supposed to go see how he was doing"
Ino lifted an eyebrow and went closer to Shikamaru. "Wait a minute... that smell... is that perfume ? Are you sure you're going to see Chouji ?"
Shikamaru took a step back "No, not at all... I... anyway I'm late so I'll see you tomorrow"
Shikamaru walked a way, a bit faster than he usually would. Ino placed her hands on her hips in defiance. "Yeah right, he's going to see that sand ninja woman again."
Naruto laughed loudly. "I knew there was something between these two !"
"..."
"..."
Then there was silence between the two remaining friends. Naruto broke the silence first.
"Well ! Looks like we're on our own. We could pass by the ramen shop because I haven't eaten a thing all day and I've been training until I couldn't stand up anymore" An huge growling came from his belly, enough to make Ino go wide-eyed.
"Sounds like you got a monster in there" she said jokingly.
Strangely, he didn't laughed back at this joke. He suddenly became very grim but that lasted a whole 5 minutes until Ino threated to kick him if he didn't cheer up.
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Over the next few weeks, Ino and Naruto spent more time together and they enjoyed every second of it. Although Chouji and Shikamaru still came from time to time, it was almost as if they were exchanging looks when looking at them. That was only the beginning...
One day on the training ground, Jiraiya started teasing him. "Hey, how is it going with your girl ?"
"She's not my girl ! She's still got a crush on Sasuke ! And stop giving me THAT look"
"Ok kid calm down, take a break for now. I'll go gather some info, you'd better be training hard when I get back !"
Crazy old ermit...
Naruto threw his shirt off, heavy with sweat and settled under a tree.
He became almost scared when he considered how much time he was spending with Ino and how many times he thought about her. Ino was smart, she could laugh at something silly and was just as loudmouthed as he was, what was there not to like ? That was the real problem: Nothing ! He liked everything about her. It was easy at first to believe this was just physical attraction, since Ino was very sexy and proud of her appearance. How many times had he had been dreaming about caressing her pale, naked body with his hands ? Countless times, he had imagined what it would be like to gently slide his hands on her back, then her behind and all the way down between her legs...
Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, he still remained confronted with a disturbing question: was he starting to feel things for her ? Was he not ? Was it love or was it lust ?
Getting definitively his mind off the subject, he restarted training with renewed strength, trying to exhaust himself until he could not think anymore.
-----
Ino faced similar problems. It was unthinkable to believe that she could start to fall for that clumsy, hyperactive, ramen eating ninja. Unbelievable ! But there he was, with that smile that always made her smile too, his wild hair blowing in the wind and those eyes too. She felt like doing anything for that look he had given her on that first night. Since then, she had been increasingly thinking about him. At first it was something like "The girl he'll get someday will sure be a lucky one." but then it evolved into "I wonder what it would be like to be his girlfriend..." At night, this often lead her to dreams where she would lift his shirt and lick his well defined belly muscles, hearing him growl as her tongue snaked all the up to his mouth, his arm would snake to her behind and bring her even closer without breaking the kiss then she would start unzipping his pants while he unclasped her bra...
Wait a minute, that's not Naruto !
Or was it ? Ino's curiosity was growing stronger and stronger everytime she met him and she was afraid of what she might do one day...
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It's been years since I've written anything but anywhoo, before you guys try to point out what sucks in this fanfiction, let me try:
- Some OOCness (I'll try to avoid it).
- The chapter is too short (Next chapter is longer and mushier).
- Alot of typos (Next time I'll use a program with spellchecking).
- It doesn't really deserve an M rating (Well, ya know, just to be on the safe side).
- Teens with beer ? (Well, it's not THAT difficult to get beer, I sure do remember drinking beer at 16).
- What about Sai ? (That was the first and last appearance by him, he's just there so people know when this fic begins)
The title was taken from Wolfsheim's song Kein zurück and refers to everyone's feelings as Ino and Naruto grow closer.
Appropriate story length should be 4 or 5 chapters
Any questions ?