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Stars
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"Ne, Sasuke-kun… do you like stars?" A seven year old Ino asked, briefly peering over at her brunette companion, hands folded neatly beneath her head as she lay on the soft grass, dazedly staring at the glittering night sky.
"Huh. I've never really thought about it. Why do you ask?" Sasuke, bringing his knees closer to his chest, shrugged in response. Stars… they seem so trivial to him; what was the point of even thinking about them? It's not like they're ever going to disappear; they'll always be there.
The blonde of the pair made a short noise at the back of her throat in reply and sighed in contentment as a comfortable silence permeated the air. She shifted from laying on her back and onto her side, letting her gaze fall onto her friend and reaching out for his hand.
The two best-friends lay in silence for what seemed like hours, never making a move and then a bright light whizzed across the sky. At that moment, everything seemed perfect. It was like time froze; similar to that of a movie, when paused at the right time. When everything was so beautiful, so pristine and perfect. The moon, as bright as ever, shone onto the duo whose hands were entangled, illuminating their very being, tinting their skin with a light, stunning glow. Thousands of stars twinkled in delight and the trees swayed softly in response to the tender hum of the wind.
Ino gave a small smile and shut her eyes, Sasuke following suit.
"Sasuke-kun. Make a wish…"
"Sasuke-kun! Ne, Sasuke-kun!" A twelve year old Ino ran down the streets of Konoha, waving her hands frantically as she tried to catch up to the boy who was currently on his way home.
Sasuke, hands in his pockets, wearing his signature blue shirt with the Uchiha clan insignia and white shorts, briefly stopped in his tracks and peered at her over his shoulder, one brow raised, "What is it?"
A slight shiver crept up Ino's spine as she sighed, his voice; it was so much colder in comparison to when they were younger. After that incident Sasuke changed completely. He grew cold. He was no longer that bubbly little boy she once knew. He stopped talking to everyone and soon enough, he grew distant to everything- everyone around him. It was clear that he was still softer around Ino, due to the fact she was his childhood friend, but that didn't make a difference; this boy was no longer the Sasuke Ino once knew. No, this definitely wasn't him. This wasn't her Sasuke. But this didn't stop her from trying. She wasn't a quitter and she would never give up on him.
Jogging to catch up to the pale brunette, Ino gave him a small, loving smile, "Sasuke-kun! I've been looking for you everywhere!" She exclaimed.
Sasuke merely gave a grunt and Ino's smile faltered, but nonetheless, she kept up her cheerful character, "Sasuke-kun, can you believe that we've graduated from the academy? We're genins now!" She laughed awkwardly, as if they were back in the good 'ole days, but soon frowned.
"What do you want Ino?" Sasuke scowled.
Ino sighed once more, shutting her eyes and then opening them again, tears threatening to fall, "Please. Sasuke… Just please. Talk to me again. I've missed you." At that moment, Ino didn't know what came over her. They were surrounded by several people; civilians and shinobi alike. She hastily clutched onto him, hugging and clinging onto him like there was no tomorrow, whispering into his ears and tears now flowing freely onto his blue attire.
Sasuke didn't know what to do, it wasn't every day that a girl would cling to you as if her life depended on it. His eyes softened a twinge and his body stiffened, but apart from that, he didn't move.
Ino, sensing his discomfort, quickly pulled away and rubbed at her eyes, "Sorry. I don't know what came over me," she let her gaze fall to the ground before continuing, "I- I just wanted to give you this." Ino took out a small package from her pocket. It was a small, red box tied up with a blue ribbon.
"I know we haven't really talked over the years, and you probably don't want any gifts and all… But now that we've been assigned to different teams, I feel like I'm not going to see you anymore," Ino smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head, "You can open it now." She handed it over to him and looked him in the eye, awaiting his reaction.
Sasuke sighed and took the small package from the blonde. Slowly freeing the box from the ribbons, Sasuke opened the lid and examined the contents, picking it up and rolling it around his fingers, "Ino…" he began.
"Well," Ino smiled at him fondly, "I've really got to go, my dad's expecting me soon. I really hope you liked it!" Ino's smile turned into a full out grin as she ran ahead and out of sight.
"A star, Ino?" Sasuke asked himself as he stared at the object in his hand. It was a simple gold bracelet with a star in the centre, but regardless of its simplicity, Sasuke smiled a genuine smile and placed it in his pocket, taking a brief glance at the cloudless sky above.
"It reminds me of that one night. When we were younger…"
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Author's Note: Can you believe it's been over a year since I've written something? Nevertheless, I got something up and I hope you all liked it! I know, it seems rushed and just, ugh. I can tell, this isn't my best. But hopefully you'll leave a review and tell me what you think, yeah?
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I own the characters featured in this story.
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