Chapter 21

(2 days later)

"Inoichi, I really don't understand your motive here." Minato said, leaning back in his chair with his hands on his head. Ibiki stood next to him waiting for an explanation as well. He had a hunch, but he wanted to be sure.

Inoichi, still looking as bad as he did a few days ago, sighed and scratched his head. "Look, I'm not gonna lie to you." He began. "Ino.. is Naruto's new therapist." He said shocking Minato.

"Your daughter?" he asked.

"Yeah.. Minato, I mean no disrespect, but your son is nothing but trouble. Ino can't handle someone like him." He said, fully explaining the situation with as much desperation as he could muster up.

Minato understood now, and was about to reply until Ibiki jumped in. "On the contrary Inoichi, I don't think anyone else can." He said tossing the vanilla folder from his hands onto Minato's desk. He continued talking as Minato read over it. "Within the two months under Dr. Ino Yamanaka's care, Naruto Namikaze has shown incredible improvement. Statements from his guards report he has shown a significant decrease in aggression since he has been under her care. Dr. Yamanaka's reports show a periodical improvement in his behavior within his sessions as well. Removing him from that environment now would only cause him to fall back harder into that mental pit he was in when he arrived."

Inoichi couldn't believe it. He hadn't seen his daughter since the night of their argument, but he had assumed that she'd be falling apart at this point. It's not that he had no faith in his daughter's abilities, it was just this particular patient. He couldn't last two months with the psycho, and now he's learning of Ino's strange effect on him? It was unbelievable. "That… that can't be.." he said in disbelief.

Minato was surprised by what he was reading as well. "I mean, read it yourself." He said passing over the folder.

Inoichi read over Ino's report which began exactly as he thought it would. One thing he noticed was how thick the packet was. There were hundreds of reports, but she was only assigned to him two months ago. "Why are there so many?" he asked aloud.

"Dr. Yamanaka requested multiple sessions every day after her second session… I guess she saw something in him that sparked her need to help him." Ibiki said.

Inoichi was seeing it himself, with every page he flipped, the reports got more and more positive. Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it. It wasn't real. He slowly began shaking his head. "No.." he said lowly.

Minato rubbed his face. "Inoichi.."

"No, there… there has to be something. Some kind of… o-of motive for why he's doing this." He said, trying to rationalize this. "There's got to be a reason he's pretending to.."

"Inoichi." Ibiki interrupted him. "…that's enough." He said simply, maintaining intense eye contact with the man to get his point across. "Look… I get it. You want to protect Ino, but she is not a little girl anymore." He said shaking his head. "She is a capable, and frankly, brilliant psychiatrist… The Asylum is under my command now and as far as I'm concerned, Naruto Namikaze is getting the help he needs from one of the best and brightest of my staff. He has not done anything as of late that would be grounds for his dismissal." He stated with finality in his voice.

Inoichi just shook his head and stared at the documents as if they weren't real. Minato stared at him, waiting for him to say something. When all he did was shake his head, he had to find something to tell him. "Inoichi… I.. I don't know what to say."

"What is there to say?" Inoichi asked, tossing the documents back onto his desk. He rubbed his eyes in irritation. "Sometimes things just don't work out." He said ominously before turning to the door. "I'm sorry Minato.." he said before opening the door to leave.

Minato wasn't sure what he meant by that, hoping it was just meant as an apology for wasting his time. He didn't get a chance to tell him it was fine before he shut the door. Ibiki sighed, "I am sorry Hokage-sama." He said. "I'll try and talk to him. He'll be alright."

"Yeah…" he said looking down at his desk. "I understand."

Ibiki nodded. "Just a man protecting his daughter… We'd all do the same if put in that position."

"Hahah!" Ino laughed out at something Naruto said as they sat in their usual session room. He chuckled along with her as well. Their latest session was coming to an end and it was informative for him. Ino was extremely ditsy today compared to how she usually is. It seemed like she just didn't care for the session anymore. Like she was more interested in joking around with him than trying to do her job. "That's so mean! Hahah!"

Chuckling, he responded. "It made you laugh." He said with a smile as she was still calming down from her fit of giggles.

"Yeah, I guess so." She said catching her breath and sighing in contentment. She stared at Naruto with stars in her eyes. Waiting for him to say something. All he did was smile back at her as if he were amused by her. "What?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "Your smile is beguiling." He said. Ino bit her lips together and looked down at the table, trying to hide her blush.

A knock at the door cut the moment short, signifying the end of their session. Naruto's smile faded away, as did Ino's. She gathered up the files and notepads she hadn't even touched in this session. "I uh.. I guess that's it." She said. "I'll be back tomorrow morning." She said reassuring him as the guards came in to take him back.

