Hey, some of you may have read this before, but I've revised it. It was formerly a songfic, but I've taken the lyrics out. Oh, and by the way, this story is assuming that Sasuke never left Konoha.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
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Ino lay awake in her bed, she could tell by the thin sliver of silver light coming in from under the shutters that is was night, late. It crossed her mind to open them up so that she could look at the stars, but the bed was so warm, the covers so inviting. Nah, she would stay in bed. Without meaning to Ino's mind wandered to a time past.
-Flashback-
The jonin exams were over and most of the rookie nine plus Team Gai had passed, including Ino. Now it was time for celebration. The stadium where the last phase of the exams were held was now transformed, from battlefield to a huge party, complete with paper lanterns, streamers, and music. There was even a bunch of mats all set up together in the middle to act as a dance floor. Ino was standing with Sakura and Hinata, small cups in hand, staring at them, and uncertain looks on their faces. Finally Hinata spoke up,
"I-I'm not sure, I've n-never had s-sake before." Sakura nodded in agreement. Ino frowned she had wanted to try this with her best friends.
"Hey were finally all 21 and I'm gonna try this!" Ino declared, turning her cup up on end and taking a big gulp. She shook her head and said,
"It burns a little bit but it doesn't hurt too bad." Hinata and Sakura then gulped theirs likewise. Sakura got a strange look on her face and said, "Ew!" Hinata's face lit up with relief as she and Ino nodded in agreement.
Just then a slow song started up and couples started to migrate to the center dance floor. Neji walked up and reached for Sakura's hand, who gladly gave it to him, and Hinata ran off in search of her boyfriend. Ino huffed and leaned against the refreshments table. She couldn't believe that she was the only one of the three best friends who didn't have a boyfriend. Oh well, thought Ino to herself, I'll just have some punch. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around Ino gasped, standing there with a handsome smile on his face was Uchiha Sasuke. Then even more to her surprise he held out his hand.
"Hey Ino, could I have this dance?" Ino nodded her head and allowed herself to be led out onto the dance floor. She felt as if there were no other people in the world, let alone all around her. In the back of her mind Ino did register some of the people she saw dancing together, Naruto and Tenten, Sakura and Neji, and Hinata and Kakashi.
Things didn't stop with that one dance though, now Sasuke and Ino went out as a couple at least once every week and soon they had been together for four and a half months. They then decided to move in together. Ino's place was decided upon and Sasuke brought his belongings over. The Yamanaka was in a whirlwind; her childhood crush had actually paid off.
-End Flashback-
Ino smiled, that time was probably the happiest, well second happiest that she had ever been. That smile quickly switched to a frown though as she remembered the bad part of that relationship.
-Flashback-
The fighting started near their eight month point. Sasuke was grouchy and snapped at small things and this made Ino irritable as well. There was never any physical fighting but sometimes they yelled so loud that it felt as if the walls would fall in. Sasuke started to take more and more missions that would cause him to leave Konoha and Ino. When he was away the blonde girl spent most of her time in bed, her eyes constantly red.
The breaking point came when Sasuke was leaving on a mission. Ino woke up early to make something special for breakfast; she never was the best cook though. Sasuke woke to the smell of burnt food and a mess on the countertop, stove, and in the sink, with a red eyed Ino in the middle of it all. Of course this set Sasuke off. He flung insults at the kunochi and then jumped out of the door saying they were finished and he'd be back for his things later. All she could do was weep.
-End Flashback-
There was a deep line of concentration on Ino's face. She was trying her hardest to remember exactly what he had said that morning, but she couldn't.
She probably should have guessed that it would have happened sooner or later, but she didn't. Ino laughed quietly to herself. When he had slammed the door for the last time she had almost slapped herself for her own stupidity.
The more Ino thought about her and Sasuke's relationship the more faults she saw in it. She was the one being controlled, even when she felt that she had complete control. Now she realized more than she ever did when they were together. If she ever doubted Sasuke all that he had had to do was to flash her that smile of his and tell her that he loved her. Yep, she was probably better off without him.
It had taken her some time but Sakura and Hinata had been with her the whole way to help her out of the hole that she found herself in.
Ino's heart had been in shambles, but she had been prepared to put them back together. Her friends were a huge help, but even they couldn't they couldn't fix everything. She had known this and knew that her heart would take a long time to heal. But help had come from an extremely unexpected place and he had helped to mend the hole in her heart. Ino grinned as she looked at her nightstand and saw the engagement ring that she still wore. Now maybe she could think back to meeting him, but instead Ino's mind drifted to when Sasuke moved out completely.
-Flashback-
He was running back and fourth carrying bags, a few to go and he would be officially moved out. All through the house there were smashed pictures of Sasuke and Ino together, the cracked glass separating them forever. Then on his final trip down the hall a chidori lit up the room and left a final mark in the little house. The hole was a scar, marking a bad time. Ino sank to her knees, she didn't cry though; she was all out of tears. And despite the rip in her life the kunochi smiled, she finally understood.
-End Flashback-
The blonde couldn't believe that that had only happened four years ago. It seemed so distant; she thought herself so young and naïve then. Next, Ino thought about her reoccurring dream, it had started when her and Sasuke's fighting had started, and became more and more frequent towards the breakup.
Her dream started with her and Sasuke sitting on the couch in her house. All of a sudden she would stand up and run out the door. There would be nothing outside but a plain white world, like a room with no door or windows painted a blinding and pure white. Then the door would slam shut behind her, and she would keep running. Then she would came to three open doors, Ino always took the middle one.
Through the door there was a hallway painted just like the night sky, complete with stars and a cloud shrouded moon. As she ran Ino would come to another door, when she went through there was another plain white room. Scared, she would turn around to go back through the door but it would always be gone.
