The Good Wife

I Bruise Easily

Naruto didn't say another word. Ino sat in silence as she pondered on the fact that Chouji was also gone from her grasp. So many of her peers were dead in this world, it depressed her. Of course, Asuma was alive, which was good, but a team without Chouji...Ino couldn't imagine what Shikamaru must go through every day.
Shikamaru...Ino sighed. She wasn't going to press this subject further now. She was far too shocked and hurt to find out the story behind Chouji's death right now. Tomorrow she will find out. She will visit Shikamaru and ask him. They can mourn his death together then.
Ino woke up just when the sun's rays peeked in through the window. She groaned and turned around, coming face-to-face with a sleeping Naruto. His mouth was open and he was drooling, and he snored very softly. It was cute. Ino smiled and watched him for awhile. Naruto grumbled, then moved slightly and grabbed hold of Ino's waist and pulled her closer to him. She was about to shriek, but thought better of it and lay absolutely still. She waited...He was still snoring softly, so he was asleep. She laughed to herself.
Ino stayed like that for awhile, not wanting to wake Naruto. She closed her eyes and tried to rest a little while longer, but sleep never came to her again. After twenty minutes she opened her eyes and looked up. Naruto was still sleeping. She lifted her arm and reached to touch his face. He was so soft and warm. She smiled warmly as she ran her fingers gently over his skin, then his hair. She pulled away, suddenly realising what she was doing. A blush crept to her cheeks. What was she doing?
Naruto's eyes fluttered open and he yawned. He noticed that Ino was in arms and pulled her even closer. She blinked and looked into his blue eyes and noticed he was awake. Her blush intensified. Naruto smirked.
"Good morning," Ino mustered to greet.
"Morning," was Naruto's sleepy reply. He reached up and pulled his fingers through Ino's short hair. She closed her eyes at the soft touch. It felt so comfortable being in his arms and having him touch her like this. She never knew Naruto was the affectionate type.
Footsteps echoed in the hall and then a small blonde boy jumped on the bed and forced his parents apart to snuggle in between them. Naruto looked disappointed, but he smiled when Minato greeted him.
"Morning, son," Naruto returned the greeting.
"Can we bake cookies today?" Minato asked.
Naruto laughed. "Ask your mother."
Minato turned to Ino and gave her two large puppy dog eyes. She laughed and pulled her son closer and placed a wet kiss on his forehead. Minato pulled a face and wiped his forehead. Ino chuckled.
"I assume that is a yes," Naruto stated. Ino nodded.
"Yay!" Minato exclaimed happily. He jumped up, bounced on the bed several times and then ran out of the room. Silence followed. Naruto and Ino glanced at each other, then they both got out of bed. The moment they had before was gone.
Ino inhaled deeply as she stared at the door before her. She knew that she wanted the truth, but that didn't mean she was nervous about bringing the subject up. She knew Chouji's death would have affected Shikamaru in many ways and she didn't want to open old wounds. Taking another breath, Ino knocked.
Temari opened the door. She was dressed in a purple nightgown and her head was covered with curlers. She was obviously dressing herself up for an occasion. Temari smiled when she saw it was Ino.
"Morning, Ino," Temari greeted, "Shikamaru is in the kitchen. I assume you're here to see him?"
Ino nodded. Temari stepped aside and allowed her to come in. Ino looked around her awkwardly after Temari closed the door behind them and disappeared down the hallway. Ino decided to look around for the kitchen. It was easy to find, it was the first door on her left. Shikamaru was making coffee.
"Hey," Ino greeted. Shikamaru looked, his hair was actually pulled up into a ponytail today for a change.
"Hey," he greeted in return, "what you doing here, Ino?"
"We need to talk," Ino stated as she looked away, awkwardly. Shikamaru stared, then his eyes narrowed.
"Chouji?" he asked. Ino nodded. Of course he would guess right.
Shikamaru poured two cups of coffee. "Have a seat."
