Naruto: A New Perspective

Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto if I did this would be the real story

"Are you okay?" Ino asked him worriedly, they were currently eating lunch at a soba place in midtown Konoha. Ino knew the owners quite well, and they were wary of Naruto, but accepted him on Ino's word. Other than the glances in his general direction, they were treating him fine.

Soba was good, but not as good as ramen, Naruto decided. He would have to make a point to drop by Ichiraku's later, his visits to the stand had been far too sparse since he became a genin, and he was missed seeing the old man and Ayame everyday like he used to.

"I'm fine." Naruto assured, the two blonds had just gone through their morning training session, something that had become a bit of a trend this month. Chouji usually joined them, but worked at a reduced schedule. Ino had slowly been picking up the pace in her workout, getting closer to Naruto's own routine, but she had a long way to go.

Today had been different, however. With the seal blocking off Nine Tails, Naruto's stamina had simply plummeted, he got tired much quicker, and his chakra reserves still weren't full from yesterday. More than anything, he was exhausted. Naruto wasn't used to being tired; he had always set the pace of his schedule so he never grew too worn until it was time for bed. Yet it was only mid morning and he was all tapped out.

"Just get Jiraiya to take it off." Ino glanced at his stomach with concern.

"He offered." Naruto responded with a yawn, "I turned him down."

Ino was puzzled, "Why, Naruto? Its obviously affecting you... you don't even sound like your normal self."

It was true, no small part of the reason that Naruto was always happy was because he felt like he had nearly limitless energy, he never fatigued, he lived his life like he was jacked up on coffee all the time. Now he sat next to Ino with half lidded eyes, looking ready to fall asleep in his bowl of soba.

Naruto sighed, "I dunno, Ino. It's the first time I haven't had to deal with... him, maybe it's worth it. It's almost like I'm not... you know."

"Naruto..." Ino shook her head, "You'll always be you, no matter what."

"Maybe I don't want to be me," Naruto said after a pause, "Maybe I want to be something else."

"Something else?" Ino frowned, "Like what?"

"Normal."

"You are normal!" Ino scolded, "Don't ever say that you aren't, Naruto."

Naruto smiled wanly, and Ino could tell that he didn't believe her. The two finished their meal, bickered over payment, and eventually decided to split the cost, despite Ino's insistence that he needed to keep his money, she still felt guilty making him buy those clothes, now that she knew how close to broke he really was. Naruto however wasn't having any of it, he had agreed to lunch, and he would at least pay his fair share.

Sakura was getting out of the hospital today after nearly three weeks, the damage done from Neji's attack mostly healed. Unfortunately, her parents would certainly be there, and Naruto didn't agree with Ino that he should come. Why ruin the day? He could see Sakura later; his teammate wouldn't miss his presence.

"What are you going to do?" Ino asked, "Train some more?"

"...Sleep, I think." Naruto admitted, "I'm still tired from yesterday."

"Find Jiraiya-"

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto rolled his eyes with a smile, "He'll come around eventually, Ino. I'll get him to remove the stupid seal."

"Good." Ino gave him a hug, "I want to see you smiling and back to your happy idiot self."

"Hn." Naruto attempted a Sasuke-level grunt, but it didn't sound right.