A/N: Argh... all I write is the fluff anymore . that and angst. I care for neither, too make it ironically frustrating. Oh, well, I have inspiration for an amazing story, all based on the death of one Hokage. And I have a humor involving Mary Sues too! Neither will be posted very soon, however, I have too much to do.
So, go listen to "Some Enchanted Evening" from the musical "South Pacific" while you read this. Because this story focuses on the concept of strangers falling in love (and will be a collection of oneshot-things) and the song seemed to fit. Buuut I haven't seen South Pacific in forever and I can only really remember "There Is Nothing Like a Dame", "Bali Hai", and "Cock-Eyed Optimist" so yeah...
Rated T for some *gasp* language and slight innuendos. Really slight.
Without further ado, I present to you, HidaIno.
He saw her out of the corner of his eye, and was immediately entranced. Her long, manicured fingers tapped impatiently as she chewed her lip. She glanced around the room, eyes passing right over him, as she continued to tap. She was waiting for someone.
Another girl arrived, wearing a short red dress, and sat down beside the blonde. The new girl had layered pink hair that stood out in the room. The beautiful blonde smiled at the sight of the pinkette and the two started chatting happily.
Hidan noticed the way the blonde relaxed. The pinkette had seemed comfortable enough in the shady bar, but the blonde wasn't. Oddly, the two seemed well-dressed and better off than most of the bar's customers, so why would the pinkette act like she came here often?
The barkeeper, a scarred young man with bright blue eyes, caught sight of the pinkette and snuck up behind her. The blonde smiled as her friend happily kissed the barkeeper. So that was why the shorter girl seemed comfortable there.
He watched as the girls resumed chatting until the pink-haired girl snuck away to be with the barkeeper and left the blonde alone. Hidan slowly got up, and approached the empty seat.
"Hey," the blonde said, as she watched him approach, coming out of the shadows.
"Seat taken?" Hidan asked.
The blonde glanced towards the back, where her friend was locking lips with the barkeeper. "No."
Hidan sat down and examined the blonde again. Her hair was in her face, her make-up expertly done, and she wore an expensive looking dress. She was definitely not the usual type of customer this bar attracted.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Names aren't important."
"Fine."
The music abruptly stopped as the lights went out, then flickered back on. Power outages were normal in this part of the city, but Hidan found it amusing and interesting that the blonde tensed and cast glances about the room, as if expecting someone to attack.
"You want something to drink?" she addressed him, as if to cover up her earlier odd behavior.
"Not really," Hidan replied.
"Fine," she said, glancing down. Her long eyelashes cast shadows on her flawless skin.
Traffic sounds from the bridge drifted across the water towards the bar, came in through the window with the strong smell and cool breeze of the river. Liquor, sweat, and fish scents filled the air. The night sky was visible through the cracked-open window, the stars barely visible but the fluorescent sign all too-bright. The music slowed and quieted, allowing the sound of the water and the boats to become apparent.
"Are you from around here?" Hidan asked.
"Are you?" Blue eyes flitted to him as she traced the wooden grain in the table with a long, manicured nail.
"Are you going to tell me anything about yourself?"
She paused. "Do I need to?"
Hidan fought the urge to swear down, and it came surprisingly easy. The music started up again, fast and with a pounding beat. A man left, and the door creaked as it swung open.
"No."
"Then no."
"Fine," said Hidan, with a hint of a smirk. The blonde threw a glance towards her friend and the barkeeper, but her face remained expressionless.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" she asked.
"A walk?"
"Along the river."
The river. Not the prettiest sight. But at night, with the moon's reflection, where it's hard to see the dirt and the grubbiness of it all? When the grime of the street is concealed in the shadows and darkness?
"Fine."
Ino let a ghost of a smile drift across her face.
He wasn't planned. But he was so hot. Broad shoulders, silver hair, teasing smirk. And he didn't seem to mind that she wasn't going to tell him anything about herself. And she didn't want to know anything about him. It would be hard enough to forget about someone as hot as he was without actually getting to know him, too.
As it was, she could tell enough about him. Jeans and a flannel shirt paired with leather boots, covered in some sort of grime, marked him as a working man. No ring, but hadn't appeared interested in any of the other girls in the bar -or any of the guys, for that matter. Looked disgusted at the smokers. Small tattoo of a symbol from little-known cult called the Jashinists on the side of his neck. Held his liquor, was a stoic drinker. Probably had anger problems; alcohol made him manageable, but not docile.
