Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the Property of Masashi Kishimoto

Ino in a Time Loop

Chapter 1: Beginnings

My name is Yamanaka Ino. I'm twelve years old and I live in the Village Hidden in the Leaves where I attend their ninja academy. The graduation exam is tomorrow. All I have to do is pass it and I will become a low level ninja of the village. It'll be easy to pass since I've done it several times. Wait, how did I pass it several times already you ask? That's easy, it's because I'm a time traveler.

You're confused aren't you? I was too at first. It all started way back in my first life, which was several loops ago, and be patient I'll explain what I mean by loops too.

Let's see, I was sixteen years old and Konoha, that's the short name for the village, was just destroyed by the leader of Akatsuki, a group of s-class criminal out to conquer the world or something like that. At least we thought he was the leader at the time. Anyway the village was being rebuilt but then the fourth great ninja war broke out! I shouldn't have to tell you how much that sucked.

As for the war itself, we were doing fine until the big bad guy, some old guy named Uchiha Madara, let loose the tailed beasts he had under his control. In case you don't know what a tailed beast is, it's a giant demon made of chakra and they are very strong. There's nine of them, each with a different number of tails and based on different animals. The more tails they have the stronger they are. My husband Naruto has the nine-tailed fox demon, the strongest of the tailed beasts sealed within him.

Did I just call Naruto my husband? Oops, well he was my husband, or he could be. Damn these loops are confusing. Right, the time loops, I'm getting to that. I'll explain about Naruto later too.

You see after Madara's tailed beasts attacked they killed everyone who fought against them, including me. I was a medic on the field so I was one of the first to go. Something about killing the white mage/priest/cleric/healer first, I don't really get where that came from. I guess it makes sense to kill the doctors first to keep them from healing anyone, as bad as that sounds.

So, how am I still alive you ask? Hell if I know. I saw a menacing ball being fired toward me and I did what anyone would do in that situation. I screamed. The next thing I knew my daddy was holding me telling me it was alright and I just had a bad dream. I looked up and I saw him holding me, which was surprising because he had passed away early on in the war. Naturally I was freaked out.

Eventually I calmed down and was able to convince myself it was all a bad dream. I kept what happened to myself, even thought it was a very realistic dream. So I went on my life. It was good, until I died again. At least I was pretty sure I died. I awoke in my bedroom again, and it was the day before the final exam at the academy.

That's when I realized it wasn't a dream. I really did die both times, and both times I restarted my life from the same point in time. Time itself had reset, sending me back to relive my life. That's how I got stuck in a time loop.

Adjusting to being a pseudo time traveler was hard at first. For one thing, I knew about all the bad things that were going to happen in the future and could do nothing to stop it. Oh sure, I tried telling people about it. I told my daddy since I thought I could trust him. I thought he would believe me since I'm his little girl and would never lie to him. I should have known better.

I don't really remember what happened next since I spent an entire loop erasing my memories of what happened next, or as much as I could. You see after I revealed my secret I ended up getting interrogated about everything I knew. Now being a Yamanaka I've had experience with this so for the most part I co-operated. I figured I'd give them all the info I had and they'd use it to help save the village. I was wrong, dead wrong.

At first they thought I had gone crazy so they were trying to determine how sane I was. When I started revealing things I shouldn't know they thought I was a spy. As I revealed more I thought they were beginning to believe me and would help me find out how I got in this mess. Again I was wrong.

They didn't care about me. They put the village's needs first. The information I had was invaluable and they needed every bit of it. They would stop at nothing to get everything they needed to know. After all, wouldn't it be worth it to sacrifice one child if it meant saving the rest of the village. Knowing how Naruto was treated should've tipped me off that something like this would happen.

I won't go into details over what they did to me because I don't even remember what they did. I was such a wreck after they were done I was too unstable to be a ninja. I spent the rest of the loop working in my parent's flower shop. If I wasn't working I was spending my time in therapy to get over my trauma. They helped me overcome it and I learned a lot more about botany working in the shop so much. I had almost recovered by the time Madara became the new host of the ten tailed beast and destroyed Konoha.

I spent the next loop working on continuing my recovery in private while mastering my clan's techniques. I wasn't going to repeat my mistake of revealing what I knew of the future.

Shikamaru and Choji noticed my change in behaviour and were suspicious at first. I was still affected a bit by the torture I went through and was a bit more subdued at times. I was also more skilled then before, having knowledge of things like medicine that I didn't before, and more of what I already did. Luckily they are my friends and team-mates so they trusted me. After some time they got used to my changes and didn't pry into what happened to me.

