So he was back.
Though his homecoming wasn't accepted with complete welcome arms, he was back to his home at long last. The enormous burden that Naruto harbored on his shoulders was finally lifted and Sakura's heart was finally at peace. To them, it was as if the gods blessed them and they finally had their beloved teammate back.
With the war over, and despite all their losses, all five nations began their period of rebuilding as Team 7 did. It was a time of forced content- both for the sake of recovering from the pain of war and to maintain themselves.
It seemed as if the only ones genuinely happy that Sasuke was back were the members of Team 7, save for Sai and Yamato. The reactions of the rest of the village were mixed, ranging from neutrality and empathy for Sakura and Naruto to utter opposition that they made clear.
"He's a traitor. Once a traitor, always a traitor," they said.
"They know nothing," Sasuke would think to himself as he merely accepted their loathe. He knew that any retaliation would just make them resent him more.
Amidst all this, there was one other person who was truly, genuinely happy that Sasuke had returned, though she respectfully kept her distance.
-XoxOxoX-
Ino sighed as she caught sight of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke at one of the little shops across the Yamanaka Flower Shop. It had been a year since the war and his homecoming and the old Team 7's relationship astronomically improved, though Sasuke was still socially awkward and not a man of hugs or affection.
Ino rested her chin atop her palm and gazed at the trio with dazing eyes. Naruto was laughing about something before Sakura smacked him behind his head and got a grumble in reply. Sasuke was merely standing there with the smallest smile on his face while the shopkeeper laughed.
The sight sent a fluttering feeling through her; it was nice seeing Naruto and Sakura cheerful again- truly this time. Before, no matter if they were enjoying each other's company going out for a night, spending time with the others, or greeting each other as they passed by, Ino could see that the pain rooted itself so deep within them; minute signs of it showed whenever Ino encountered either of them.
So this sight was nice.
She was happy for them. She couldn't deny that.
Herself, though, she kept her distance. She was there during the trials, during the redemption ceremony, and even during Naruto's and Sakura's welcome back festivities for him but hardly went within ten feet of the Uchiha. Their first interaction in years merely, only consisted of a small smile and a soft "welcome back" on her part and a mere nod of acknowledgement in his at the homecoming festivities.
She wanted so badly to hug him, feel his presence so close that she knew for sure he was really back, and to just exchange more than a few words and a nod. But she knew she had no place in his life; it wasn't her right. Even before he left, she had no place in his life other than being a fellow Konoha shinobi and maybe just an annoying fangirl.
Ino wasn't a close friend- she wasn't even sure if she was a friend in the first place- she wasn't even a teammate, and she hadn't spoken to the guy ever since Team 10's last mission with Team 7 that felt so long ago. Where, in all that, did she have the right to literally walk up to him and give him the biggest hug and welcome she died to give?
Even without a right, Ino watched him from afar. Whenever she and her friends had a get together, ran errands or bumped into the three, she'd subtly lay her sights on Sasuke. It wasn't lust. It wasn't jealousy of Sakura being so close to him. It wasn't anything she'd expect to feel.
She just watched him, as Hinata had watched Naruto.
So there she was, sitting on the stool behind the flower shop's counter, gazing out the window at the golden three mingling outside.
Ino sighed as she stretched her back and arms. The day was slow, with only a couple customers here and there and all she'd done all day was sit basking in her boredom. Her teammates were off on a two-month mission and her usual company, Sakura, had been busy building back her bond with her own team.
She laid her head on the counter and felt herself nod off before the front door's bell rang, jarring her awake.
"Ino!" Naruto said cheerfully as he entered, with Sakura and Sasuke right behind him.
"Oh! Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke," she said, feeling a rush go through her when she saw the onyx eyed man come in. He'd never entered the shop before and was looking around the setting with interested eyes.
"What brings you here?" Ino asked, putting a smile on her face.
"We were just wondering if you'd want to head to the Sunahama Festival with us tomorrow," Sakura said excitedly, "Tsunade-sama gave us a leave from missions and since the festival's right around the corner, we decided to go. It'd be great if you came too!"
"Yeah, we've already asked everybody else but they're all going on missions," Naruto added. Ino sweat dropped with narrowed, suspicious eyes.
"So I was your last resort?" she asked, the corners of her mouth twitching into an annoyed grin. Naruto quickly hid behind Sakura.
"No, no," Sakura said, sweat dropping herself, and holding her hands up as if Ino were about to pounce on them, "He just meant no one else is able go so it would be just us four." Ino blew a small wind at her bangs and leaned her cheek on her hand. Sasuke remained silent behind Naruto and Sakura but looked at her just as the other two did.
"Will you be able to go?" Sakura asked, the smile returning to her face.
Ino pondered this a bit. The Sunahama Festival was held on the farthest southern end of the Land of Fire and had a marvelous reputation of being one of the grandest events of the year. She'd always wanted to go but the fact that she was just going with the trio made her hesitate.
Normally, she would have thought that this was her chance to make her advance on Sasuke, but now she felt slightly uncomfortable. The festival was three days long and it took a day of travel to get there. She didn't know if she'd be comfortable being around them for five days straight.
But what the heck. She had nothing to do since her team was off on a mission and she hadn't had any fun for the last couple of months. Maybe a trip like this would be a nice break from routine.
Ino smiled, "Sure, I'm down to go."
"Great!" Sakura said as Naruto cheered. Sasuke still remained silent.
"We'll see you at the South gate tomorrow morning, then?" Sakura said, starting to turn around to leave. Her companions started to follow her.
"Sounds good," Ino replied almost too enthusiastically.
When the front door shut, Ino let out a sigh and didn't realize how tensed her body was. She felt her body relax and found her palms slightly sweaty. This was her reaction to him when he was only a few feet away, silent and with Sakura and Naruto around.
'Ino, get a hold of yourself,' she thought as she shook her head to get rid of the feeling.
Suddenly, she regretted saying yes to their invitation.
-XoxOxoX-
So I just wanted to test an idea out to see if it would be a good one to continue on a multi-chapter fic. I know not much has happened yet, but it would be so great if you guys gave me feedback on this! It would be much help. Questions, concerns, and especially suggestions are welcome. Thanks for reading!
