A River Flows in You

by SerasCain

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape or form.

A/N: Well, this chapter took a bit longer for me to get out than I expected...Wanted to get it out yesterday but oh well. Thanks for the reviews, guys, well the few that I got at least. I'm assuming since noone else is reviewing that means I'm doing things right. I figure if people aren't reviewing, that just means I'm not screwing up yet right? Hahaha. Oh right, I meant to ask...can anyone tell me how long the sasuke retrieval arc was in terms of days? I was under the impression it happened all in 1 day but for story purposes, I kinda need it to be longer...and also it seems kinda wack that they can run to another country and do all that fighting in 1 day.
Well anyways, on to the story.

"Speech"

'thoughts'

"Inner Sakura"

Flashbacks

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His gaze never wavered from her face, the dumb grin that she had grown so accustomed to now spreading from ear to ear, as he waited for her answer. To the kunoichi, it was so glaringly obvious that the smile was false that she almost wanted to slap herself for not noticing it before. She tried to return his smile, but she couldn't keep the sadness from her eyes and she failed miserably, her lips just twitching strangely before she sighed and walked towards him.

She sat down on the river bank and stared at him, the confused look on his face growing ever more present as the minutes passed by. A few more moments, and she began to lose her temper despite herself.

"Are you just going to stand there like an idiot, or are you going to come and keep a girl company!" She growled out, although to her credit she sounded a lot nicer than she thought she would. At her words, he looked even more confused; his sparkling blue eyes never leaving her face as he tentatively walked off the river and stood beside her. "I'm sorry, Naruto…I didn't mean that."

He laughed, plopping down on the ground beside her, a genuine smile growing on his face this time, and she felt a knot in her stomach, her heart fluttering for just a moment. She couldn't imagine what could possibly make her feel this way, but she knew she was being drawn in by his smile. His eyes were so captivating, and she had to convince herself to actually stop staring into his face. She felt her face flush a little bit as she turned away to gaze at the river, the pale moonlight now illuminating the field they were in. Subconsciously, her hand slipped into her pocket and her fingers felt comfort at the orange cloth, intertwining with it while she played with it absentmindedly. Her thoughts drifted back to the boy beside her, 'This is Naruto…why am I acting like this? I've never been bothered by him before…'

She looked back up at him, regretting it immediately as she saw his questioning gaze directed at her, his cerulean eyes watching her intently. 'I never noticed before but when he really smiles, he's actually quite handsome…maybe it's because I've never really seen him smile before,' she thought sadly, tearing her eyes away from him again to look up at the stars. She fell onto her back and sighed loudly, wondering if she could gather the courage to break the awkward silence enveloping them when he did it for her.

"Hey Ino…why are you here? It doesn't seem like you to come look for me, hahaha…" he finished sheepishly, his hand scratching the back of his head like he was so prone to do. He lay down on his back next to her, arms crossing behind his head as he watched the stars, his shirt and jacket still lay discarded beside them.

"I just…wanted to see how you were doing, that's all," she muttered, and then smacked her forehead as she realized how stupid she sounded. "I mean… uhh… I wanted to… talk to you…yeah!"

"Err, ok, Ino… are you feeling alright? You're face is kinda red! Are you sick?" He leaned over, peering at her face with the most curious expression.

She nearly smacked him as she waved her hands frantically in front of her face, "No no no! I'm fine! Oh my god, does a girl need a reason to want to talk to you, jeez!" She grumbled, sitting up and turning to him before glowering. He beamed at her, the moonlight dancing in his eyes and it took her a moment to realize what she had said. Her face tinged red again and she began to sputter, but he interrupted.

"Well, this would really be the first time a girl wanted to talk to me for no reason," he grinned. Ino felt a little shocked at his words, but thinking back to her dream she realized it probably was true. A sinking feeling entered her chest, the guilt and disgust of her old behavior towards him washing over her so she pulled the orange cloth out of her pocket, clenching it tightly between her hands in an attempt to comfort herself. His gaze was drawn to it and he looked surprised for a moment before recovering, his trademark smile looking incredibly fake as it covered his face.

"Naruto…I'm sorry."

