The Hunt

Summary: Ino – the broken interrogator who just came back from her two-year mission in Suna. Sasuke – the former traitor who surrendered himself to Konoha a year ago. Both aren't looking for love, but love is on the hunt for them.

"Come back."

Those two words shocked me for a minute. What a shameless bitch this girl was. After everything she put me through, she showed up at Sasuke's doorstep and asked me to fucking come back to that place. To Suna. "Don't make me laugh, Temari."

"I'm begging you." It didn't matter even if she knelt in front of me, I would never forgive her. "Please, Ino – don't do it for me or for the elders, do it for the villagers."

"You're begging me to come back after you asked Matsuri to tell the elders about the baby?" I could only scoff. "They took away my baby's life – do you even how much that hurts?"

She lowered her head to avoid my eyes. "I didn't think they would kill it."

"Bullshit." I wasn't nearly as stupid as she thought. "You knew that they would." Goddamn, I fucking hated her. "And I know why you wanted them to kill my baby."

"I was scared," she half-screamed as she finally looked into my eyes. "Gaara told me about your pregnancy and he also told me he was planning to resign as the Kazekage because he wanted to protect you and the baby from that law." The tears were threatening to fall from her eyes – great, she was about to cry when I should be the one crying. "I didn't know what to do...I was caught whether to tell them or not and then it hit me that our village would go down if Gaara ever resigned."

"Did it also hit you that you killed an innocent and defenseless child in my womb?" I asked, weak and hurt. I wanted to viciously slap her but I promised myself that I wouldn't hurt anyone in this process. No matter how much they deserved it.

"You hurt me and you're here asking me to do you a favor," I analyzed bitterly. She sure as hell had guts and thick face to do this. "Seriously, why are you doing this?"

"Gaara won't leave Konoha without you, Ino." The crack in her voice didn't go unnoticed. "Gaara has stepped down from his position when you left Suna." She once again prevented her eyes from meeting mine. "He chose you over his village...over his people."

I laughed. That's what, huh? Karma was a bitch, that's for sure. Gaara turned his back on his people because the advisers and leaders killed our baby. "That's too bad for all of you then." With baby or not, he still resigned – I was not gonna lie, that made my day. "You didn't only lose your Kazekage, you also lost the best ninja in your village. How sad, isn't it Temari?"

"That's why I'm persuading you to return," she retorted desperately. "Suna needs its Kazekage, it needs Gaara."

"I had a talk with Gaara two days ago and I don't plan on returning to him," I filled her in with a smirk. "I'm undoubtedly the most hurt...so don't blame me for not wanting to come back."

"What do you want me to do, Ino?"

"Kill yourself, Matsuri, and everyone who'd decided to kill my baby," I replied without thinking. I really didn't want to hurt anyone but deep down, that's what I wanted sometimes. How cruel, I knew. I smiled sickeningly sweet at Temari before continuing, "If you can't do that, then don't bother me ever again. Goodbye."

This was where I shut the door in her face.

I sighed and turned my head to Sasuke, who was just sitting on the couch the whole time. "Thank you for not interfering, Sasuke-kun."

"Do you really want that?"

I pretended to not know what he was talking about. "Want what?"

"Them dead." He looked more serious than normal. How annoying was that? I walked towards the couch and sat beside him. "Is that what you really want?"

I thought for a minute before answering. "Sometimes I do want revenge," I confessed. "But then I realized, I don't really need it. And besides, if I chose to get it, I'd only hurt the people who love me." I stared at his eyes. "I don't want to hurt them like you did to us when you seek for it."

"You loved me?" he asked, trying to hide his shock. He probably thought all along that it was just a stupid childhood crush but I was sure it was more than that. I did cry over him after all.

"I'd like to think so." I smiled sadly at him. "Although, Karin and forehead loved you more than I did."

It was true. I had loved him a lot less compared to them. Was I willing to give up my life for him like those three without hesitating? I wasn't very sure.

"Why did you?" Apparently, he was curious why I had continued loving him after he betrayed us. Honestly, I didn't know why I'd continued either. I'd always known he wasn't going to come back sooner but for some reason, I'd still hoped that he would.

"I probably tried my best to understand you that's why I couldn't bring myself to hate you." My reply was very much unsure but that was good enough for now. "And I seriously cared about you."

