Sweet Irony
Yugao
Summary: The moment Ino decides to give up on Sasuke, he turns around and starts taking notice of her.
Author's Note: I've always thought a SasukeIno story was long overdue, since I'd already written a SasukeSakura (which, by the way, I'm not exactly fond of). This is… sort of based on reality, and therefore I dedicate it to myself! And to my friend Iyocee who secretly (or not so?) ships this pairing… (Don't look at me that way; I'm not actually enthusiastic about pairing Sasuke with anyone.) Haha… please read and review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Only spiraling fireworks in bright colors illumined the night sky, void of both the moon and the stars. Their beauty was only equaled by their evanescence, because soon the sky returned to its former darkness. Fireflies took their place, dotting the starless night with flickering lights.
Ino had long dismissed romanticizing nights like these. In fact, she had long given up romance itself.
It had been sixty-three million, seventy-two thousand seconds since it began.
A million, fifty-one thousand two hundred minutes.
Seventeen thousand, five hundred twenty hours.
Seven hundred thirty days.
Ninety-seven weeks.
Twenty-four months.
Two years.
It had been two years since she fell in love – or thought she did – with Uchiha Sasuke.
Ino sighed as she leaned back against the tree trunk and gazed up at the endless void. She could remember the first time, two years ago, when she and her best friend Sakura laid eyes on Sasuke, the first time they confided in each other that sparked their first-ever rivalry, the first time they haphazardly threw away their friendship to chase after someone.
She laughed lightly. It sounded so silly now, when before it was the most serious thing pressing her mind. Now she was glad to have been able to look back on it and laugh.
And then came their graduation from the Academy. They even fought over who would be put into Sasuke's team, and she could even remember how disappointed she was when Sakura beat her to it – again. Again, and again, and again. It seemed always to be that way – that she was always losing him, one way or another, to Sakura.
She pretended, not only to other people but also to herself, that she didn't really care. He was just a boy, after all – that's what she kept telling herself day after day after day. If she felt any hurt, she didn't let it show. She kept that perpetual outward grin, unless of course she was scolding Shikamaru and Chouji for eating barbeque instead of training. Still, she was under the pretense that Sasuke didn't, doesn't, and never will matter to her.
Ino laughed again, a slightly sardonic chuckle she'd come to develop over the years. She'd begun to appreciate irony; it seemed to be eternally present in her life. Reminiscing the past brought back more than just memories; they brought back the same feelings, the same raw emotions that threatened to resurface.
Her laugh was cut short, and these feelings she suppressed. She didn't want to go through the same pain, the same tearing, clawing pain inside her that broke her from the inside out. No, she didn't think she was strong enough to handle it again.
Because despite what she showed everyone, that she was strong, that she was confident, that she believed in herself, she knew otherwise. It was all a façade – it always was.
No matter how domineering she seemed, she was never sure if her plans were going to work.
No matter how self-confident she appeared, she was always worrying about what other people thought of her.
No matter how proudly she spoke, she was always groping for just the right words to say.
And no matter how much she insisted that she didn't care about Sasuke, she always did.
Today, though, she had resolved to give up on him. Today, she decided that there was absolutely no way that she was going to make it happen, and that she could be spending her time thinking about other things, other people.
Today she decided it was for the best that she moved on from this silly childhood crush.
The soft scuffle of footsteps brought her up from her reverie. Instinctively, Ino pulled out a kunai from her pouch and pushed herself up off the ground to a defensive position. Her bluish green eyes scanned the darkness, but when she saw nothing, she called out, "I know someone's out there. Show yourself."
Her eyes only widened when the person she least expected appeared. Uchiha Sasuke was standing there calmly, quietly, casting a nonchalant glance at her, as she stood there dumbfounded and speechless. "I didn't know anyone was here," he mumbled, turning to leave.
"That's all right," she deadpanned, putting her kunai back in her pouch, "I was just leaving anyway. You can have the place to yourself."
He turned to look at her curiously, but he didn't say anything as she brushed coolly past him. Suddenly, he grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving. "Ino," he said quietly, making her turn to look at him strangely. He looked as he always did - dark, brooding, enigmatic. Her face was expressionless, as was his. They looked into each other's eyes without a word spoken between them.
"What is it?" she asked in monotone. She didn't know why, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to remember she was trying to get over him.
He didn't reply, just reached into his pocket for a small slip of paper and put it into her hand. He let go of her arm, turned away and mumbled, "Goodbye, then."
With that, she hurriedly left. Once she took to the road, she opened the slip of paper and read it. She read it again, then again. Finally, she let out a soft laugh.
If she still wasn't over Sasuke, as she told herself before, then shouldn't she be happier? After all, it wasn't everyday the Uchiha prodigy asked people to train with him, his ruse to spend more time with a person.
But why was it that he noticed her today of all days, when she had finally decided she wasn't going to think about it, about him, anymore? Why was it that fate was so cruel, that she could neither have him nor get over him?
She laughed again, looking back to the sky where the first twinkling stars had begun to appear. The chill wind had once again begun to pick up and sent shivers down her spine, but not quite as much as the memory of what had just happened between them. "Sweet, sweet irony…" she murmured to herself as she walked home.
Author's Note: Okay, so neither Ino nor Sasuke were IC, were they? So sorry, the eps I've been watching recently aren't concerning either of them. (I'm watching my favorite ep series – the Golden Mountain ones… haha) So I've been experimenting on pairings, and I'm almost done with my oneshot plans so far. Will you please review? Thanks.