He looked at her seriously, the smile gone from his face instantly as he wondered what she was talking about. "What for, Ino…you haven't done anything."

"You remember this, don't you? Don't lie…I saw it in your eyes," she sighed. She looked back up, not wanting to see his reaction as she continued, "Six years ago…you helped me after I fell; you were so kind to me. And then those villagers came, and I didn't know what the hell was going on so I ran…and as things went on, I guess I just forgot..."

"You don't have to apologize, Ino-chan, it's really alright," he grinned, flopping onto his back again. "I'm used to it anyways."

She felt a little startled at his adding a suffix to her name and then the ease at which he said that it was normal for him and he was used it, but she shook her head and persisted anyways, "No, I have to… I want to thank you… even though I know it's really late," she turned to smile at him.

"Haha, it's alright…you're welcome I guess?" he scratched the back of his head again, a sign of his embarrassment. "So is that the only reason you came down here?"

She looked at him again, noting how the moonlight illuminated his boyish features – the whisker-like markings on his face, the peaceful smile he had as he stared at the stars. Her gaze wandered down and once again, she felt herself blushing as she noted how toned and muscular he really was under his ridiculous outfit. Smiling to herself, she replied, "No, I wanted to get know you better too. Of course, if that's alright with you… I mean friends should know more about each other than just the fact that you love ramen, right?"

He laughed and sat up, a heartfelt smile now adorning his face; his eyes squinted up from his expression like so many years ago. She giggled, glad that she had been able to bring some genuine happiness to him. She pondered a moment, her mind drifting back to that mark she had seen on his stomach and to his amazingly different demeanor while he had been training. In fact, now that she thought about it, he was being surprisingly calm at the moment as well. She turned to him, seeing his well muscled back as he leaned forward, arms resting on his knees while he looked around.

"Naruto? Can I ask you something…"

"Sure thing, Ino! What's up?"

She felt a little stung that he wasn't using -chan with her name anymore but she shook it off and continued, "How come…you're so different right now? You don't seem anything like the Naruto we usually see. I mean…no offense or anything, but shouldn't you be bouncing around like a moron?"

He had a strange look on his face as he scrunched his nose up in thought. She couldn't stop a giggle from escaping, and he soon had his usual bright grin on his face as he looked at her. "I dunno, I guess? Maybe I'm tired…Yea! That's it!" He tried to wave his arms around convincingly, but she wasn't buying it. Then a loud rumble silenced them both, and the blonde boy's face turned red with embarrassment.

"Eh…guess I'm a little hungry after training," he grinned sheepishly.

She couldn't help but laugh as he got up, reaching his hand out to help her up. She took it and in one strong tug, he pulled her to a standing position before glancing around, looking for his clothes. She thought for a moment as she watched him and then decided as he finished putting on his now dry clothes, "Hey Naruto? Wanna go get some ramen?"

The effect was instant, and he spun around on his heels, a smile on his face so blinding that she had to blink several times before she could see again. Before she knew it, he had her hand in his and she was being dragged into the town at an incredible pace and she had to practically shout, "You're paying, of course! It's only proper for a guy!"

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Ino awoke the next morning feeling particularly happy. She was surprised at how much fun she could actually have with the crazy ninja. She was also slightly disturbed at the sheer amount of ramen he could pack away in that small form of his. The rest of the night had passed by rather quickly, and she spent most of it laughing at the antics of her new found friend. She had asked him a myriad of things, and he had playfully answered most. And the most curious of things had occurred to her; the more she asked, the more she wanted to know about him. He was no longer just the knuckleheaded loser that everyone had made him out to be. Granted, she had known that since witnessing him defeat opponents thought far stronger than he was, but it felt different by actually talking with him about it.

"So, Naruto, when you're done slobbering all over the table, you mind taking some time to talk to a lady?" she smirked.

He turned his head towards her, having at least the decency to not try to speak while the noodles were funneled into his mouth like some rampant vacuum cleaner. He grinned as he finished slurping, nodding a little before he went back to sucking down more of his favorite dish and she couldn't help but laugh. He was definitely a strange one, and she noticed that he was acting much like his normal self now that they were back in town in the ramen stand.

"Hey…if you don't slow down, you're going to choke, ya know."

