"Mom!" A little child on the playground called to his mother. "Mom! Look what I made!" The little raven haired boy said, gesturing to the sandcastle he had made beside him, happiness sparkling in his beautiful blue eyes that stood out so well.
"That was great Sasuke!" A twenty-four year old Ino called out to her son Sasuke. "You can do it all by yourself now, I'm so happy."
"Mom…" Sasuke said, walking over to his mother. "Can we go get some ice-cream?" He asked, looking up at his mom with pleading eyes.
"Of course sweetie. I'll take you to the store now." Ino told him kindly, with a smile. She walked him to the ice cream parlour and bought Sasuke his ice-cream and a fruit smoothie for herself.
When they had got home an hour later from eating ice-cream and playing at the park again, Ino got a call telling her there was a meeting tonight with Iwa's kage, and that he needed her assistance.
"Sasuke, mom needs to work tonight so Kagami is going to babysit you tonight, okay?" She told her son.
"Okay mom!" The seven year old said. Kagami was his favourite babysitter, and he had developed a childish crush on her.
Ino smiled and then left the room, getting ready for the meeting. It must have been important… She thought. Normally when she was called in, it was when Iwa's kage was making a deal with other alliances such as Akatsuki and the Sound Village. Not only did the Kage need her for advice, but he needed her to tell when someone was lyingbecause of her jutsu.
She had only moved to Iwa about six months before her son had been born. She couldn't take it anymore in Konoha. Everyone had turned their backs on her. Even her own team mates. So she came to Iwa to start new. She had family in Iwa, so if she was ever in a tight squeeze, they were always there to help her out.
Finally, Kagami came and Ino told her where to get a hold of Ino and left some money for them to order something. Ino then left for the meeting and took her seat beside the Kage. Tonight, there were allies from the Sound coming.
"…So we have requests from our lord Orochimaru for permission to allow ninja from the Sound to stay in Iwagakure my lord. He is in fear that his hideout may be found and does not want to lose these ninja." The man in front of Ino and the Kage requested.
Ino nodded to the Kage, indicating that this man was not hiding anything.
"Very well. They may stay in this village as long as there is no commotion." Iwa's Kage stated as he rose, Ino following him. "They are welcome to this village, and they may stay where they wish."
"Hai, Arigato." The man said before rising and bowing. He then left the room through the entrance, while Ino and the Kage excited through the doors behind them.
"Ino, there will be a meeting tomorrow where we will meet some of these ninja, letting us know who will be staying. The others aren't coming until after the meeting where it will just be you and I. I trust that you will not tell anyone else of this." The Kage told her.
"I understand. Thank you." Ino replied.
"Alright, you may go." The kage said. "I will see you tomorrow."
"Yes my lord." Ino said bowing before heading home where she found Sasuke sleeping in his bed.
"Sorry for calling you so suddenly. I just got a call from work Kagami." Ino apologized to her neighbour.
"Oh, it's okay. I know how it is Ino." Kagami replied. "Well, I'll just be going home now." She said before leaving.
"Thanks." Ino said, closing the door. She headed up to Sasukes room and kissed him on the forehead before going to bed herself.
Ino prepared herself for tomorrows meeting, setting out her kimono and shoes. Tomorrow she was to meet the new ninja coming to the village. She wondered who they would be, and what they were going to be like before falling into a sleep.
::Chapter Divider::
Ino walked into the room with the Kage and sat down next to her. The ninja had not entered yet, seeing as how they were early. Ino looked over the list of people who would be coming here and didn't get to finish reading it before they had arrived.
"Ohayo." A familiar voice had said. Orochimaru. It sent a shiver down her spine at hearing it. "Sorry for the wait. There were a few delays coming into Iwa."
"Ah, it is fine. We came here not 10 minutes ago." The Kage explained, while Ino stayed silent, staring at the snake like man in front of her.
"Ah, Yamanaka-san. What a delight to see you again." Orochimaru greeted her with a twisted smile spread across his face.
"Likewise, Orchimaru-sama." Ino replied.
"Well, best not keep those ninja waiting, Orochimaru!" The kage said cheerfully. "You may start to bring them in!"
The ninja began coming in. First was a Red haired girl with glasses and brownish red eyes. She seemed to be a bit annoyed at something, but Ino couldn't tell what it had been. Her name was Karin. After, the girl was sent into another room while another ninja came in. This time a boy named Juugo. He was a big man who looked like he could squash a person with just his hands. He was sent into the other room after Karin. Next was another boy with a large sword mounted on his back. He had sharp teeth, purple eyes and shoulder length white hair, and was named Suigetsu. Ino found this man good looking and couldn't keep her eyes off him until he was sent to another room.
"Thought he was pretty cute, huh?" The kages whispered to Ino, nudging her in the arm. "Just wait until you see the next one."
"This is the last ninja who will be joining here in Iwa." The man from yesterday explained. "He is Orochimaru's top priority to keep alive and well."
A few seconds later, Ino heard footsteps coming to the door, then a pause.
"You may come in." The Kage said.
The doors opened slowly and Ino watched as a dark haired boy appeared appeared from the shadows. He seemed familiar, and she had to admit, he looked good so far. He lifted his head and he seemed a bit surprised to see Ino sitting beside the Kage in front of him. Ino gave him a weird look, not knowing why he had the look on his face.
"I present to you, Uchiha Sasuke, Orochimaru's number one pupil." The man introduced.
Ino's blank expression turned into one of disgust at the mention of Sasukes name. "Ah, I am sorry to my lord, but I must leave now." Ino said to the Kage. "I have errands that I have forgotten."
With that, Ino got up, bowing and leaving the room. Why, of all times did HE have to show up. Just as she had finally erased him from her life, he shows up again in the least expected place.
She headed for her house after she had changed back into normal clothes in the washroom at the Kages building. The recent memory of Sasuke walking in wouldn't leave her head and she couldn't get it out of her mind. As she walked, there was a crack in the sidewalk and she tripped, heading face first for the ground when a hand grabbed hers, stopping her just inches from the ground.
"Yo. Be careful where your walking, Yamanaka." A cold and familiar voice said from behind her. The one that the hand belonged to.
Ino looked up bitterly at Uchiha Sasuke as she stood up properly. "Stay away from me, Uchiha." She spat out before storming off to her house to wait for the time when she would pick her son up from his first day of second grade at the ninja academy of Iwa.
Sasuke watched her walk away towards her home. What was wrong with her? He wondered. What happened to the Ino that was overjoyed to see him? More over. why was she in Iwagakure and not Konoha? What happened to the Ino he knew so well, six years ago?