Chapter 4: Disrupted

Ino was awoken by the sounds of banging pots. She sat up with a jolt and quickly pulled her messy hair together and tied it into a ponytail. The banging stopped, but now she heard two voices arguing. The one was definitely Naruto – his voice was unmistakable anywhere. Ino jumped out of bed and scurried downstairs. As she passed Minato's room, she realized the boy was already out of bed. Perhaps he was arguing with his father? Ino chuckled. She highly doubted it.

Ino walked into the kitchen and nearly turned around right there. Before her stood Naruto actively trying to pull someone's hair out while yelling something about 'tainting my son'. Ino quirked an eyebrow at the scene.

"Um, morning?" Ino half-asked, half-stated. Naruto stopped yelling and pulling and blinked, his eyes now focused on his wife who was still clad in her pajamas. The other person turned around, whilst pulling free from Naruto's grasp and straightened his hair with his fingers. Ino's breath swept away when she his face.

"Sasuke?" Ino breathed, shocked when she looked into the raven's onyx eyes, "Is that you?"

The Uchiha remained passive, as if Naruto didn't pull his hair earlier at all, "The one and only."

"Wow," Ino breathed. Sasuke was here...he was back! He had somehow returned to Konoha! She couldn't believe it. And he was wearing a Jounin uniform proudly with his headband on his forehead and the Uchiha crest embroidered on the sides of his sleeves.

"Hey, dobe," Sasuke calmly stated as he pointed at Ino, "what's with her? This is a common occurrence between us – why is she acting like she's seen my ghost or something?"

Naruto snorted, "I'll tell you later, teme. I first have some unfinished business with you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Of course, I'm tainting your son blah blah blah. Get over it dobe. The minute you assigned your daughter on my team, you chose your children's fate. Now tell me what's wrong with Ino."

Ino blinked. Sasuke was Kaguya's teacher? Ino glanced at Naruto, who was fuming and looked ready to use Rasengan and blow the Uchiha through the roof. Ino sweat dropped. Looks like her previous opinion on adult Naruto was wrong. He was still the same as always. At least with Sasuke around.

"Alright, I'll tell you," Naruto sighed in defeat, "but this is an S-class secret, if you even spill one word about this I will-"

Sasuke cut him off, "Naruto, I've been in ANBU for five years, I know what S-class entails, calm down."

Naruto scoffed, "Have a seat."

Sasuke sat down by the dining table. Naruto and Ino joined him.

"So what's so dangerous that Ino's strange behavior is considered to be top-secret?" Sasuke asked, "For all we know Naruto, she's probably just pregnant again. Remember how she nearly killed me when she was pregnant with Minato?"

"No, she's not pregnant," Naruto sighed, "at least, I don't think so."

"I'm not," Ino stated. She was a medic, she would know when she was pregnant. Or she would have at least seen the signs. The fact that she nearly killed Sasuke when she was pregnant with Minato did seem rather amusing, though.

"Alright," Sasuke sighed, "what is it then?"

"She's...not the Ino we know," Naruto finally stated. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, Naruto took this as his cue to continue, "She's...she believes she is sixteen. We believe it has to do with time-traveling."

Sasuke blinked, then burst out laughing. Ino stared wide-eyes. Sasuke was not acting like himself at all. Sasuke pointed at Ino between his laughs, "You think you're sixteen? That's hilarious!"

"We're serious Sasuke!" Naruto hissed. Sasuke stopped laughing and quickly regained his serious vibe.

"Alright," Sasuke stated, "so she's from the past or whatever, now what?"

"Shikamaru is doing some research," Ino stated, "until then I will just have to act like I belong here. Hopefully we can fix this."

Sasuke nodded in deep thought. Silence enveloped them. Suddenly the door from the kitchen that led to the backyard opened and Minato ran inside, squealing and covered in mud. He ran and hid himself behind his mother. The three adults quirked an eyebrow.

"Minato?" Ino asked. She never got a response for just then a red-headed boy stepped inside. Ino gawked when she realized he looked like Sasuke, only with red hair that sprawled around his face. He looked older than Minato, but younger than Kaguya. He wore navy pants and a blue shirt with the Uchiha crest on his sleeves.

"Hey, dad, have you seen Minato?" the red-headed boy asked.

"Nope," was Sasuke's curt reply as he glanced at the hidden Minato.. Sasuke had a son? Ino gawked, but then it occurred to her that it would be natural for others her age to have children...they were all adults now.

"All well," the boy shrugged, despite knowing where Minato is, he decided to play along. The boy pretended to look confused and then faced Ino, "Hey, Ino, why are you still in your pajamas?"

"Um," Ino trailed off. She was surprised by how casual the boy sounded with her. Ino gathered she told others to call her Ino without any 'aunt' or 'Mrs' added in front due to it making her sound old.

"Ino isn't feeling well, Masashi," Naruto pointed out.

