Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto!
Author's Note: Hello! So…for those following my other SaixIno story…I'll get that updated soon! It just, this idea popped into my head and I had to write it down! It may seem like one of those Korean dramas out there—and I'm sure it overlaps…but I've seen so many of those, I lost track. Hopefully you guys enjoy it! Thank you for reading!
Chapter 1
When Haruno Sakura secretively called her for a personal favor, the smart thing to do would have been to hang up and pretend she was unaware of the unknown caller ID. Against better judgment, Ino listened to the woman's entire sob story and then agreed to the ridiculous favor. Never once in their lifetime did the pink-haired woman ask for anything and with the blonde's dutiful sense of camaraderie, she could not say no.
Thinking back on it now, listening to her gut feeling would have avoided the entire fiasco. But when did she ever follow the practical path?
This brought her to the current situation at hand, and the man sitting quietly across the table from her. He smiled blankly back, stirring the creamer into his espresso before putting the spoon down and taking a sip.
Ino sank further into her seat, wanting to be anywhere but there. She wanted to jump on a rocket and fly to the moon, dig a hole so deep she'd end up in Iwa, or even worse—back in her office in Kiri finishing all the paperwork that built up in the last week.
Aimlessly swirling the teabag in her mug, she pouted and sighed simultaneously. Her other hand played with the fancy embroidered tablecloth.
"Please stop making such ugly expressions. It's making me nauseous."
Sapphire blue orbs shot up and glared at him, her pout turning into a firm frown. After ambushing her, he dragged her to an expensive maid café and asked for the furthest table from the rest of the patrons. Not only did she get tangled in a web of lies with Konoha's old money families—she was now seated across from a member of the renowned Uchiha family.
Dressed in a well-tailored navy blazer, light blue button-up, and tan slacks—the man was definitely an eye-catcher. Ink black hair framing his pale face and obsidian-hued eyes, his physical appearance was absolutely her type to put the cherry on top of the situation.
Ino could feel her mouth go dry as she tried to form a response. Normally her blood would have boiled at such a comment and she would have shoved his delightfully smiling face into the hot cup, but being the one at fault, she could do no such thing. Handsome, dark, and mysterious men were her kryptonite.
The blonde cursed the luck the other woman had with good-looking, rich men. A few years ago, Sakura managed to snag a number of dates with the infamous model Uchiha Sasuke, which went nowhere because he had the personality of a brick wall. Then after that, the pink-haired woman dated Namikaze Inc's heir Uzumaki Naruto for a couple months before his excessive exuberance tired her out. With that, Haruno went back to the stoic silent type, winning Hyuuga Neji over, only to call off the relationship within four months, claiming he was too one-track minded and dedicated to his work.
She snorted inwardly. The other woman claims of having relationship failures. If only she could relive Ino's amazing list of bad decisions. Heck, the Yamanaka made so many poor judgments in men that she almost gave up men completely.
So fate would only have it that when Haruno's established family of well-renowned physicians decided to strengthen the bonds in Konoha's old families, the single pink-haired woman would be paired up with an Uchiha. The Uchihas, on the other hand, were financial giants, an important benefactor to the health care institutions in the Fire Country.
Uchiha Itachi's feats were well-known around the Five Countries as he traveled for humanitarian work but he refused to return and inherit the head position. Henceforth, he was out of the picture. Second in line, Sasuke as aforementioned became an international model and Fugaku immediately denounced his younger son for such an outrageous lifestyle. This ruled him out too. Third up, Shisui would have also been a good choice, given his intelligence and personable character but his lack of self-preservation and inability to stay focused and serious also crossed him off the list.
And because of that odd generational crisis happening with the Uchihas, Sakura ended up engaged to the fourth runner up.
Uchiha Sai placed the cup daintily on the table and dabbed his mouth with a napkin like a fucking gentleman before rudely speaking again. "You have beautiful eyes for such a mediocre face. I would have remembered you if we met before. But we haven't until last week. So please explain your purpose." It was a statement.
She glared hotly at him. How dare he compliment and insult her at the same time. If they had given her any other utensils aside from the stirring spoon, she would have tried to stab him in the eye with it and run. The nerve this weird tactless lolicon had, hauling her to a frivolous place to ask such an important question. Two options were left for her, to either tell the truth or to try and weasel her way out. He had left both paths open.
