FANFICTION
Title: Secrets
Summary: Sakura hadn't planned on telling her yet, nor had she counted on her best friend figuring it out for herself, Ino knew, but seeing what she just saw, the blonde had the final piece to her puzzle. "You just kissed my forehead." "Yeah, I did. But that was because of all of those secrets the universe doesn't know about."
Prompt: Secrets
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Rating: T
Comments: This one got out late. Meh. Busy life is busy. That's why I didn't get the chance to send this over at tumblr. It's too late for the day of the prompt, so it's a little embarrassing to submit. Hope you enjoy though.
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Yamanaka Ino had always considered herself an important woman. Thus, as an important woman, she was always given information regarding the village, the villagers, and of course, her comrades. She didn't work in the information department for nothing (the Hokage thinks that their clan's kekkei genkai was too precious to be put on the active mission roster. She now abuses their mind manipulation for more cruel interrogations, since the war had ended.), and while classified information is still classified, unclassified information is unclassified. It is with this principle in mind that Ino never fails to check on her colleagues' lives every once in a while.
Others may have called it gossiping, but Ino doesn't see it like that. She wasn't a gossip, no, she gave herself more credit, more dignity than that.
She was simply an information center.
Which happened to be the cause of complaints of her ever so loving soon-to-be-husband. One would have asked why this was a source of complaints when in reality, it proved to be an advantageous edge when dealing with a bunch of troublesome shinobi. A fond smile came to the blonde's face when she realized the cause of her fiancé's distress. Shikamaru never really found it troublesome until Ino found it fit to snoop around his business as he was planning on proposing to her.
It had been a funny story, really, now that she thought about it. It had been a typical and normal day for most of them, Shikamaru included. That is, until Ino marched up to him on his cloud-watching spot, tears in her eyes and a box on her hand, demanding why he hadn't told her that he wanted to get married sooner. The poor Nara had looked like a deer caught in the headlights and nothing could have compared to his paleness when he saw the velvet box in his girlfriend's right hand. She found out later that Sakura had helped Shikamaru pick the ring and gave information regarding her ring size and preferences.
Then there was her best friend. The other one who complained and fussed, yet still listened patiently, almost happily, and a little too enthusiastically, to her information sharing. (She had flatly refused to call it gossiping. Sakura had offered a term for it once, and had used the horridly offensive term. Ino had looked scandalized, and let out a "Sakura! Have you no decency? For the last time, this is not gossip!")
Whenever mention of the cherry blossom's name would drift to her ears, the blonde couldn't help but let a soft smile grace her lips. She could never imagine how they had gotten through the years without each other. They used to be inseparable, but there had come a time when darkness overtook both of their minds, and led them away from each other.
There used to be many a time when young Sakura would be by the playing grounds, crying her eyes out because nobody wanted to play with her. Everyone teased her because of her apparently overly-large forehead. While Ino saw pretty green eyes and soft pink hair, others saw a large forehead and a petite body.
Now, all everyone could see was a miracle medic. A kind, thoughtful and compassionate young lady who worked herself to the bones to make sure they were all in top shape. A talented and promising kunoichi who was apprentice to the Godaime Hokage.
But there was one more thing, one more persona that only Ino herself could actually see.
The young woman that was still in love with the lone Uchiha survivor.
Which led her to the other person who has been clouding her thoughts lately.
Uchiha Sasuke.
He had been the darkness that had separated the two best friends. Devilish good looks, even for his age, a mysterious aura, and a cool impression had been a trap that had managed to ensnare almost three-fourths of the female population in their generation. The entire village had seen a lucky survivor in him, being the only one to escape the infamous Uchiha massacre unscathed. Then they saw him as a black sheep, a traitor who is too unstable, too unpredictable to trust. After the war, they had seen an image of his older brother Itachi in him, one that became a hero and nearly died trying to protect the village.
But there was one more thing, one more persona that even Ino herself, she admits, has failed to see.
Whatever, or whoever that was, would be something that could only be revealed by one Haruno Sakura.
Lately, she had been able to sense something shifting between the two. There used to be a companionable silence that veiled over the duo after the war. No words had been exchanged, no apologies given and accepted, and no budding romance like she had anticipated. Much had been damaged, and while it takes time for things to fall together, too much time had already been wasted. It had already been three years since the war then, and they were still only starting to talk in hushed tones and light conversation.