Then all of a sudden a giant jigsaw puzzle would appear on the floor. When Ino finally got it put together it always turned out to be a heart. The heart would then disappear and be replaced with a picture of herself. After that the roof would open up and Ino would begin to float upwards.
As she floated up and up and up Ino found that she was traveling through a giant cloud. Soon she would start to feel like she would never get out of the cloud. But then she would break through the top and start to fly over Konoha. When she finally looked down Ino would see Sasuke, she was flying over him.
Ino lay in her bed, still unable to sleep. Her mind had continued to ignore her and now it flashed to another time that she wasn't sure that she wanted to remember.
-Flashback-
Still numb after three days Ino walked to her favorite spot in the park, down the thin cobblestone path, past tall looming tree trunks, into a grove of pines, and towards the small black marble bench facing the koi pond. As she approached the bench she detected somebody else already there. Ino, as nosy as ever, disappeared into the trees and made her way around the outskirts of the clearing until she was facing the front of the bench. She was a bit surprised at what she saw, Inuzuka Kiba staring out into the trees, his face blank and emotionless. Looking closer Ino saw that there were tears streaming down his cheeks.
The blue eyed Yamanaka's interest was sparked immediately. Not wanting to be caught spying Ino returned to the entrance. She entered with as much noise as possible so that he knew she was there. Ino saw him stiffen and then his arm wiped across his face. Reaching the bench she sat down next to him.
"Hey, ummmm you're Ino right?" asked Kiba, Ino could hear the stiffness in his voice.
Kiba moved his arms to place his hands behind his head and his elbow brushed against her shoulder. The kunochi blushed madly and turned her head away so that he wouldn't see. Why am I blushing? Ino asked herself; surely I don't like anybody for a while, right?
"Well I'd better be getting home," said Kiba as he slowly stood up, "Akamaru, come on." Akamaru blasted out of the bushes in the side of the clearing. Ino turned to watch him leave. Was it just her, or did his voice crack the tiniest bit when he had said the word "home?"
She had to know what his troubles were.
-End Flashback-
Ino giggled, she was always so nosy then, she still was come to think of it. The memories were still flooding back to her.
-Flashback-
She was having trouble sleeping, thinking about Sasuke again. She had no idea what to do. To wake up one of her friends would be rude, so Ino decided to ask her father for advice. The streets of Konoha were quiet as the young kunochi walked towards the stone.
Inoichi had died on a mission around two years before. It should have been a fairly simple task, (for three high ranking jonin) an assignation of the leader of a gang of rouge shinobi. Chouza, Shikaku, and Inoichi, were almost to their destination when there was an ambush. Chouza was nearly dead when he reached the village for help, and by the time the dispatched ANBU arrived it had been too late for Inoichi. Thankfully Shikaku and Chouza were able to make a full recovery.
Finally reaching the clearing where the stone was held Ino saw that someone would join her in her late night escape. She could immediately tell that it was Kiba sitting next to the stone with his head hung. He was whispering something that Ino had to strain her ears to hear, and she still only caught bits of the things he said.
"Why did you…..mission……didn't." She had heard enough, walking into the clearing she set a flower under the names.
Apparently Kiba had not heard her coming this time. He almost jumped out of his skin as soon as he saw her hand reach passed him to set the flower down.
"Hi, I didn't hear you coming. Are you visiting somebody?" The surprised Inuzuka stuttered. Ino nodded and kneeled down to scan the names on the stone. Finally finding the one that she wanted the blonde ran her fingers across the engraving. They both stared at the stone in silence until Kiba stood and walked out of the clearing, Akamaru following close behind.
Now Ino knew a bit more about Kiba's plight, but decided to ask the only other person that she knew that could clear things up for her. Hinata was her best friend, but Kiba's as well.
The next night Ino went back to the memorial stone hoping to catch Kiba, he was there. Deciding that she didn't care if he heard her coming or not this time she jogged into the clearing. Sitting down she looked at the stone. Wow, Ino thought to herself, I'm actually a bit nervous. Mentally taking a deep breath Ino whispered the question that she had been preparing to ask all day,
"Do you miss her?"
-End Flashback-
Smiling, the pale eyed woman remembered the look of surprise on Kiba's face when she had asked that. Ino had been inquiring about his mother who had been killed-in-action. One more memory came back to her; this one was of the happiest day in her life.
-Flashback-
Once again Ino found herself at the KIA memorial stone with Kiba. She knew that they had grown very close, she had helped him accept the loss of his mom, and he helped her get over Sasuke. Then she realized something, she hadn't thought about Sasuke once for a long time, even when she wasn't with Kiba she was thinking about him.
"Can I ask you something Ino-chan?" Kiba's voice brought Ino out of her thoughts.
"Sure Kiba," the blonde was very curious now.
"Um," Kiba started, "What do you consider us as?" Ino blinked; there was a question that she hadn't been expecting.
"Very close friends Kiba, we are very close friends," Kiba's face fell, "but I think we could be more than that."
-End Flashback-
The woman smiled at her memories, her life was so bittersweet. But she still found herself still unable to sleep. Getting up she quickly changed grabbed a jacket and stepped into the chilly winter air.
A ten minute walk found her in the clearing standing next to the stone.
With some difficulty Ino squatted down and scanned the names. Her eyes locked onto one and started to slowly run down her cheeks, red from the cold. She kissed her first two fingers and placed them onto the engraved name. With one hand on the stone and the other perched on her swollen belly, Ino looked up at the stars and whispered a question that she had been asking for a long time,
"Do you miss me?"
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There, all finished. I'd really appreciate reviews, they are encouragement. You can flame, or whatever too, but I really just want to hear what you think.
Thanks, UchihaHyugaGlow .