Rainy Days: Next up, Naruto and Ino
A/N hey readers. Alex here. My second part of the Rainy Days series is out, and want to thank those four people who actually reviewed last time! Especially Rain.Purifies.the.Soul, who is now my beta reader! Thanks for the awesome beta-ing Rain!! Anyway, it's a Naru/Ino pairing, and I hope you like it.
Naruto ran through the streets of Konahoa, ducking from doorway to doorway in hopes of avoiding the pounding rain. Normally he'd just hang out at Ichiraku, but the old man who owned the shop closed it early. He could go to his apartment, if the owner hadn't evicted him. Naruto let out a sigh.
'I guess I'll go stay with Eyebrows or somebody... Damn, I hate that stupid landlord!' Just then, the rain got worse. 'Crap, no time! I have to get under cover somewhere before this gets any worse.' Without thinking, Naruto dove into a brightly lit shop. The sign next to the window read 'Yamanaka flower shop'.
Naruto looked around the shop. Flowers bloomed everywhere. Orchids, daffodils, roses of at least 5 different colors. Naruto inhaled the scent of a flower arrangement on the stand next to him. "Wow. Tons of flowers," he said softly. He went over to the counter and looked at a strange purple flower with a white inside.
"I'm sorry, but the shop is closed, you'll have to leave," a voice said from behind him. Naruto turned around and saw Ino, clad in an old t-shirt and a pair of boxers. She looked like she had just woken up, "Oh, Naruto! Why are you here? Going to buy a flower for Sakura-chan, perhaps?"
Naruto blushed at that last comment and said, "Sorry Ino, I didn't mean to wake you up. I just needed a place to go for the rain to stop and this was the only place that looked open." Before she could ask why he didn't just go home, he quickly changed the subject. "What kind of flower is this? I've never seen one around the village."
"You wouldn't. We just got a dozen of them from Suna. It's an amaryllis. A rare color at that." She glared at him. "Don't change the subject though. Why didn't you just go home? Your apartment isn't to far from here."
He winced inwardly. 'Crap, here it comes. Please, please, PLEASE don't bring up the kyuubi thing.' Not meeting her gaze, he said, "My landlord evicted me. He never liked me, so he used my three year training trip as an excuse to evict me. Said the apartment was 'potential money just sitting there gathering dust'. So I have to pay him three year's rent since I still technically owned it."
Ino's eyes went wide with surprise, "B-but that was almost 9 months ago! When did he evict you?!?"
He said it so softly that she could barely hear him "The landlord threw me out the day after Kakashi-sensei's test."
She gasped in shock. "I can't believe that bastard! Why the hell did he do that? That's a completely unnecessary thing to do!" Ino started to pace the room, "You need to talk to Hokage-sama about this! You know, I bet it's just because you have the kyuubi in you and it-"she stopped as Naruto cringed at the reminder of the Kyuubi, "I'm sorry Naruto," she said softly, sitting next to him. She put a hand on his shoulder and noticed how wet he was, "Oh god, your clothes are drenched; you're probably freezing! Come on; let's get you a shower and a decent pair of clothes." She dragged him up the stairs to her room before he could say anything.
Naruto walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. He looked over at Ino's table and noticed his clothes where gone. Then, Ino came up the stairs and threw a pair of boxers and a t-shirt at him, "I hope they fit, they're the only things I could find."
"Ino, I really appreciate this and all, but you don't have t-OW!!!"
"Oh go shut up and change. You're here, so I might as well help you," Ino snapped at him after she cut him off by hitting him upside the head.
"But-" Naruto started to whine.
"GO!" screamed the woman in front of him.
"Yes Ino-chan," he said meekly. He ducked into the bathroom before she could hit him.
Naruto came out a minute later and sat by Ino, "Hey Ino-chan, thanks for the clothes and for letting me use your shower." I don't get it... I really like Sakura-chan, but this is a totally new Ino. She's gentler and a lot kinder too… Except for the bumps she gave me... Ugh, I'm so confused. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he missed Ino staring at him.
"Naruto?" the blonde woman asked.
He snapped out of his inner debate and looked at her, "Yeah, Ino-chan?"
She blushed again, and Naruto frowned, "What is it? Ino-chan?"
"Why do you keep calling me that?" she asked quietly.
He frowned again, and shook his head, "Calling you what?"
She took a breath, "Ino-chan. You keep on calling me 'chan'."
Now it was his turn to blush. "I-I didn't really notice. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like than-" he started but was cut off as she leaned on his shoulder.
"Would you mind if I called you Naruto-kun?" she whispered her question quietly, breathing in his scent.
He stopped for a second, taken back. Ino saw the pause, and scooted away, but Naruto simply put his arm around her and said "No, Ino-chan, I wouldn't mind that at all." She smiled and put her head on his chest and sighed. They stayed there for what seemed like forever. While Ino seemed totally peaceful, Naruto's mind was churning with turmoil. 'Naruto-KUN? KUN?!?! I can't believe this. Here I am with one of the obsessive Sasuke fan girls ever to see Konahoa, and Sakura-chan's biggest rival on top of it all! Still... she is Sakura's biggest friend as well. And she hasn't mentioned Sasuke even once, which is a huge surprise. Could I possibly like Ino-chan as more than a friend? Sakura's never been this nice to me and we've known each other for years. She'll always be chasing Sasuke as well... Oh God, it's all so confusing!'
Naruto looked at the window to distract him, and noticed that the rain had almost stopped. 'I can't deal with this now. I can find a place to sleep for the night now that it isn't raining so hard.' As he moved to get up, Ino stirred and murmured "No… don't go Naruto-kun…" and hugged him tighter. Then again... I guess I might as well stay here. After all, the rain could pick up again. As Naruto laid Ino in her bed, she sighed happily and whispered "I'm glad it rained tonight."
Naruto chuckled softly. "why's that?"
Ino opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Because it brought you here to me" she said, and leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight, Naruto-kun."Naruto smiled and pushed a strand of hair out of her face.
"Good night, Ino-chan."
When Ino woke up the next morning. she saw that Naruto was gone, but the amarylis was sitting by her bedside. A note was tucked under the pot. She picked it up and read it.
Ino-chan
thank you for letting me stay the night with you, and I wish I could be there when you woke up. Of course, I have a mission today, so I just had to give you the amaryllis. I'll give your clothes back as soon as I wash them. I hope to see you when I get back. Until then: -Uzumaki Naruto
She smiled as she re-read the note.She walked down the stairs to the shop, and then realized something.
'That baka owes me for the flower!'
A/N: And so ends the second installment of Rainy Days. I have to admit, this is going to always be my favorite pairing. I don't know why, but Ino and Naruto just... blend well, no? Anyway, thanks again to those people who review. It helps my writing a bunch. Also, I hvae an important update.
EVERYTIME YOU READ BUT DONT REVIEW, A PENGUIN IS BRUTALLY KILLED IN THE ARCTIC.
Have a heart, and save the penguins.
-PastSorrows (Alex)