"Sakura doesn't want to marry you."
He blinked at her, twirling his phone with his right hand. "I don't want to marry that ugly hag either."
Mentally rolling her eyes, she could just imagine how Sakura and his meetings ended. "Then leave it as it is." Now, why couldn't he just stay ignorantly blissful?
The upward curve of his lips disappeared and his demeanor shifted. Ino shuffled in her seat. The change in his behavior made her slightly uncomfortable, but she felt no harm from it. Instead, he looked confused, if anything.
"But I'm curious as to why you did it."
She sighed; the man was too inquisitive for his own good. Didn't he hear that curiosity killed the cat? "Why what? Why I publicly shamed you or why I did the self-deprecating act?"
"Why you went through such lengths for Sakura. You are not even blood related to her." He tilted his head adorably, throwing one leg over the other knee and leaned back into the chair. The conversation brought back the recent event—an event she was trying to tuck far away into the nooks and crannies of her mind.
"Because we're best friends."
"So you went through all that humiliation for a friend? A bond built upon intangible effects, empty words of honesty, and meaningless gifts?" Sai rattled off perfectly, as if reciting from a scorned teenaged girl's diary.
Ino gaped at him, unwilling to believe how someone can be so unfeeling. She wasn't sure if he was doing it on purpose or if he really was that emotionless, but the blonde would not simmer and let him denounced her friendship with Sakura as empty words and actions.
"You know nothing of our friendship, so do not go around talking like you own the world. You may be an Uchiha, but money and name cannot buy happiness. The embarrassment I went through is nothing compared to how desolate Sakura would have been if she ended up married to you."
Instead of expressing discontent at her words, he bowed his head slightly. "I apologize for my words. I actually don't have any friends so I can't comprehend your actions for her."
For the second time that night, she was at a loss. He spoke fluidly, very well versed with his words and his actions were flawless. But as perfect as he was, the conversation with him shone a new light. He was perfect—perfect like a doll. And as empty as one.
He smiled vacantly at her and she saw it finally—the loneliness behind his façade. He behaved exactly as he was taught how to, spoke how he was told, and compared the ethereal aspects of life in how it was expressed in shapes and symbols on paper.
She noticed he knew when to apologize when he noticed others were offended. And he did have the element of curiosity. Maybe he wasn't as emotionless but more-so unable to express his emotions? The realization made her feel even worse for her actions.
"How did you feel when it happened?" Ino threw back at him, watching his eyes widened slightly as he fished for words.
Finally, he answered vaguely. "Bad."
An eyebrow rose at his terribly blank response. "Bad? That's it?"
Nodding, he tried to be more descriptive. "Like I wanted to piss in my pants, kind of bad."
Cupping a hand over her mouth, Ino resisted the urge to laugh. As coarse as he is, she can tell now—he was just a frank individual who was not used to filtering his thoughts and expressing his feelings.
"That's a terrible analogy. Let me tell you then how I felt and then we'll go back and you can use that as a base to tell me again how you felt." Maybe telling her side and having him tell his side will help lift this weight off her chest.
He nodded again—and was that enthusiasm she saw?
One week ago…
The moths in her stomach wouldn't quit it, fluttering about like a swarm to a flame. She was pretty sure she was heading to her demise—which was exactly how she felt. Her hands were clammy and her mouth dry as if she fell asleep with her jaw open.
Covering her head was a perfect, voluminous high-end wig that was extremely itchy. The amount of hairspray she applied could make her into a walking torch. Things she does for her best friend, eh? She hadn't seen Sakura in nearly eight years but they stayed in very close contact through phone calls and texting.
Sakura mentioned a man she was deeply in love with—and she had wanted to marry and have a life with during one long call. And then the next thing Ino knew, the other woman called her up in tears from a blocked number, stating that she was engaged, but not to the one she loved.
Her heart broke for Sakura. It was as if she felt the utter betrayal the other woman's family did to her. Ino had long ago given up on her chase for happiness, but Sakura still had the chance for it. And she would do anything in her power to help Sakura achieve a happy ending.
With that, she stepped through the huge open wooden doors, the uncomfortable feeling of the nude pumps on her feet diminishing with every step she took towards her targets. She didn't divulge her plans to Sakura over the phone. Ino had told Sakura not to worry her pretty little head and just go through with what had been laid out to her by her family and the blonde will take care of the rest.