Ino also noticed that he had noticed. He knew that she wasn't comfortable, that she wouldn't have been there if not for Sakura, that she was used to finer things. That she probably wasn't a local, that she was uneasy but not frightened, that she was happy for Sakura and Naruto but wasn't happy having them run off to make out in the corner and leave her alone.
And that was okay -that he knew those little things- because she knew as much about him and she'd been trained to do that. She'd also been trained to conceal. She had an advantage, and that wasn't exactly fair, but he knew a little about her and that was fine.
They could know a little about each other, after all, and still remain a mystery.
The river stank. They walked alongside it, ignoring the litter, listening to the noise of the city. A siren was fading into the background, traffic as incessant as ever. He made no move to talk. Neither did Ino.
Dawn found them on a bridge, staring down into the water. Ino realized how long she'd been gone and quickly looked up, only to stare into his eyes.
Violet.
"It's late. Early. Dammit."
"Yeah," Ino agreed, still staring into his eyes. What she'd taken for a trick of the lighting before, was in fact his eye color. Unless he was wearing contacts. But she didn't think so.
His hair was most definitely silver, but then, so was Kakashi's. But she'd never seen violet eyes before.
"I've got to be at work in... two hours."
"I've got to call my friend."
"I really don't feel like going in, maybe I'll call in sick... fucking old miser won't care as long as I don't get paid."
"I wonder if she even noticed I was gone."
He glanced at her, and smiled.
"I'm hungry," he said.
"I smell coffee," Ino replied.
Hidan and Ino ate breakfast together. They spent the day together. They fell asleep separately, but smiling.
Ino called Sakura and the two Anbu Agents reported back to Konoha HQ, giving their information over to Tsunade about what they picked up in Amegakure from their undercover agent, Naruto. Nothing on Sasuke was found, but the two girls both thought going back for another visit would be productive.
Hidan reported in to work where Kakuzu lectured him on taking fraudulent sick days. The two finished up their work at the graveyard (digging graves, burying coffins, and chasing away those into morbid liaisons) and Hidan trudged back to the bar to meet Deidara for a quick game of pool. He didn't notice that both he and Naruto were longingly looking towards the table where Sakura and Ino previously occupied.
Ino and Hidan met again three months later. They traded favorite songs until they found one they could agree on and danced to it. They didn't give each other their names.
Two months later, Ino gave Hidan her cell-phone number. He called five minutes after she left. She laughed and turned around to give him a kiss. They called each other every other night.
They were officially introduced at Naruto and Sakura's wedding. Pein (Naruto's teacher's student, one of the groomsmen, an Amegakure official, and Kakuzu's long-time friend) introduced the two to each other. Hidan immediately kissed Ino, much to the shock of everyone but Naruto and Sakura, who played along anyway.
Ino moved to Amegakure a year later.
Hidan quit his job and started working for Konan, who was worse than Kakuzu in many ways, but never questioned his sick days as long as he never brought up her "thing" with Pein.
Anbu Agents lost one Yamananka the following year. Inoichi began training Hanabi Hyuuga to take Ino's place.
Hidan bought a diamond ring the next month, lost it while he was trying to work up the courage by downing as many bottles of liquor as possible, and proposed with a twisty-tie stolen from a grocery store while nursing a hangover.
A violet-eyed, blonde little girl was born on the first day of winter to the newly-married couple. They named her Yuki. Hidan cried when he held his child for the first time, vehemently denied it, and Ino stopped smirking only when Yuki said "Mommy" as her first word and reduced Ino to tears. Neither mentioned the incidents to anyone else.
He brought her back to the bar where they first met every year, on New Year's Eve. They watched the sun rise standing on the bridge where they made the choice to spend a day with each other. They were no longer strangers, and no longer mysteries, but Ino was still breathless when she would catch Hidan's eye and Hidan still found himself fumbling for words when she smiled.
"Some enchanted evening
You may see a stranger,
You may see a stranger
Across a crowded room
And somehow you know,
You know even then
That somewhere you'll see her
Again and again."
-Oscar Hammerstein II
A/N: Tried a sort of new-ish style of writing. Is it good? Hm? Review and let me know!
Next up: ItaHina!