By the time the fourth year rolled around, the future Nara bride had seen the two walking around in Konoha, training together, and even going to Ichiraku's for ramen without Naruto. She had teased Sakura about it once, but all the cherry blossom gave as a reply were a bitter smile and a light reprimand.
"Don't think like that, Ino. Sasuke-kun doesn't see me in that light; I'm barely just a friend to him right now. That's more than I could ever ask for."
Near the end of the fourth year, it seemed like their friendship had gone deeper. She could notice Sasuke smirking more often, and while Sakura had been her usual self, one could not deny the expanded bubble of happiness that became more apparent in her person. Ino couldn't help but share her happiness then, and wasn't able to think much of it, because this was also the time when her beloved Shika-kun had asked for her hand in marriage. However, when asked or teased about her present relation with Sasuke, the pink-haired medic would always give the same response.
"Ino, really, while I appreciate your ever growing concern for my love life, I could assure you that it is as it had always been. Sasuke-kun and I are finally friends; I don't want to let my feelings get in the way of our friendship."
However, seeing the way her best friend interacts with the last Uchiha now (it had been five years since the war, and three months later would mark the sixth year of Uchiha Madara's defeat), Ino could feel the coils in her mind unknotting.
Sasuke was finally seeing the light.
She may not have known the Uchiha as well as her best friend, but she could see the tell-tale signs of someone falling in love. It had been subtle, but still, Ino could tell. After all, it wasn't everyday that one could spot Uchiha Sasuke hopping across rooftops with a sleeping Sakura cradled in his arms after a particularly tiring training session where she had exhausted her chakra reserves. It also wasn't everyday that the Mangekyou Sharingan activated on its own when during a mission briefing, Kotetsu had burst into the room and announced the disappearance of Haruno Sakura on a scouting mission (only Tsunade, Shizune, Shino, Ino and Sasuke had been there).
She always grinned madly when those particular memories surfaced in her mind. Now she knew why.
They had been signs of an unrequited love finally being reciprocated.
This wasn't without disadvantages though. Sakura had still played the loyal friend to the end, and had been blind to the fondness that the Sharingan wielder seemed to have for her. Sasuke, on his part, had made no further advancements on her best friend, and this was frustrating the mind manipulator to an alarming extent.
Ino had finally decided to put an end to all of their miseries.
So an hour later found her and a smiling yet confused Sakura on Ichiraku's ramen stand. The blonde had practically dragged her best friend there, claiming to have missed her because all she did now was just work in that hospital, when in reality, she had just wanted to settle everything.
After they had ordered a bowl of miso ramen for Ino and a bowl of beef ramen for Sakura, she decided to just take the blunt approach. While Ino hadn't been known for being subtle and secretive, she had been infamous for being blunt and straightforward.
"Sakura, while I would love to call you Forehead and ask for all the juicy details in your life right now, I would rather have you clear up one tiny little thing for me. What is with you and Sasuke?"
Ino had seen the surprise long before it registered on her friend's face. She hadn't brought this up in a while, and when she had, the blonde had always been so carefree and blithe about it. However, this time is going to be different. This time, she will find out just what exactly is going on between her best friend and the other blond's best friend. This time, Sakura could have thought that she was being extremely serious for the first time in her life.
She observed the pink-haired woman's behaviour on the time frame that her question hadn't been answered. She had just been twirling the noodles in her bowl, not wearing a smile on her face or any sort of light expression, for that matter. She looked contemplative, and a bit nervous. Her lips were being simultaneously bitten, and her eyes were too focused on her noodles.
It took a few more moments of silence before Sakura chose to voice her thoughts.
"Ino… I really don't think now's the perfect time to be talking about this."
She didn't respond at Sakura's statement. She had been thinking of ways to get the medic to reveal any semblance of a relationship she had with the former avenger. But Sakura wasn't finished with what she wanted to say.
"But I think that maybe it's time that you at least find out what's going on."
Ino's head snapped up so fast that she might have gotten whiplash. Is this really happening? Her mind reeled from the possibility of finally hearing the ecstatic words that would ultimately announce the start of a beautiful relationship, yet it also flinched at the likelihood that she would hear a broken, barely fixed heart telling her that nothing has changed. She sincerely hoped that it wouldn't be the latter.