"Oh," was all the red-head mumbled until he saw a bit of orange stick out from behind Ino. Masashi grinned, "Found you Minato!"

Minato moaned and stepped away from his hiding place, "Man!"

Minato and Masashi disappeared outside again. Ino turned to face Sasuke.

"Who?" she breathed.

"Karin," Sasuke replied, knowing what she wanted to ask, "Karin is Masashi's mother."

Ino found herself sighing in relief. She may be married to Naruto, and before this all happened she was probably in love with him, but it would still hurt her if Sasuke ended up with Sakura. So Karin married Sasuke...

'Wait a minute...Karin? Who is that?' Ino asked herself. Sasuke must have noticed her distress, because he chuckled darkly.

"You won't remember her if you are from the past like you say," Sasuke pointed out, "you only met her later..."

"Oh," Ino mumbled. That made sense.

Naruto cleared his throat, "So, Sasuke, will you keep this a secret?"

Sasuke glared at his best friend, "What do you take me for...an idiot? I know what S-class means. My lips are sealed. However, I do think telling Karin is a good idea."

"Why?" Ino asked before Naruto could.

Sasuke smirked, "Simple, you're best friends, it would make sense if you told her. Besides, she can perhaps take a look at your chakra."

Naruto clapped his hands together, "That's a great idea! Perhaps Ino's chakra might give us a clue! Sasuke you're a genius!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Shucks, dobe, just doing my job."

Ino had to suppress the giggles that wanted to escape her.

After breakfast and a nice long shower, Ino was dragged out of the house by a very enthusiastic Minato, a passive-looking Kaguya and a ever-grinning Naruto. As they walked through the streets of Konoha, Ino made mental notes of the things that were the same and the things that have changed. Along the way, they were greeted by several citizens. Naruto greeted everyone in return with a huge smile. Ino was shocked. Everyone loved him. It was so surreal.

They finally reached a large house on the opposite side of town. Ino glanced around her curiously. It wasn't the Uchiha compound – why was Sasuke living in a normal civilian home? Naruto lifted his arm to knock on the door, but the door opened before he got a chance.

A woman stood in the doorway with long red hair wearing a very tight black shirt and a purple tank top. She grimaced when she spotted Naruto's shocked expression, his arm still in the air of his 'attempted knock'.

"Honestly, Naruto," the woman grumbled, "I can sense you a mile away."

Naruto returned his arm to his side and rolled his eyes, "Of course, I knew that. I was just testing you."

Judging from the woman's appearance, Ino gathered she was Karin, Sasuke's wife and Masashi's mother. Karin's gaze shifted from Naruto to Ino. Their eyes met briefly and then Karin scrunched her nose. Ino felt self-conscious as the woman gave her an odd look. Was something wrong?

"Is it me," Karin stated, "or is your chakra disrupted?"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow in interest and glanced at Ino then back at Karin.

"Disrupted...what do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Like she's under a genjutsu," Karin pointed out. Naruto narrowed his eyes, then glanced at his children to who seemed interested in the conversation. Kaguya was staring at her mother, Naruto could see her confusion. Minato cocked his head to the side.

"What's a genjutsu, Papa?" Minato asked.

"Kaguya, take your brother and go play with Masashi and Itachi," Naruto ignored his son's question, "us adults need to discuss some serious business."

Kaguya wasn't happy, she didn't like being left in the dark, but complied to her father's order, "All right. Come on, Minato."

Kaguya grabbed her brother's hand and dragged him inside. He moaned and questioned his sister repeatedly what a genjutsu was, but his questions were ignored until the children were out of sight.

"Can we come in?" Naruto asked Karin. She nodded and stepped aside, allowing space for the two blondes to enter. Karin led them to what seemed to be the dining room. She proceeded to the kitchen that was connected to the dining area and started to prepare tea. Naruto and Ino made themselves comfortable by the table.

Ino noticed a few odd things she never expected to see in Sasuke's home, ever. The first was a high chair. There was clearly a baby in the household, or it was just for decoration. Ino highly doubted that Sasuke would use a high chair as decoration though. Another thing she spotted was a large painting of their family on the wall. Ino stared at it in awe. Her previous observation of the high chair being used for a baby was proved by the infant that Karin held in the painting. She knew the painting was done recently, for Masashi looked the same as he does now. Ino also noticed another boy, around Minato's age standing next to Masashi in front of their father. Ino smiled. It was a beautiful painting.

Karin served tea and sat down.

"Sasuke explained to me that you have something to tell me," Karin pointed out, "I'm listening."

Ino glanced at Naruto pleadingly, who explained everything that has occurred to Karin. Karin listened without saying a word. After warning her that it was a S-class secret, Naruto sipped on his tea. Karin appeared to be in deep thought.

"Sense anything?" Sasuke asked as he appeared in the doorway, a small bundle in his arms. Karin glanced at him. Her eyebrow twitched.

