"What they said wasn't wrong, so you'd better start keeping your distance if you don't want your name to be dragged down."
"You know? After that, the demon was sealed inside his body, and he was called the fox child... But you know what's ironic? The one who sealed the demon was the boy's own father, who was the leader of the village. He even gave his life to do it."
"And yeah... that boy is me."
Ino tried to sleep, but Naruto's words kept echoing in her mind.
She kept thinking, why did this happen to him? Naruto, he was just a child... He wasn't guilty of anything.
Why did it have to happen to him? It's not fair... That thought kept circling in Ino's head.
"Naruto, I never thought you..." Ino whispered.
Eventually, Ino fell asleep with her thoughts still on Naruto.
The next morning.
Naruto was walking. He was heading to the academy.
"Hmm... looks like I still need a few more months to graduate. Well, that's not bad. At least I can relax a bit..."
While he was deep in thought, Ino came and bumped into him from the side.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Ino asked.
"Walking," he replied briefly.
"Ohh, I know. I was just asking, hehe," said Ino with a smile.
Naruto stared at her, puzzled, and quickly walked faster.
"Hey, wait up," Ino chased after him.
"Why are you leaving me behind?" Ino asked. She was still smiling, though now it looked a bit forced.
Naruto sighed. "Stop it. I'm not going to be entertained by that dumb look on your face..."
Naruto's words made Ino's smile fade.
"Hahhh... damn, I really tried for this..." she muttered.
She returned to her usual self.
"What is it? Do you feel sorry for me?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, that's right... That's why I tried to be nice to you," Ino replied without much energy.
"Pffft... ahahaha!" Naruto suddenly burst out laughing. He hadn't expected Ino to be that honest.
"What are you laughing at!" Ino protested, clearly angry or maybe embarrassed.
"Nee, Ino... I appreciate it. But you know?" Naruto stopped, making Ino stop too.
Ino turned to look at him. "What?"
Naruto smiled and looked into her eyes. "You know, I kinda like it better when you're being your usual bratty self… way more fun than that fake sweet act ."
Ino blinked. Time seemed to stop. Her heart beat faster and her cheeks turned red.
This was the first time someone said they liked her just the way she was.
"Naruto, you..."
Ouchhh.
Naruto flicked her forehead hard. "Hey, your face just now looked awful. It was so red, like a rotten tomato," he teased.
Ino tried to hit him, but Naruto dodged and ran away.
"Haha! Dumb Ino!" Naruto shouted.
"Heey! Come back here, Naruto!" Ino shouted, chasing after him for revenge.
"Look at that, they're together again..."
"You're right. Are they dating or something?"
"Hushh, no way."
"Yeah, she's way too pretty to be his girlfriend..."
They walked away and stared at them with disgust.
"What? I'm not wrong, am I?"
...
At the Ninja Academy.
Naruto walked in with Ino.
Ino looked sulky, clearly upset.
"Hey, are you still mad?" Naruto asked gently.
But Ino completely ignored him and walked ahead into class by herself.
Naruto could only sigh inwardly and followed her in.
"Look, seems like they're fighting again..."
"Yeah, looks like it," said another student.
"I don't get it. How can they be dating if they're always fighting?"
The students talked among themselves, with Naruto and Ino as the topic.
Ino clearly heard it, but she ignored it. She was still mad at Naruto.
And Naruto? Of course, he didn't care.
He started greeting Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba, who was asleep.
"Strange, he's the one sleeping this time..." Naruto thought.
Then, he greeted Hinata. "Hinata-chan, good morning."
"A-ah... good morning, Naruto-kun..." she replied softly.
Hinata looked nervous, even stuttering a bit when speaking to Naruto.
However, unlike most people, Hinata didn't believe that Naruto and Ino were dating. Because to her, Naruto still acted like his usual self.
"Haha, why are you so nervous? I'm just saying good morning," said Naruto, noticing that Hinata couldn't even meet his gaze.
Hinata immediately looked down. "Sorry..." she whispered almost inaudibly.
"Hey, don't apologize like that. I'm not blaming you..."
Naruto kept trying to talk to Hinata.
Without realizing it, Ino was watching and glaring at his shoulder.
"That bastard..." Ino grumbled.
She tried to ignore it but just couldn't.
"Ughh... so annoying... He's so damn annoying..."
"Anyway, I'm going to sit now, Hinata-chan," Naruto decided to back off. He was afraid Hinata might suddenly faint in class.
Hinata nodded.
Naruto went to his seat.
Thud.
"Ouch..." he groaned in pain. He didn't know what happened, but Ino suddenly hit him in the stomach.
"Why did you hit me?" Naruto asked, annoyed.
Ino scoffed coldly. "Because you deserved it, you bastard," she replied sharply.
"Huh?" Naruto was confused. Why was he suddenly called a bastard?
"Crazy girl..." Naruto muttered.
"Shut up, jerk," Ino snapped back.
"Haha, crazy girl..." Naruto didn't stop and kept teasing her until—
"Hey, dobe... fight me.".
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XD
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