Ino sat down at the dining table. Shikamaru placed a cup of coffee in front of her and offered her sugar. She thanked him and added one spoon, then stirred. Shikamaru sat down opposite her and took a sip of his coffee. He didn't add any sugar. Yuck.
"Naruto told you?" Shikamaru asked. Ino nodded. "I see."
"I just want to know what happened," Ino whispered, "don't overdo it. I don't want you to remember the gruesome details."
Shikamaru have her a lop-sided grin. "Thanks for being worried, but death comes to all of us. Chouji's just was earlier than all of us thought."
Ino smiled weakly.
"It was during the war," Shikamaru started. Ino had a feeling it was to do with the war. "The enemy had gotten their hands on the Second Hokage's forbidden technique and bought many people back to life. We faced lots of famous ninja, some close to us. Neji faced his father."
Ino swallowed. "Did Naruto have to face his?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "No. The Fourth sealed himself into the stomach of the Shinigami, which means he cannot be bought back through Edo Tensei. I think something similar applied to Kushina, though I'm not sure. Naruto faced others though, important people from his past. Itachi was one of them."
"Sasuke?"
"He was there. He helped."
"I still can't believe Sasuke came back of his own will in this world. When Naruto told me, I was shocked."
Shikamaru nodded.
"So what about Chouji?"
Shikamaru sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Well, we faced very powerful enemies. Some were familiar faces from Konoha. It upset him. But eventually he pulled through and awakened his hidden potential. He was finally able to be called the true heir of the Akimichi clan."
Ino smiled. "That's great!
Shikamaru smiled. "It was. He was so brave and strong."
"I don't get it," Ino whispered, "if he was so brave and strong, how did the enemy get him down?"
Shikamaru's eyes darkened. "One of the enemies was incredibly fast. You tried to transfer to him, but he dodged and attacked you from behind. He was going to give the final blow, Chouji jumped in front of you."
Ino froze. "He...jumped in front of me? And it killed him?"
"No," Shikamaru stated, "but he had severe injuries. You tried to save him, but he lost too much blood. We couldn't move him."
Ino looked down at her lap. Chouji died for her. Her heart clenched as tears flowed down her cheeks.
"He really loved you, Ino," Shikamaru stated. Ino nodded and wiped her tears away, but the tears continued flowing. She hiccuped. Shikamaru smiled weakly and handed her a box of tissues.
"He died a hero," Ino stated.
"That he did," Shikamaru agreed, "that he did."
Thirty-seven-year-old days...
Ino was getting used to being stuck in a teenager's body. The occasional urge to puke was annoying, but Ino fought it hard. She still found it strange that the Bulimia had passed on to her, and that it evoked nausea. Although she had a feeling it had to do with the fact that the forbidden technique used on her was the cause of it. The technique, after all, was far from perfect and had risks. The person who used it was a fool. They were in for deep trouble, whoever they were.
It was morning and Ino decided to skip breakfast and go for a walk. She needed to clear her head. Ino closed the front door behind her and turned to her right. The sun was still rising, so many streets were quiet and shops were still closed. It was fresh and crisp morning, perfect for a walk.
Ino looked up at the sky as she walked. There were only a few clouds and birds were flying overhead, probably looking for food. Ino closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh clean air. She missed her home, her old life and her husband. She wanted to go back, but she could not do anything at this time. She really needed Naruto to remember about the technique, but knowing him, it could take years. Ino chuckled.
Ino spotted Naruto running ahead of her. She frowned. He was up early, which was unusual for the blonde. She smiled and decided to run to catch up to him. By the time she reached him he had slowed down into a jog.
"Morning," Ino greeted. Naruto glanced at her and grinned.
"Yo!" he greeted.
"Morning run?" Ino asked. Naruto nodded. Ino smiled. He was so serious when it came to his training. "Let me guess, you'll have Ramen after this."
"Sure will!" Naruto beamed. Ino rolled her eyes.
"May I join you?" Ino asked. Naruto seemed surprised, but then he grinned and nodded.
The two jogged together into the morning.
