The distant smells of flowers overwhelmed Ino in a good way. It had been a week since she had last smelled them, and she was relieved to be back in the village. A week ago, she would've been complaining about how boring it got in the flower shop, but now she was didn't mind. She had to take Sakura's place a medic-nin since no one could get her out of her room now a days. She knew what the reason was, or more who the situation was about. Uchiha Sasuke. She had heard rumors about what went down between both of them, but she couldn't believe it. I mean, why would she believe her best friend killed the one she loved? That was just exotic and crazy. Wanting to prove her suspicions, she went and asked her teammates, Naruto and Kakashi, and they both said it was true. It put her in a stage of shock. Anger came first, then denial, and lastly, sadness, but not for herself; but for Sakura. She knew the girl was crazier for him then she was, and if the time ever came, she would've wanted them to end up together, just to make them both happy. Guess it was now impossible, since one of them was now dead.
As Ino thought back to the events of last week, a tear streamed down her face. True, although Hinata was a medic herself, she was needed, so she herself had to take the spot as medic. When she received a deadly blow from the opponent, she panicked. She couldn't heal her as fast and good as Sakura, so they lost her. That was why she was tending to the flowers this early in the morning. Her funeral was to be tomorrow, and she needed to make sure every flower was in top condition. It was the least she could do to the girl.
When Neji had found out, he nearly killed her, if the others hadn't interfered, she would be gone also. He loved her, in a brotherly way. He regretted treating her like dirt in the past. It was understandable he would hate her. She herself would hate anyone who killed any of her friends or family. Prickling herself on a thorn, she didn't hear the ding of the front door being opened.
"Ino?"
She looked up, with her still sucking onto her finger. She pulled her finger out fast and made her way over to Naruto, who was looking around acting as if he hadn't just seen her sucking onto her finger like a baby.
"What is it Naruto? I already told you, Sakura won't open up even to me. There's nothing I can do." She said as she put her hands on her hips. Naruto sighed and looked down at the ground. This had become a usual habit. He'd been coming and going, trying to make her convince Sakura out of her room. As if she hadn't already tried.
"I didn't come because of that." He said quietly. Ino blinked. Now this was unusual. Naruto wasn't this quiet. He was usually always loud and complaining on how he needed to eat more ramen the majority of the time. Aa. He must've come because of that.
"Naruto," she said while placing a hand on his shoulder. "There was nothing you could've done. She had already made up her mind. Since her first plan backfired, she opted for plan b. Just, don't think about it. It's all in the past. He was already consumed of too much…."
"I'm not talking about that. I meant Hinata. It wasn't your fault. You tried, but you couldn't save her. I understand Ino. Don't let that hold you back though. She was a good girl, she'd want you to live on and not mourn after her death." He said while hugging her. Ino heard a sob and that was when she realized it was her. She hugged him tighter and buried her face in his neck. She didn't realize how guilty she felt herself. Maybe this is how Sakura felt at the moment. It wasn't true though. She had managed to get inside Sakura's room, well, in her mind actually. She saw his death, and how his attitude changed. He looked at her, looked at Sakura, and touched her check. She could feel all of Sakura's feelings pouring out, but she ignored those. What he said was something she could never forget in her life.
"C'mon now Ino. Say, how about you join us for ramen later? We have some good news to tell you all." Naruto said as he grinned at her. She couldn't help but chuckle. That Naruto. No matter how everyone acted towards him while he was younger, he forgave them all and made himself a special spot in everyone's heart.
"Sure Naruto. As long as it's not how you broke your record of eating more than twenty cups of instant ramen at home, I'll go." She said. Naruto said a small hey and left after they both said their goodbyes. Ino returned to the counter and started removing the thorns once again.
I'm sorry Hinata.
xxXXxx
As Ino gave herself one more look in the mirror, she felt proud of herself. She ditched the color purple, feeling it foreign on herself. After all, that was Hinata's favorite color, and she couldn't bear to wear it any longer. It took her quite a while, including going shopping once again to find the perfect color for her. After almost three hours, she picked it. She was wearing a sky blue strapless summer dress. It matched her persona and made her eyes pop out more. She decided to have her hair up in a bun this time, after all, she now needed a new look. She settled for her white sandals and left her house. She made her way to Ramen Ichiraku, their usual hang out. When she arrived, she received an unexpected surprise.
"Sakura?" she heard herself saying. She said girl turned around and she had a wide smile plastered onto her face. Wait—hold up a bit. Was this the same girl who cried herself to sleep yesterday night?
"Ino! You're here! Great! Naruto and I have something to tell you all. Sit next to Shika!" she mustered out as she pushed Ino to Shikamaru. She looked over at him questionably while he shrugged, showing no interest at what was going on and not wanting to know.
"Well, you've guys probably know what happened just two weeks ago and I must confirm it's true. But we aren't here to tell you guys why I killed him, but to celebrate the start of something new!" Sakura said. Ino then saw that Naruto and she were holding hands.
What the hell is going—
"Sakura and I are now officially dating."
WHAT!
A/N: Whatcha guys think? Did I do good? Did I capture Ino's personality? This is my first time writting with her persona so I hope I did good enough.!
Please review.! I would gladly appreciate it.! I won't update until I get at least five reviews.! Thank you so very much.!