Things continued like that. I would learn everything I could while trying to do my best to save anyone I could. I studied my clan's techniques with help from my dad and medicine from Lady Tsunade with Sakura. It's always funny since I'm so much better then her having knowledge of medicine from prior loops.

It got to the point where I could just go to the hospital at the start of a loop after becoming a genin and become a certified medic. I'd have to take several tests before I was approved though. They had to make sure I really knew what I was doing since it appeared I had no prior training.

After my ordeal with revealing my secret I wasn't too keen on studying torture and interrogation techniques. It's too bad my clan's techniques are based around that and I would have to use them as a ninja. So I forced myself to learn more about them so I wouldn't suffer like I did before and also to minimize the effect they had on the ones they were used on. I guess you could compare it to someone with sea sickness learning to drive a boat. Sometimes the best way to face your fears is head on.

Anyway, I learned about torture and interrogation from Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko. Anko even became a role model of sorts to me. She taught me a lot, including seduction techniques. They never seemed to work on Sasuke but Naruto was very appreciative of them. Right, Naruto, I'm getting to him, I promise.

So at this point I'm a skilled medic, a botanist, seductress, very knowledgeable of Yamanaka clan techniques, torture and interrogation and I even know how to use a tanto if I had to. I finally thought I was ready to make some big changes and started planning them out. The first thing I would do is help save the Third Hokage from Orochimaru and hopefully get the snake handler killed so Sasuke won't leave Konoha.

It was surprisingly easy to do so. You see Orochimaru would always have the sound four put up a barrier so he could fight the Third by himself. There would always be three ANBU just watching the fight from the outside. One time I asked Asuma-sensei why they weren't helping and he just reminded me the barrier was in the way.

At that point I took a good look at the barrier. It had four sides and a top, but didn't appear to have a bottom. When I asked Asuma-sensei if the barrier would stop attacks from below he just paused for a moment with a dumbfounded look on his face, then ran off to join the ANBU watching the fight.

The next thing I saw was the four of them each heading to a corner and making a hole in the roof of the building the fight was on. Suddenly they took down the sound four from below, having entered through the building. With them gone the barrier was down and they joined the fight against Orochimaru, along with other reinforcements.

They were able to distract him while the Third used the dead demon consuming seal to rip out Orochimaru's soul and seal it within himself before he died. Apparently it was the only way to be certain he was dead. Kabuto was caught as well, and Rice Country was later annexed into Fire County, eliminating the Hidden Sound Village.

After that Naruto left with Jiraiya to bring Tsunade back to the village so she could become Hokage. She ended up taking on Sakura as an apprentice. I was already a registered medic so I didn't need to train with her. I should have though.

You see, since Orochimaru was dead Sasuke had no reason to leave the village. Naruto was able to befriend him and team seven became one of Konoha's strongest teams. Sasuke ended up getting closer to his team-mates and since Sakura was the Hokage's apprentice she became a lot more popular with the guys, which is something even Sasuke noticed.

A few years later after Akatsuki started capturing the hosts of the tailed beasts team seven were the ones stopping them. They saved Gaara and killed Sasori and Deidara before the one-tailed raccoon was extracted from him so he didn't die and Chiyo didn't have to sacrifice herself.

I knew all about the mission where Asuma-sensei died and always stopped it. I had become stronger so I was able to be with him and Shikamaru when Hidan and Kakuzu attacked us. I took control of Kakuzu before Hidan could kill Asuma-sensei and used him to kill Hidan first. Well, I couldn't kill him so much as help tear him into pieces that Asuma-sensei scattered to the wind.

Shikamaru would then hold Kakuzu in place while I released him and Asuma-sensei cut his head off. He then used a fire attack to incinerate it in case he could re-attach it with his threads.

Later Itachi and Kisame started moving out to capture Naruto. Teams seven and eight were sent out to stop them. They ended up killing both of them. That's where things really changed.

Since Sasuke had finally killed Itachi and avenged his clan he started focusing on his other goal of reviving his clan. He asked Sakura to be the woman to help him since she was his team-mate, the woman he knew best and Tsunade's apprentice. She of course accepted. They got engaged right away, but they wouldn't be married and start a family until the threat from Akatsuki was gone. Naturally I was devastated, as was a large number of girls in Konoha after finding out Sasuke was now taken.

Naruto was also in rough shape after that. He was crazy for Sakura and would do anything for her. She was the same way for Sasuke though, and never thought of Naruto as anything other then a friend. Naruto and I ended up comforting each other over our heartbreaks and we ended up becoming a couple.