"She awake again?" Karin asked, "She has your energy, Sasuke."

Sasuke shrugged and handed the bundle to Karin and sat down beside her. The bundle appeared to be the infant from the painting. Ino smiled as she watched Karin stroke the baby's dark hair. The baby's eyes were wide open and staring intently at the guests.

"What's her name?" Ino asked.

"Mikoto," Sasuke answered. Ino froze. She knew that name. It was Sasuke's mother's name. Ino glanced at him and couldn't ignore the pride that seemed to soar around him. He was a proud father. Ino smiled. It was amazing how much things have changed.

"Back to the subject," Karin interrupted, "to answer your question Sasuke, yes, I do sense something."

Sasuke seemed interested in his wife's revelation, "Oh?"

"Her chakra is disrupted," Karin pointed out, "like she's under a genjutsu."

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, then turned to face Ino. Ino gulped when she noticed his eyes were no longer onyx black, but deep red instead. The Sharingan. Amazingly, this was the first time she has ever seen it up close like this.

"You're right," Sasuke agreed as he deactivated his Sharingan and wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders, "Her chakra system is completely out of sync. It's amazing she's even conscious."

Silence. Ino shifted uncomfortably in her seat. The silence was awkward. They were all in deep thought, debating and questioning the situation. Naruto could feel his heart racing in his chest. Questions zoomed through his mind as he tried to decipher the mystery behind Ino's disrupted chakra system. He was worried. What did it all entail? What was the outcome?

The awkward silence faded when a little boy with dark hair ran into the room with tears rolling down his cheeks. He latched himself to Sasuke's arm and pulled himself into the Uchiha's lap. Sasuke furrowed his brows.

Ino recognized him as the younger boy from the painting.

"What did Masashi do this time?" Sasuke asked.

The boy sniffled, "Masashi good boy!"

Karin snorted, "Sometimes I wonder if he has Madara's genes in there somewhere...or something."

Sasuke glared at her, then patted the boy's head, "Alright, Masashi is a good boy. Did Minato do something?"

"No!" the boy objected, "Minato good boy! Uncle Sui not good boy!"

Karin snapped at that and stood up. Everyone's gaze landed on her. With her eyebrow twitching she clenched her fists and inhaled a deep breath.

"SUIGETSU!" Karin yelled.

"Here we go again," Sasuke and Naruto muttered in unison. Ino was completely confused. After a few minutes of silence there was 'oh, shit' from outside, followed by splashing and a loud crack. Karin was fuming and stomped out of the room.

"Is this...normal?" Ino asked wearyingly as she heard Karin yelling outside while someone else – a man- was trying to defend himself.

"Yes," Sasuke stated, "it occurs on a daily basis. Sometimes I wonder why I even allow the idiot to live here. He's always trying to find a way to get under Karin's skin. Drives us all insane."

Ino was still confused. Who was Suigetsu? The little boy on Sasuke's lap stopped sniffling and was now staring intently at Ino. He looked an awful lot like Sasuke, but had his mother's lips, nose and eyebrows. His hair hung loose on his shoulders.

"Itachi, it's rude to stare," Sasuke pointed out. The boy blushed and looked away.

Karin finally returned and sat down, her anger seemed to have faded, "Itachi, you can go swim in your plastic pool again. I kicked Suigetsu to the moon."

"Is there water on moon?" Itachi asked.

Karin snickered, "I sure hope not. That idiot deserves to die of dehydration."

"Let me guess," Naruto pointed out, "Suigetsu dominated the plastic pool again?"

Karin nodded, "Kicked the kids out and took the thing for himself. He also kept refilling the thing with the hose. Now the bill will be expensive again. Stupid idiot."

Naruto chuckled.

"Enough about plastic pools," Karin sighed, "what will become of Ino?"

"I don't know," Naruto sighed, "I'll have Shikamaru look into it. I might also request of Gaara to check the archives in Suna – maybe they have data on a jutsu that can do this. Meanwhile, I'll go through the archives here. Until then, all we can do is sit tight."

Karin nodded in agreement, "We'll help as much as possible. If necessary, you can bring her here anytime. And if she starts showing strange symptoms or behavior send for Sasuke immediately."

"Will do," Naruto stated as he stood up. Karin and Sasuke led the two outside and bid their farewells. Kaguya decided to stay for training and Minato wanted to play with Itachi, so Naruto and Ino headed home alone.

As they walked back, Ino found herself feeling like she was floating in space.

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Masashi was named after Masashi Kishimoto, the author of Naruto. Sasuke is his favourite character to draw, so I thought it would suit.

Itachi and Mikoto were obviously named after Sasuke's brother and mother respectively.

Ironically, the 'getsu' (月)in Suigetsu's name means 'moon' and Karin 'kicked him to the moon'.

Karin and Ino became close friends for a reason. It will be revealed later.