Disclair: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 186: The Invitation
Naruto landed next to a panicked Ino, who was frantically administering first aid to the unconscious young man.
"He's still alive?" Naruto's tone carried genuine surprise. That fall would have killed most Jonin-level ninja.
'Maybe I underestimated him with my initial assessnt. He must have prepared so life-saving thod in advance,' he thought, noting the faint traces that the ink armor had left on the boy's body.
"Are you crazy?!" Ino's angry voice snapped him out of his musings. "Were you really trying to kill this guy?!"
Naruto blinked at her reaction.
It wasn't the boy's well-being that concerned her but rather the consequences he might face for attacking a fellow Konoha ninja.
She worked quickly, her hands glowing with chakra as she stabilized the young man's injuries.
Naruto watched her work with a mix of curiosity and respect. Two years ago, Ino barely knew basic dical jutsu, but her training under Shizune and Lady Tsunade had clearly paid off. This also ant that Ino had a great deal of natural talent for this type of jutsu, or else, Tsunade would not have wasted her ti with the girl.
"Not bad," Naruto comnted. "Looks like Tsunade's a decent teacher after all." It was hard to imagine for him, as he had mostly seen her worst side.
Ino shot him a harsh glare. "Call her Lady Tsunade, at least. Addressing the Hokage so casually is incredibly disrespectful."
Naruto shrugged. "I always address her properly in public. And shouldn't you be focusing on him?" He gestured to the unconscious boy.
Ino huffed but didn't argue. "I've already stabilized him. We just need to get him to the hospital, but he'll live... You're welco, by the way."
Naruto nodded. "I suppose you've did saved so trouble."
"You suppose right," Ino muttered as she stood and dusted off her clothes. "Now, you carry him. And be gentle!. I don't want to fix him again."
Naruto picked up the boy and slung him over his shoulder with minimal care.
Ino flinched. "Seriously?! Be careful! You're going to undo all my work!"
After leaving the unknown boy in the hospital's care, Naruto and Ino walked through the village streets, the tense atmosphere from earlier beginning to dissipate after a while.
"I had the feeling there was sothing else you wanted to talk about before we were rudely interrupted," Naruto finally said, breaking the silence.
"Mmm... Right!" Ino's eyes lit up as she rembered. " I almost forgot about it. But I need you to co to my house. Tonight, if possible."
Naruto frowned in confusion. "To your house? For what?"
"Well..." Ino hesitated, her cheeks tinged with pink. "My dad already knows you, but my mom's been asking to et you since before you left for your training trip."
" Mmm?…" Naruto still didn't understand what the point of eting her family was. Is not like they were getting married.' Could this be so sort of tradition that I am not aware of?'
Ino's blush deepened, and she stumbled over her words. "Because! If we... you know..." She coughed, trying to regain her composure. "If we're going to be together, it's important to that my family knows you."
Naruto considered her words carefully before nodding. "I understand. I'll be there."
"Just like that?" Ino eyed him suspiciously. "I thought you'd argue about it or sothing."
"I don't completely understand why you're so insistent on this," Naruto admitted. "But you said it's important to you, and that's enough for ."
Ino blinked, montarily taken aback by his sincerity. "You know, you can be sweet sotis."
Naruto gave her a sidelong glance. "If you say so."
Ino began eyeing him critically, her gaze sweeping up and down his fra. Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "Why are you looking at like that?"
"Do you have a suit you can wear tonight?" she asked. Most of his outfits were simple robes or tunics, and she wanted him to make a good impression.
"A suit of armor? Why would I have that?" Naruto looked genuinely puzzled. "Steel plates wouldn't offer any real protection against soone at my level of strength. They'd just slow down and get in the way."
Ino pinched the bridge of her nose. "Not armor. I an formal clothing. Like a nice outfit."
" When did you buy sothing like that?" Ino was genuinely curious about it.
" It was two years ago, in the Land of Snow. I visited so clothing stores after my mine attire was damaged in an explosion that occurred near the end of my mission. I only found a single shop that sold robes like the ones I use. But it was a very fancy and expensive one."
" Did Lord Jiraya pais for it?" Ino knew that Naruto wasn't exactly swimming in money.
" No, Miss Yukie told to get two and that I didn't have to pay. In exchange, she only asked to get out of her country as soon as possible. " He shrugged. " Is not like I had planned on staying there." Although he had to admit that the way she said it was kinda rude.
Ino couldn't suppress a laugh. "Poor Princess Koyuki. I'm not surprised."
"Why?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.
"You really don't know?. They're still rebuilding her palace," Ino replied with a smirk. "I saw a docuntary about it last year. The destruction you caused was... impressive."
Naruto frowned. "Still rebuilding? It's been two years. How slow can they be? It was just a small palace."
Ino shook her head, suppressing another laugh. "Just wear those robes tonight, and try to behave, okay? My mom's really looking forward to eting you."
"I'll try," Naruto said, though he still wasn't entirely sure what to expect.
A.N: - Rember to comnt, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the ti. Those things help a lot and I would really appreciate it.
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