I put my head on his shoulder because I knew he wouldn't care. Hell, I used to jump on him when were younger. He didn't care then, I didn't see why he would care now. After all, this Sasuke wasn't too different from that Sasuke that I'd liked in the academy ages ago.

"Ino, what does Anko want from you?" Sasuke was appalled. I rolled my eyes – like most men I knew, he wasn't very much fond of Anko-sensei. I wondered why.

"Relax." I assured him. "She's one of my mentors, it can't be that bad."

My assuring didn't quite work on Sasuke. "If she mentored you, then it could."

Okay, so it could be that bad. Anko-sensei was a real bitch and anyone that knew who she was had figured that much. Nevertheless, Anko-sensei was hell of an awesome woman. I had no complaints, really. And besides, she never bored me.

"Let's just go to her place."

I grabbed Sasuke's arm and dragged him out of his apartment. We walked about a mile to her apartment, which was pretty close to the market place. With our chakra repressed, we knocked on the door and there was no response. Freaking bitch.

"What the hell!" I lost my patience. Why wouldn't she open the fucking door when she obviously was inside? I turned my head to look at Sasuke, "She's not alone, is she?"

"Kakashi's inside too." Sasuke said expressionlessly. "We came at the wrong time."

"Hell no, I ain't going home for nothing." I punched the door and it was crushed. Oops, I didn't mean to punch it that hard. But whatever, Anko-sensei would have done the same thing if I made her wait.

Oh my fucking... My eyes widened, this was so gross.

I snorted in disgust while Sasuke looked away, still emotionless but I could tell he felt uneasy. "You didn't call me here just to see you and Kakashi-sensei stark naked on top each other, did you?"

After they got dressed, I felt the need to ask, "Since when have you been fulfilling Kakashi-sensei's wildest fantasies?"

"For about a year now," she answered as she started pounding herself with lots of dangos. I stared at Kakashi-sensei, who was staring right back at me. I didn't think she would like him, let alone he would like her.

"And you didn't tell me sooner?" I felt somewhat irritated because Anko-sensei had never kept a secret from me. "You're so annoying."

"Chill, blondie." She nastily smirked at me – this couldn't be good. "You haven't been getting some lately, have you?" And then she turned her head to Sasuke. "I'm sure pretty boy here's more than willing to give you some." I glared at her but she had the nerve to continue, "I heard you've been with him since you arrived. How's that?"

For a moment there, I wished I didn't miss Sasuke's reaction on that one – that was, if he had any in the first place. "Why did you call me here anyway?"

"I might have gotten knocked up."

Sasuke and I were stunned. Did she say she might be having a baby? They were doing it without using the proper protection? Then again, I shouldn't be the one talking. And besides, they were much older than me.

It was my turn to smirk. "About damn time you settle your ass down."

"Check it if I really am," she demanded with agitation. How annoying, did she forget she was asking me a damn favor? "Hurry up, blondie."

"Fine." Like I had a choice. But in reality, I was more than glad she would make do this. Anko-sensei was more like a rough older sister to me than a parent. That's why we got a long the best. I began with, "Do you throw up during mornings?"

"Unfortunately."

"How are your breasts?"

"Better than ever," Kakashi-sensei spoke for the first time. I could only smile and when I looked at Sasuke, he was frowning. But that was normal.

"My tits are bigger than usual," she said, grinning widely. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Your menstrual period?"

Kakashi-sensei kept quiet as he shuddered. Anko-sensei elbowed him as she said, "I haven't had it for almost two months."

"Are you hornier than usual?"

"Totally," Kakashi-sensei answered for her as Anko-sensei narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll shut it."

"Have you been peeing a lot?"

"Every five minutes."

"You sure got knocked up." I beamed at her as I pulled her into a quick hug. "Congrats. I'm really, really happy for you."

I felt sad a bit, kind of jealous. If I didn't lose my baby, I would still have had those pregnancy symptoms too. But my happiness for her and Kakashi-sensei was genuine because what made her happy mattered to me the most. "Don't be a bitch, okay? You gotta eat and do what's good for you."

Anko-sensei groaned as I smiled.

I had the worst luck, I swore. Why? On our way home from Anko-sensei's house, we bumped into Naruto and this time around, I was the one who was dragged to go to a place I didn't feel like going to. Hokage's tower.

