First off, I'm sorry for not updating as quick as I have been, I've been out of town for work, and I didn't have my disk with all my stories on there, I like to keep a backup story, in case something were to happen, and believe me, with my luck, something always happens. Second, thanks for the reviews I've gotten, 'preciate them oh so much!!! And Third, this has nothing to do with the story, but I want to thank my brother who got me hooked to yet another anime, Inuyasha. Its not Naruto, but still kick ass! Recommend in Japanese with English subtitles. Oh yeah! Onward to the story!!! Coffee good!

Orochimaru smirked evilly at the small girl standing before him. "Let him go." Ino demanded keeping her fiery eyes fixed on him. "You don't need him, let him go."

"On the contrary, he's keeping me alive. I need his very essence to keep me immortal for the time being until, that is, Sasuke returns. Or Naruto, whichever."

"Use someone else." Ino boldly took a step toward him.

"Someone like you, perhaps?"

Ino threw a handful of shurikens; Orochimaru easily dodged him. She threw a few kunais; he stepped away from the path of the daggers. "You're a fool. Basic combats like that aren't going to scratch me. Honestly, I would've thought you've know better." Ino ran towards him, jumped high into the air, aiming to kick him. With a swat of his hand, he sent the girl crashing into wall. The wind was knocked out of her. She grabbed her stomach, and tried to stand up. Shit.

Next thing she knew, Orochimaru had a firm grip around her neck as he lifted her a few feet from the ground. Ino struggled, trying to kick and punch her way out. He just held her up, a dark smile of amusement crossing his lips. Ino desperately gasped for air. She then felt light-headed; her eyes were starting to roll back into her head. A glowing bright light took hold of her sight. This is it. I tried. I failed. Ino's arms and legs grew weak, and suddenly stopped moving.

Flashback

"I'm Yamanaka Ino, who are you?" A young Ino sat down next to the crying girl in the field.

"I'm Haruno Sakura." She replied, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"You're the one being teased for having a big forehead, huh?" Ino points to Sakura's head. She starts to cry.

"You look good with the ribbon, you can keep it."

"Thank you, Ino."

"From this point on, we're rivals."

"Ino, don't cry. He's going to be okay."

"It's not fair. He used to be so cool. He left because he thought he was better than us. And he put our friends in the hospital. All because of him."

"Ino, please don't cry. I hate seeing you cry."

"Shikamaru?"

"Come on, keep me company while I watch the clouds."

"Leave your pillow here. When you come back, you'd have to stop here first to get it."

"I'll be coming back to get another kiss from you, and my pillow."

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know. Nothing is for sure right now. All I know is from the briefing."

End Flashback

Shikamaru, I love you.

Then she felt herself drop.

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"I see you made it back, and so soon."

"I did."

"I knew you would. You were always stronger."

"Let them go."

"What?!"

"Let them go. You're done. It's you and me now."

"What are you getting at?"

"You're going to die. I will kill you."

"You think you can kill me?"

"I can. You were afraid of Itachi, because he was stronger than you. I defeated him. You took hold of me for so long. You made me believe power comes from you and your ideas. You will die."

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"Oi, Ino"

Ino watched as the bright light began to fade to complete darkness. She felt herself being shaken and her head begin to ache. She slowly opened her eyes. As Ino looked around, everything was spinning. There was smell of burnt hair and blood. As her breath began to level, and her sight came into focus, she saw that she face to face with Sasuke.

"Sasuke! What are you doing here? What happened? What did you do?"

"Ino."

"I'm going to kill you. This is all your fault…"

"Ino, thank you."

Ino's eyes grew wide. Did he just say what? For some reason, she couldn't comprehend what Sasuke just said. These words were hardly spoken by him, before he ran away the first time. Sasuke helped Ino from the floor. On the opposite end of the wall, she saw the remains of the evil Jounin she had come after. He was tightly pinned to the wall with multiple kunais. There was a gaping hole in his abdomen where Sasuke had obviously used the Chidori. Oh my God! Her eyes skimmed to where Shikamaru was. He was still hanging. She ran over to him, and quickly cut the rope that was hold him up. His body fell to the floor on top of her. As she struggled to stand him, she put his arm around her shoulder. Sasuke came over to them, and lifted Shikamaru's other arm and put it around his. Ino just looked at him, and gave him a tiny smile. The three of them walked out of the room, and headed back to Konoha.

It's over, it's finally over.

Well, that's my Chapter 14! Sorry I didn't elaborate more on the fight between Sasuke and Orochimaru. I really couldn't think of anything. And I really hope, that this was a good chapter for yous guys. PLEASE REVIEW!!! I still have a couple more chapters to write, and I promise that they will be updated sooner than later. Love ya!