And as if on cue, he began to gag, his hand pounding his chest as he scrambled to find his glass of water. A second later, he had finished chugging the liquid and slammed the cup back down on the counter, a loud lip-smacking sigh echoing through the little stand. Ino shook her head in disgust, the corners of her lips upturned in a little smile as she waited for him to finish his little ritual. He spun his chair around to face her, beaming at her with a huge grin.

"Ahh, ramen is totally the gift of the gods, don't ya think, Ino?"

She snorted at that thought, remembering his ten minute long rant about the different flavors and virtues of each ingredient that went into making the ramen. He most definitely would have continued ranting on about the noodles had she not smacked him across the back of the head and reminded him that she didn't care.

"But, Ino! How can you deny that ramen isn't the greatest thing ever?" Naruto whined, rubbing the back of his head.

"So you like ramen more than Sakura then?" she teased, knowing full well how he'd react. His face immediately turned red and he began to sputter incoherently. She giggled at his expression, but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed and she wasn't sure why. The kunoichi decided to let the boy off and went back to asking about his training earlier.

"Anyways, what were you doing earlier, Naruto? I've never seen you so…quiet and intense before. It's like you were a completely different person."

"Oh, it's just a training regimen I picked up somewhere…heheh…uhh…yeah," he grinned sheepishly. She quirked her an eyebrow at him, obviously not satisfied with his reply and he quickly looked away, whistling innocently.

"You know… I can't help but notice you seem a bit different now. I mean… you aren't… so goofy like you usually are. Ok, I guess I've never really seen you train before…" she looked away, the guilt and sadness from her dream returning to her full-force. She muttered quietly, "or really tried to see you at all…"

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, noting the look of deep concentration on his face. He seemed to want to say something, but he kept his mouth shut and continued to stare at his now empty bowl of noodles. The girl couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she reminded him too much of how she used to treat him and she was beginning to feel overwhelmingly responsible for adding to the way he used to be treated. She wanted to reach out and hug him and apologize for all the wrongdoings that had been done to him, but she knew she shouldn't. She had no right. So she just sat there watching him, waiting for him to reply.

"Hahaha! Oh, it's nothing, it's normal for me! I was just concentrating harder than usual today…that's it!" He shook his head and waved his arms excitedly as if to try to wave away her image of him. He looked straight into her eyes, and she felt herself drawn into his gaze, the deep blue colours seemingly coming to life as the light flickered with the darker flecks in his irises. While he was saying one thing, she could tell that he was obviously hiding something, behind something, but she wasn't sure. Not wanting to pry more she just moved on.

"Oh ok…well…next question! What was that thing I saw on your stomach? It was like…this weird spiral and it was glow-"

"That's nothing, Ino-chan… I don't think I wanna talk about that, please," he cut her off quickly, turning his gaze away once again. She knew better than to say otherwise, the look on his face seemed to imply that it'd be best for her to leave it alone. He leaned back on his stool and stretched, making a big show of yawning as if trying to convince everyone around that he was very tired.

"Well, I better get back to my apartment, gotta make sure I get my rest!" he said as he hopped up and laid down the money to pay for his and her bowls. He turned to leave, and as he was ducking under the curtains, she heard him whisper, "Thank you, Ino…it was nice talking to you."

She smiled, remembering the sincere thanks he had given her at the end. She couldn't explain it, but it made her heart tremble with a feeling she couldn't decipher. Yes, today would be a good day for her, she decided. She would let this feeling carry her through the day, and perhaps afterwards she would go look for Naruto again, maybe learn more about him. Her thoughts drifted back to his strange behavior regarding the mark on his stomach, but she shook her head clear of those thoughts. She was sure he would tell her when he felt it was ok to, after all Naruto just seemed to be that type of guy. She looked out her window at the rising sun, watching the light slowly spread over the village and she thought about the blonde ninja once again, 'Naruto… you're a surprising guy, huh… who would have thought you would be the mysterious handsome man…Thank you, Naruto… for being so forgiving.'

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A/N: I think I've got an idea on how to handle the next chapter, so I'll try to get it out as soon as possible. Be sure to tell me what you guys think so far, thanks.