Naruto nodded and smiled at her. "I know." He said as they dragged him out the room. Ino finished packing up her stuff and headed for the door with a smile on her face, and a warm feeling sitting in her chest. She couldn't wait for the next day.

-break-

Making it to his room, Naruto's cuffs were removed from his wrists and ankles. He didn't care to turn around and look at the guards shut his door. He just walked further into his room, planning on reading one of his books. But he stopped, realizing his door was never shut.

Turning around curiously, he watched as Inoichi was shutting his door with him inside. Peeking out the door, he could see one of his guards laying on the ground. He looked to the blonde man in curiosity, wondering what it was he was doing… Until he saw the kunai in his hand.

Inoichi stood there with the blade held firmly in his grasp. His face set in a look of remorse for what he was about to do. He looked Naruto in the eye from his spot at the door. His stomach churned seeing the nonchalant look of the redheaded man in white. It was daunting just gazing into those cold blues.

In this moment, he realized things he had never truly noticed before. Such as the way Naruto's ANBU tattoo seems to have been peeled off. Or the way Naruto's eyes never gave away emotion. In his studies, he's learned to tell the motive of someone by the dilation of their pupils. Feelings of happiness, affection, or laughter will cause it to expand… Feelings of anger, hatred, or fear it closes… Not his. His eyes stay fixed in tiny pinpoint dots, unfazed by anything. It was haunting to have those two piercing bullets beaming into your own orbs… *wink*

"Inoichi Yamanaka…" He said with a smile creeping onto his face. "I must say, I am surprised." Inoichi took a timid step forward. No words would come to his mind as he thought up something to say. "To what do I owe this visit?" he asked as if he were oblivious to the kunai and fighting stance.

"I… I came to kill you…" he said, completely out of breath for some reason.

Naruto's smile never changed, and he didn't care to get into a fighting stance. "Kill me?" he asked. "What for?"

"You know why!" Inoichi shouted out. Naruto just raised an eyebrow as if he didn't. "You're trying to… trying to use Ino somehow… I know it."

"Use her?" Naruto asked curiously. "Of course I'm trying to use her." He said, angering the man. "She is my doctor after all… I'm trying to use her to get better and make it out of this deranged… psychotic.. mind of mine." He said spitting that word out in a clear way to mock the man.

Inoichi just adjusted his grip on his kunai, hoping to end this quick.

Naruto chuckled at him. "Inoichi… look, we both know you can't beat me… even without chakra I could kill you." Naruto said. Inoichi wouldn't listen as he slowly began circling the younger man as a lion would, preparing to attack. Naruto sighed and when he did, Inoichi jumped into action.

He charged Naruto with a roundhouse kick that was grabbed effortlessly and held onto with an unbelievable grip. "Ah!" he yelled slashing at the boys arm and jumping back. He didn't have much time to nurse his injury before he was kneed square in the chin and thrown against the wall. Naruto had his forearm in Inoichi's throat with his feet dangling from the ground. The hand with the kunai was pinned to the wall as well.

"You really wanted to kill me huh…" Naruto said, no sign of effort what so ever for him. "Huh… Inoichi, this was such a sad attempt at my life." Inoichi just gurgled, trying to rip the redheads arm from his throat so he could breathe. "Since you are probably going to die here pretty soon… I will give you a small bit of final satisfaction in knowing that you were right. Dr. Yamanaka plays quite the roll in my escape and she has been progressing quite nicely… In fact, I think this right here may be the final key. The last hill to climb before she devotes herself to me.

Inoichi was seeing absolute red at this point and he struggled harder and harder to break free but was having very little effect.

"Once she outlives her usefulness in my escape, I'll most likely allow her to live simply because of her services. But, if she becomes a hindrance such as yourself, she just may have to greet you in the afterlife." He said with a sinister grin. "Hell, since I'm a nice guy, I'll send your wife as well." He said with a laugh until he could hear keys urgently being shoved into his door from the outside. His grin increased as he released his grip on the man. He delivered a very sharp jab to a spot on his throat.

Inoichi began coughing vehemently and he realized he couldn't speak. Naruto seemed to stumble back on his heels, giving him the chance he needed. He pounced on his downed form and held his kunai up with both hands intent on driving it straight through the chest of his target. Faintly, he heard a yell of "Inoichi! Stop!" He paused and looked up to the door to see Ibiki and two of the guards ready to take him. He couldn't speak, but he would not leave this place without ending his life. He brought the kunai up and drove it down as hard as he could. His strike ended when a kunai lodged itself into the center of his forehead.

Naruto stared up lifelessly at the kunai just a few inches from his chest. He stared into the fading light in the eyes of the man who had leaking blood on his face. A very slight smile creeping onto his face watching Inoichi's body slump lifelessly off to the side. This would definitely move things along.