I was still in love with Sasuke though and I would still try in the next loop to get him to fall for me. Until then he and I wouldn't happen, and Naruto needed me.

The battles against Akatsuki continued. I knew that Pain, the leader would attack Konoha soon and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I did know when it was going to happen so I figured out a way to have the village perform a practice evacuation drill. That got the civilians to safety before the attack. When it happened the ninjas were then able to fight back without worrying about killing anyone in the crossfire.

Since Sasuke was in the village and now possessed the eternal mangekyou sharingan, having taken his brother's eyes, he was able to stall Pain until Naruto completed his sage training and returned to defeat Pain. That saved a lot of the village from destruction. There were a few deaths, but Pain always used some technique to bring them back to life.

That only left Uchiha Madara and Zetsu as the remaining members of Akatsuki. Konan would give Naruto all the information she had on them and return to the Hidden Rain Village to begin working against them. She didn't think she could beat Madara but she knew Zetsu well enough to trap him and take him out. Then she would stall Madara's plans long enough for Naruto to gain control of the nine-tailed fox's chakra. Between that and Sasuke's eternal mangekyou sharingan Madara didn't stand a chance.

Well, that was the end of it. Konan, Naruto and Sasuke teamed up to beat Madara. Since Sasuke never attacked Killer Bee the Raikage never called a Gokage summit, and the fourth ninja world war never started. The world was at peace again. There were a few matters left though.

The tailed beasts that were sealed away by Akatsuki were resealed in new hosts from each major village to restore the balance of power. The seven-tailed horned beetle was given to Sand. The four-tailed monkey and five tailed dolphin-horse were returned to Stone. The three-tailed turtle and six-tailed slug were returned to Mist. Finally, the two-tailed monster cat was returned to cloud.

With Akatsuki disbanded and Nagato, the person controlling Pain, dead, Konan became the leader of Rain and began working towards creating the peaceful world her sensei Jiraiya envisioned. Naruto of course was all too willing to help.

Everything was fine after that. Naruto and I became closer as he drifted away from his team-mates. He began training constantly and taking more missions whenever he had the time, and wasn't with me of course.

I guess since he lost his dream of being with Sakura he dedicated himself to accomplishing his dream of being Hokage. There were some people who thought Sasuke would make a good Hokage so Naruto trying his hardest to prove he was the best man for the job. I think it would crush him if Sasuke stole that dream from him too without even trying. Luckily Sasuke just wanted to revive his clan and reform the military police.

The next major event happened almost two years after Akatsuki was defeated. We were all eighteen, and Sasuke and Sakura were getting married. They asked us to be the maid of honour and best man. Naruto flat out refused.

He said he had a mission that would take him out of the village for some time and wouldn't be here for it. They then actually offered to postpone it until he came back, but he said he didn't know how long it would actually take.

I could tell he didn't want to go because seeing Sakura with Sasuke still hurt and was still upset she picked Sasuke over him. I understood what he felt but there was nothing we could do about it. We can't force the ones we love to love us back.

I ended up volunteering to accompany him on his mission, whatever it was, so I could keep an eye on him. The truth was I really wouldn't feel right being at the wedding either. Kakashi and Shizune ended up being the best man and maid of honour. Apparently the two of them hooked up after that.

So we went on this mission, which was just Naruto traveling through the elemental nations and getting in touch with the contacts in the spy network that was run by Jiraiya. He had passed away, but had introduced his contacts to Naruto on their training trip. Naruto was using this as an opportunity to meet them and stay out of Konoha during a time he wouldn't want to be there. It also gave us plenty of alone time in various hotels around the world.

We ended up returning to Konoha several months later. Naruto joined ANBU and quickly became a captain. He was trying to establish himself as a capable leader and skilled shinobi. Needless to say he did great. I took on a genin team and became a jonin sensei. Things went fine for the next three years. That's when the next big changes happened.

For one thing, they revealed who Naruto's parents were. I was shocked! He was the son of the Fourth Hokage! Nobody had any doubts that he wouldn't be a good Hokage after that.

All the girls were jealous of me too. See, after Sasuke married Sakura and was officially off the market all his fangirls finally started moving on. Well, most of them did. Well anyway they started focusing on the next hottest bachelor in Konoha, which turned out to be Naruto! That was before we found out his parents too.

So now I'm fighting off bitches who keep making moves on my man. I guess they think he's not really taken unless there's a ring on his finger or something. I'm especially getting sick of that Hyuuga slut coming by all the time. She's always trying to get his attention, and the way she does it is sickening.