"Lighten up, Ino!" Naruto tried to wipe away the frown in my face but obviously, it didn't work. He needed to try harder than that – he knew why I didn't want to be here but he still forced me. Thank goodness Sasuke was here or else... "I called you here because Daitaro-kun wants to see you again!"

"Stop lying," Sasuke told Naruto unhesitatingly. "You're terrible at it."

Just like Sasuke, I could see through his lies too. I was a spy-interrogator for fuck's sake. I knew why I was here, and I was pretty sure Sasuke did too. This asshole wanted me to talk to Gaara.

"Shika will kill you, Naruto." What I said was the truth, Shikamaru clearly asked him not to intervene in this. But Naruto never followed a damn rule. Fucking Naruto. "He really will and I won't let anyone stop him from doing so."

"You're being unfair to Gaara." Naruto's eyes were focusing onto mine. He was serious about this – did Gaara really tell him what happened? Only a few people knew the whole story, and Gaara wasn't one of them until two days ago. "He didn't really do anything – it is not fair that you left him when it's not really his fault."

"Do you even know what happened to them?" Sasuke furiously demanded an answer from Naruto. I did understand why Sasuke was being like this. He was being a friend to me – I was glad, to be honest, because I desperately needed one right now. "If she didn't want to settle things with Gaara right now, then don't force her to. Nara asked you to stay away from her business for a reason, so don't interfere."

"Shikamaru asked me to stay away because he doesn't want them back together!" Naruto yelled at Sasuke, who looked as though he was about to attack Naruto. This was the first time I saw him getting really angry. "Shikamaru loves her for a long time now and he sees this as an opportunity for himself!"

I could barely think, I just found myself slapping Naruto as my eyes watered out of animosity. "I know him more than you do, Hokage-sama." The tears were threatening to fall, I felt so debilitated. "Shika is the most selfless person I know. And he will never do anything selfish just to get me. He's this person who will give up his happiness for mine – this person who's willing to sacrifice his life just to protect mine." I pulled Sasuke's arm, ready to leave but looked back at Naruto for the last time. "Apologize to him when he comes back from that mission of his."

We got home an hour ago and I still didn't feel any better. Not because of what he said about Shikamaru because clearly, he was wrong on that one. It was what he said about Gaara that was driving me nuts.

"Am I really being unfair?" I asked Sasuke, wanting to know what he really thought. What Naruto said was stuck in my mind – was I really being biased when it came to dealing with Gaara? I really didn't know.

"No." His answer made me feel better, it really did. "You're still hurt – why would you forgive him if you weren't ready? No one wants a half-assed forgiveness, Ino."

"But Naruto..."

"That dumbass doesn't understand what you feel and the situation itself," Sasuke persisted. "He considered Gaara's feelings but he hardly considered yours. Once he realizes his mistake, he'll come to you and apologize."

Sasuke was never really the talkative type, but I was happy that he actually was one today. "And no matter how you look at it, Gaara has his faults. For one, he didn't read the situation both of you were in – if he wanted to protect you or your child, he would have had resigned automatically soon after you told him about the pregnancy." His eyes were very intense but comforting. "Ino, he didn't have to tell his sister about your pregnancy before resigning but he still did. He didn't intentionally hurt you but he failed to predict the possible outcomes of his actions."

I came into a realization that Sasuke had been reading and analyzing my situation all along – apparently, he cared. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun." I snaked my arms around his body to show him gratitude. To show him that I appreciated him being there for me. "I'm so glad someone understands."

"Nara and Akimichi do too." He was right, my teammates understood too, but they weren't here. They were villages away from me, and it sucked. I wondered if they were doing fine – I couldn't help but felt worried since they didn't tell me anything about that mission of theirs.

"Yeah but you've been by my side for the last five days." I let him go and took one small step backward to stare at his dark eyes once again. "I know you're here with me because you have to - I mean, it's your job," I tiptoed and leaned in to plant a small kiss at the side of his mouth – he deserved it, "but still, I'm really thankful that I have you here beside me."

This time around, it was Sasuke who pulled me into a warm and comforting hug.

A/N: Barely any humor, I know. But I needed to get that 'dark' mood. Sorry I lied, there aren't any GaaIno interactions in this chapter. Next chapter, I promise – it's likely to have more next chap because seriously, she has to talk to him eventually. And one question, should I extend?

Um, reviews?