It All Started With A Smell

Goodbye Again

He could feel his breathing coming easier as Ino healed his bruised ribs. There was no denying that Kiba had a powerful hit but looking over at the brunette he could see swelling and bruising blossoming on the man's face.

"How does that feel?" Ino asked, pulling her hands away.

"Much better, thanks." His words were punctured with a large growl that came from the blonde Healer's stomach. Ino blushed when Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her. "I think you're hungry."

"Well it is one o'clock," Choji commented, looking at his watch. "No wonder we're hungry."

"I would really like to go get some curry," Hinata commented, standing up and pulling on her jacket.

Naruto pulled a face as she grabbed her frog wallet. "You can have all the curry you want, just keep it away from me."

"You don't like spicy food?"

"Not even a little."

"Neji is the same. My uncle used to bring these chilli flake peanuts home from his missions and Neji ate one then drank an entire litre of milk in seconds. Just meant more for me." Hinata wore a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, Pervy-Sage got me to try those too... I stupidly ate a handful in one go. After that I decided to stick with sweets." Naruto transformed herself. Her V-neck shirt turned into a regular t-shirt, her chest became flat, and her curves disappeared. Her bottom half, with her black shorts revealing legs stayed the same. "I know a bar that has great curry, though, according to Genma and Anko."

"I'm happy to go wherever, as long as I can get food." Kiba stretched before scratching himself behind the ear. "Also, any chance I can get some healing over here?"

"Food first." Ino stood, swaying on her feet. "Never heal on an empty stomach."

Naruto put her arm around Ino's waist, letting the woman lean against her. Naruto led the group out of the apartment and to the bar that she and Shikamaru had drank at with Naruto's older friends. When they entered the bar, the large bartender walked over to Naruto, making Shikamaru snort.

"You clearly come here too often."

"Shut up, Dai used to be the landlord to my apartment." Naruto smiled at the man as Ino sat down on a barstool. "Hey, how's Fumiko?"

"Good. We're currently looking at adopting a child." Dai crossed his arms over his broad chest, eyeing Naruto. "How are you doing, kid?"

"So you've heard. I'm not as good as I usually am but better than I could be."

Shikamaru looked over to his friends who had taken a recently vacated table before looking back at Naruto. He didn't feel welcome in the conversation but couldn't bring his feet to move away from the blonde. Instead he watched as Dai poured two shots, sliding one across the bar to Naruto, who picking it up.

"I want to say something profound about orphans like us deserving no heartache or something but all I can think of is: life can suck." Dai picked up his shot, tapping it against Naruto's. "To the Children of Iron."

"To the Children of Iron," Naruto repeated before they both downed the liquor. "Do you think we can get some menus over at our table?"

"Coming right up."

"What's with the 'Children of Iron'?" Shikamaru asked as he and Naruto walked up to their friends.

"It's a secret."

"You know, it's unfair that you have better legs than me," Ino grumbled as Naruto sat down next to her.

"You sound jealous." Naruto smirked at the fellow blonde.