She likes to come by after a training session, only wearing a tank top and shorts. She then takes him by the arm and pushes it against her chest, trying to show off the "real Hyuuga blood-line." Damn that bitch. She had more up top at twelve then I do now.

Well if she thinks that will get his attention she's wrong. Naruto spent most of his life pining after forehead so he's obviously not interested in what's in her shirt. I think he's actually a leg man. He did once say he thought Sakura had a cute butt, and he seems to like mine too. I guess I shouldn't worry. Naruto is one of the most loyal guys I know. He probably doesn't even realize all these girls are hitting on him.

Seriously though, why can't Hinata keep her younger sister in line. Hanabi should be out looking for guys her own age. Wait, what do I mean by Hanabi? She's been trying to get Naruto to fall for her ever since she found out her sister likes him. She's trying to prove that she's better then Hinata by getting the boy Hinata likes but couldn't get together with to fall for her. You didn't think I was calling Hinata a slut did you? I would never do that! She's very nice, just quiet. She is always watching my man though, the little pervert.

So anyway once everyone found out about Naruto's real parents they started to think I knew all along and schemed to get him for myself. They said I manipulated Sakura into getting together with Sasuke so Naruto would be heartbroken and I could sweep in when he's vulnerable and steal him for myself. I would never do that! I didn't even know about his parents until now. This was the first time I've gotten this far in a loop.

Now that everyone knew about his parents and he had become a great and respected ninja Naruto was finally ready to become Hokage. He had spent a few months after the reveal learning the ropes from Tsunade. Eventually the big day came and Naruto accomplished his life's ambition of becoming Hokage.

There was a huge celebration in Konoha. Everyone expected Naruto to be the greatest Hokage and was looking forward to his reign. That night while watching the fireworks he proposed to me and I accepted. We were married a year later. We had three children, a boy and two girls. We were very happy together and Konoha flourished with Naruto as Hokage.

In case you were wondering about Sasuke and Sakura, well they split up. They loved each other, but Sasuke wanted a family and Sakura had worked hard to become a great medic and didn't want to give up her career. In the end they couldn't find a compromise, so after three years of marriage they were divorced.

That was right around the time Naruto's parentage had come out. Things were a bit tense between us for a short time. The people were we first in love with were now available again. I didn't have to worry though as Naruto was as loyal as he always was. He told me that he had moved on and let go of his feelings for Sakura, and only cared about me. I had fallen for him too, and I wasn't about to leave a loving relationship either. I don't think I was ready to be a mother yet, so being with Sasuke probably wouldn't have worked out for me either.

Sasuke ended up marrying some girl he rescued on a mission a year later. It was actually quite romantic. Sakura stayed single for some time, and focused on running the hospital. She later told me she envied me for getting together with Naruto and wished she hadn't been so blind to his charms when she was young, or so infatuated with Sasuke.

She didn't say it, but I think Sakura did love Naruto, but Sasuke always came first for her. I don't blame her. She ended up getting together with a widower who's wife she was treating. She couldn't save her despite her best efforts and took to helping him with their kids. Sakura never did have any children of her own, but was happy being a step-mom.

As for me I lived to the ripe old age of eighty-two. Naruto was still alive, and looked like he was only middle aged. It must have been that Uzumaki vitality. He stayed with me though, even as I grew older and he stayed looking young. As I lay on my deathbed I wondered what would happen next. Would I wake up as a twelve year old girl again, or would I really die? I had my answer soon enough.

I closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep, and woke up, back in my parent's house and in my old room. I was twelve once more, and it was the day before the final exam at the academy. I had looped again. I felt like I could cry.

I had prepared for this. Mentally at least, since that was all I could do. I prepared a state of mind to put myself in should I loop again. I knew I'd be starting over from scratch. I'd have to do everything over again. I'd see people who had died either in battle or of old age again. Would things turn out the same this time? Would it go better, or worse?

The hard part was knowing I'd never see my family again. My children, my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Do they even still exist somewhere, in an alternate time-line, or did time itself turn back completely erasing them from existence? I didn't want to think about it. In the end I considered it a possibility and prepared myself should it happen. That doesn't make it any easier.

So now it's the start of another loop. I had finally made it to the end, or so I thought. I had something that most people don't, and that was another chance. I had been Mrs. Uzumaki-Namikaze Ino, and while I'll always love Naruto a part of me will always love Sasuke. Until I finally win Sasuke's heart I don't think I could give mine completely to anyone.

With that in mind I began my plan for this loop. I had prepared it near the end of my last life, just in case I looped again. This time I will win Uchiha Sasuke's heart and find out if he is really the man for me.