In all honesty, Ino had been frantically scouring her brain for ways to end an engagement. She could have Sakura's mystery man declare his love for her at the engagement and whisk her away—but that would put the Haruno family in a tough place. Then there was the option of kidnapping Sakura, but when the pink-haired woman returns, she'd still have to go through with the marriage.
So that left her with the third option. One that she did not want to wish on anyone. And what she was about to do would probably come back to bite her. Karma had a way with being bitchy. But with this odd dutiful sense of loyalty to her friend, she could not back down now.
She made a fluid motion towards the awkward couple standing near the refreshments—the duo of the hour. The engagement party was flourished well with great taste, and definitely because of the high profile guests.
Whispering a quick apology to the unsuspecting man, she made her presence known.
"Good evening." She purred, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear, showing off the diamonds dangling against her neck.
A gift she had was the ability to effectively gather attention. She had always been able to become the center of anything she wanted. With a scandalous sky-blue satin mermaid dress that ran one slit up, displaying a slender, long leg—she was not hard to miss. Eyes started to draw towards her—and she towards the couple.
"O-Oh, hey…?" Sakura paused; taken back that Ino would show up to the engagement party. The look in her eyes show that she had long given up any retaliation to the arrangement and that her blonde best friend couldn't figure out anything either. But the bright green eyes were now clouded with confusion.
"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Her grin widened as she threw one hand on her hips. "Is this your fiancé?"
"Ah, yes." The doctor-in-training motioned at the impeccably dressed man beside her, "This is Uchiha Sai. Sai, this is—"
"Oh I know who he is." She cut the other woman off rudely, striding up to the dark-haired man, who just stood there, blinking at her innocently. "I know Sai."
Too innocently.
"So Sai." Her voice cut through the atmospheric cloud like a knife through butter. "So you think you can just go and get married like that? Like we never happened?"
"We?" Sai repeated confusedly.
"Yes, we." Ino raised her voice, her mantra repeating. Be the psycho ex-girlfriend lover something scorned! "HOW DARE YOU JUST LEAVE ME AFTER SAYING ALL THOSE THINGS. YOU PROMISED. YOU PROMISED ME THAT YOU'LL TAKE CARE OF US." She was mentally on fire. The heat she felt was either out of guilt or displaced anger. Waving her arms erratically, she encouraged the other woman to back away from Sai.
"I'm sorry; I'm not sure what you're talking about?" His eyebrows knitted together genuinely in bewilderment. But of course, no one believed him. After all, Ino was the main class act here.
"AM I NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU? IS IT BECAUSE I'M POOR? OR DID YOU ONLY WANT ME FOR MY BODY?!" She wailed, throwing the champagne in her glass on the man. "THAT'S IT, ISN'T IT? YOU WERE JUST LONELY ON YOUR BUSINESS TRIP AND YOU DECIDED TO HAVE FUN WITH MY FEELINGS!"
The glass cracked in her hands and she continued to sob loudly. Around her, she could hear the whispers of the guests.
"His ex-lover?"
"That poor thing."
"How shameful. I actually don't know which is worse—him or her."
"Of course it would be the Uchiha."
Odds were turning in her favor and she could see Sakura being ushered away by her father—the pink-haired girl still in shock at her friend's display.
"WERE YOU ENGAGED WHILE WE WERE TOGETHER? DID YOU HAVE OTHER WOMEN TOO?!" She shrieked, the crocodile tears mixing with her makeup. Reaching up, she ran a palm against her tear-streaked face, smudging the foundation and blush. Thank goodness she was gifted with tears-on-command.
"W-What? But I didn't…I don't…" He stammered, still incredibly confused at the situation.
Quite satisfied with the mixed emotions emanating from the rest of the guests at the event, she gave it one last round, turning her back towards him and throwing a watery gaze over her shoulder.
"Whatever, I don't care anymore." She cried into her hands, "Do what you want. The baby and I will be just fine without you. After all, you left without a single word and then I find you engaged to my friend? You're a bad, bad man."
Bile threatened to spill out of her stomach. She was so damn nervous. She'd never lied on this grand of a scale before. And by the shocked expression on everyone's face—including Sai, she knew she had them fooled. But if anything, it made the quicksand in her stomach feel worse.