After they finished their Ramen, Ino stretched her arms over her head, her short shirt riding up a little. She hated the thing now, but she couldn't exactly change her style out of the blue – people would notice. She could feel Naruto's gaze on her and she smirked.
"What you doing today?" Ino asked.
Naruto blinked. "Oh, I don't know. Probably more training."
Ino nodded. "Right, of course. Say, you wanna hang out tonight?"
Naruto stared at her. Ino placed her hands on her hips and waited for his reply. He blinked, looked to his left, then back at her.
"You mean...like a date?" Naruto asked very carefully.
Ino smiled wickedly. "Yes, a date."
A blush formed on Naruto's cheeks. "S-sure."
Ino grinned, turned, gave Naruto the thumbs up and laughed. "Great. See you at seven at my place then."
Then she disappeared around the corner, leaving a shocked Naruto behind.
Meanwhile with sixteen-year-old Ino...
Kaguya was back when Ino returned home from the cemetery. Shikamaru decided to take her to Chouji and Sakura's graves. She placed flowers on both of them and prayed silently. Now she felt much better and she was happy to see her daughter again.
"How was your mission?" Ino asked as she put the kettle on for tea.
"Good," Kaguya stated, "Sasuke-sensei gave me some scrolls to study."
"That's nice," Ino stated, "is he a good teacher?"
"He's a better leader," Kaguya stated, "but he gets along well enough."
Ino smiled and poured the boiled water into a cup. "You also want tea?"
"No, thank you," Kaguya stated. Ino joined her daughter at the table. Kaguya was reading the scrolls Sasuke gave her. She looked so serious as she scanned the scrolls. Ino was amazed. Kaguya was very serious when it came to her studies.
"Mother," Kaguya called out after ten minutes of silence. Ino turned to her daughter, who had abandoned the scrolls and were now watched Ino.
"Yes?"
"Sasuke-sensei said I need to improve my Mind Transfer technique," Kaguya stated, "I failed on the mission more than once to actually properly harness the technique. Will you help me?"
Ino blinked. She didn't know Kaguya could use the Yamanaka trait, but she wasn't surprised that she could. Kaguya was her daughter, after all. Ino smiled. "Of course. How about tomorrow? I'll tell Kana to take care of things at work for me."
Kaguya smiled warmly. "Thanks a bunch. I feel useless when I fail."
Ino knew exactly what that felt like.
Karin stared at herself in the mirror. She had on nothing but an old bra and black shorts. Her glasses were on her night stand and her red hair was unruly and standing in all directions. She bit her lip and pulled on her bra straps, slipped the contraption from her shoulder until her breasts were visible. She stared in silence, then turned to her side and placed her hand on her stomach.
Nope, she wasn't imagining things.
Sasuke entered the room and raised an eyebrow at his wife's bare state. She turned to him and gave him a cold long stare. He blinked, and shifted his gaze to her breasts. How he loved those things, despite the fact they were small, but they were just right for him.
"They are swollen," Karin stated. They were, Sasuke could tell. They even looked bigger.
"So? I'm not complaining," Sasuke smirked.
"I'm pregnant, you moron!" Karin sneered. Sasuke froze, looked up into his wife's eyes, then back down at her breasts, then lower to her stomach. Of course, he couldn't see a bump, but when he activated his Sharingan he saw a small flicker of chakra that did not belong to his wife.
"When?" he asked.
"This morning," Karin stated, "I realised my chakra was different. I sensed the baby for the first time. I'm probably only two weeks along...give or take a few weeks."
Sasuke moved to his wife and pulled him to her. "You are beautiful."
"Tch. You're only saying that because my boobs are bigger."
"No, really, you are beautiful...even with small boobs. And I'm happy. You are carrying my fourth child."
"Yeah, thanks a lot, Sasuke. I just had a baby, now another one is on the way! Give me a break! Why are you so fertile, dammit?"
Sasuke laughed and kissed Karin's nose. "I don't think it's me who is so fertile." Sasuke wiggled his eyebrows. Karin glared at him.
"Fuck you!"
"Hmm...is that an offer?"
Karin slapped her forehead. Moron.