"It all started around two years ago, when Sasuke-kun and I were on a mission..."
Sakura started talking. Ino had been listening intently, she really had been, but when she caught a glimpse of silver around Sakura's neck, she couldn't help but feel intrigued. Sakura had never worn any sort of jewelry unless it was a chakra enhancer of some sort. And usually, it would be an earring, since rings tend to get in the way of her punches.
"…it's been going on for a while, but not that long yet. We wanted to…"
Her red zip up was in the way. The necklace was barely visible; it disappeared under the annoying zip up, but Ino was somewhat certain that it wasn't touching skin beneath and was on top of her undershirt. The chain also seemed to be rather short, and if Sakura moved forward, she might be able to see the pendant. It might give a clue as to who has given the necklace to her best friend.
"…we're just not ready to let everyone know yet. People get judgemental, you know…"
In that short moment, Sakura had leaned slightly forward to get some pepper. It had just been a second at the most, but time seemed to slow down as the chain seemed to have peeked out of her shirt. No, not the chain actually, but the pendant. Ino's eyes were fixed on that spot, and for one brief moment, just one short moment, her world stopped.
"…so, basically, Sasuke-kun and I have been dating behind everyone's backs."
It took a few more seconds for Ino to realize that she had held her breath in awe. She blinked a couple of times, got in a few deep breaths, and let an unbelieving smile flit across her face.
"Wow. Oh my God. Just… Wow. I can't believe it."
She giggled at the incoherency of her sentence. While Sakura was merely smiling softly next to her, her giggle had turned into one of a full blown laughter. The medic had looked at her weirdly, but started softly chuckling.
Ino was pretty sure that their delight stemmed from different reasons.
Finally. It looks like there was more to Sakura's story than she had initially let on. She was sure the medic wasn't about to tell her any time soon, and while she understood her reasons, she couldn't help but feel intrigued at their little secret. She let it go for now; there was something far more important that needed to be confirmed.
Still smiling somewhat idiotically, Ino stood from her seat and took a step towards her best friend. Bending down, she hugged the girl and placed a small, soft, friendly kiss at her not so large forehead.
Sakura looked taken aback by her unusual, if not rare, gesture when she let go of her. "You just kissed my forehead," the astonished woman said.
"Yeah, I did. But that was because of all of those secrets the universe doesn't know about."
Her friend still looked as clueless and as confused as ever. She smiled, moving forward to tap the pendant behind her zip up, and let a knowing look cross over her face. Her friend's eyes widened. With that, Ino laughed once more. She had the confirmation that she needed.
She noticed a certain Uchiha walking towards Ichiraku, poker face and all. With that, she leaned towards Sakura's ear, mentioned a few words, and left her best friend in the hands of the other person who might actually love her more than she does.
She had been ecstatic when she found out. If it hadn't been for that one special necklace, she would have been as oblivious to it all as the rest of the townsfolk. As for what made that necklace special, well...
There hadn't been any pendant.
Instead, there had been a beautiful gold ring that had the Uchiha fan and an inscription.
What the inscription was she never got to know. But now, there was one more thing she knows.
Yesterday, there was one more thing, one more persona of Uchiha Sasuke that even Ino herself, she admits, has failed to see.
Today, there was one more thing, one more persona of Uchiha Sasuke that only Ino herself (aside from Sakura, of course) has actually discovered.
The grown man that was actually secretly in love with her best friend.
She feels as if that statement didn't do it any justice. She decided to rephrase.
The grown man that had actually been deeply in love with her best friend, who was now his fiancée.
Ino smiled softly. When it had happened, she did not know. How it had happened, she did not know. All she knows was that a lot had happened before they actually fell in love.
She had always believed in the power of love. She had always believed that love is so strong it can move mountains.
But for the first time in her life, she questioned just how powerful love could actually be.
Those two, Uchiha Sasuke and soon-to-be Uchiha Sakura, had just debunked her belief.
Because their love is so powerful that no words could ever be created to describe it.
Is that how powerful love really is?
"Congratulations on the engagement, Forehead."
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A/N: Oh my gosh. My senses are tingling. LOL. Alrighty then. My friend suggested that I do a prequel on this one. I don't know though, I want to, but I have no idea how.
Tell me what you think about this story, please!
Oh, and prequel anyone?
Review!