Crying the last words, she rushed out of the ballroom, the crowd parting for her as she ran. The blonde ran into she was out of breath and she gagged on the recently drank champagne.
The moths returned to her stomach and she slunk behind the hedge, falling on her behind. She hoped that at least her act would make the Harunos rethink and allow Sakura to withdraw from the engagement.
Because if it didn't…she just committed an innocent man to a life of scrutiny.
Either way, he was now pretty shamed on and somehow, she felt just as shameful for doing that to him.
Presently...
"Well?" She downed the rest of her tea and looked at him expectantly; trying to read his emotions through the porcelain mask he wore. Perhaps she should've asked for an alcoholic drink. A really strong one.
"That was very long-winded." He commented, folding the napkin neatly beside the empty coffee mug. "And I understand now."
"Okay…" That meant she was off the hook right? "So how did you feel when it went down?"
A careless shrug thrown her way.
"So you don't care?"
He shook his head adamantly at it.
"But what about your reputation? Aren't you at least mad at me for it?" It was incredulous. He held no resentment at her whatsoever and her eyes roamed across his features, looking for any sign of it. She wasn't sure if she liked it. She had expected him to be angry at her for choosing to do such a thing—but instead he told her he understood. Men don't understand. They never admit to understanding topics about feelings.
"I'm not and I could care less about my reputation. But Auntie's actually quite upset." Sai looked directly at her, unflinching.
"She told me to be responsible for my actions."
Ino blinked at him, not sure if she liked where the conversation was heading.
"So…uh…" Sai frowned slightly. "What was your name again?"
Now she wanted to slap him.
"Ino. Yamanaka Ino."
"Ah." He wrestled something from his jacket pocket and she nearly threw up upon seeing it. There was no way this was happening. They did say karma was a bitch—but it usually didn't come back to bite her in the ass this soon.
"Ino." Sai stated firmly, now knowing her name. "So let me make it right. Please marry me." His hands shot forward and held the box out awkwardly.
The blonde covered her unusually hot face, slumping slightly onto the table. Nearby, a girl who probably didn't hear the conversation and only saw the humongous rock displayed, squealed.
She could feel the sweat prickling the nape of her neck and her thoughts ran ten miles a second as she tried to distinguish what just happened.
Definitely, she was dreaming. This had all been a dream. She'd been too stressed out from the anxiety and guilt that she dreamt of the retribution she would have to pay for deceiving people
Wake up! Wake up!
Ino slapped herself a few times—and goddamn it hurt—but she still wasn't snapping out of it. She looked back up at the obsidian-eyed man. He stared at her curiously, still holding out the box with the really really beautiful engagement ring of her dreams.
How was she supposed to snap out of this? There was no way an incredibly handsome man would be proposing to her with the ring of her dreams. With that, she chuckled out loud.
"Hahaha." She slapped a hand on the table. "I-I'm dreaming right? This is a dream. I'm dreaming. This isn't real." Ino repeated, and with each repetition, it seemed less and less like her imagination.
"I'm sorry…but you're not dreaming." Sai inclined his head in an apology.
"What?"
"You're not dreaming." He stated matter-of-factly and his tone started to annoy her. "Nor are you crazy."
"Then…what?" Was he seriously asking her? She couldn't feel her toes and it was pretty warm inside the café. Heck, she couldn't feel her body at all. It felt unreal.
"Then, marry me."
Ino gaped like a goldfish and was ready to shoot him down. The idea was ridiculous. She couldn't just agree to marry him because his auntie wanted him to 'take responsibility'. And did he seriously think that this was going to solve anything?
Lost in her thoughts, Ino inadvertently nodded. She tried to stop herself mid-nod but it was too late and she ended up with an odd fervent nod-shake combo.
A hand slapped her on the back and she looked up, bewildered. The maid waitress grinned back at her, "Congratulations!" With that, she placed a delectable strawberry cheesecake in front of them as another maid set down two glasses of champagne.
Sai beamed at her.
The rest of the café burst out in a fit of joyous laughter and applause before Ino could even utter another word.
End Chapter 1
So…what do you guys think?! I'm sorry if Sai seems OOC. It's actually tougher writing him in AU than it is in Naruto-verse…so suggestions are welcomed! Reviews greatly appreciated! Thank you!
-Aya Kazuki-