A/N: Thank you to SakuraakaMichelle for beta-ing this. Please visit her page and read her stories as well^^

Chapter 26

Apparently this made the sixth page.

"Heir to Uchiha throne found the love of his life", and under the heading was a picture of Ino getting out of the Uchiha limo, and the silhouette of Uchiha Itachi was blurry but distinguishable.

When Sakura first saw the newspaper the next morning, she laughed her head off.

When Sasuke saw the newspaper the next morning, his face turned green.

When Uchiha Mikoto saw the newspaper the next morning, she raced towards her husband, (whose face was green while reading the newspaper) and yelled, "Fugaku-kun, Itachi is not gay!"

Itachi, who sat on the couch reading the newspaper, was slightly offended by the sudden outburst of his mother.

Why would they think he is gay?

Showing no interest towards women didn't mean that he showed interest towards men.

Mikoto cried out in happiness, "I'm finally going to have a grandchild!" She has a very far-fetched imagination.

Sasuke yelled, "What am I? Air? Why are you guys favoring him?"

Sakura soothed her husband by patting him on the back while saying, "Mikoto-chan, I am so glad you agree. Ino-chan is quite a lovely girl."

Sasuke snorted.

Sakura punched him on the stomach.

"This unspeakable scandal..." Fugaku said, "Itachi, what is her parentage?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes, "I barely know her."

Fugaku waved his hands, "Fix it. Or prevent the media from gossiping. Scandals are not good for the company image. I don't want the media saying a child popped up when after you visit the zoo."

Itachi personally thought he was never going to have the time or the energy to visit a zoo.

(*_*)

"What is her parentage?" Madara asked simply.

Sakura stared at the old man, then said, "Uh... She's... She was orphaned at a young age."

Madara simply nodded, "I see."

Itachi frowned at the newspaper. It's making his life very complicated.

Madara then said, as if stating a law, "Itachi can't marry her."

"I don't see any reason I would, consider that I don't know her..." Itachi said.

Sakura could practically heard Ino wail in agony. She had a vivid imagination.

Madara frowned, "Itachi, you were too reckless to have a photo taken by the media. You should fix this."

Itachi nodded in agreement, "I will."

Sasuke sighed inaudibly. He dragged his bride back to their room, and listened to her outburst as she went on and on about how asshole-like the male Uchihas were.

Personally, Sasuke didn't think that Ino deserved Itachi. In his opinion, Itachi was sort of like a Kami, a god of some sort. A Kami who played cruel tricks on him, but a Kami nevertheless. And one could never taint the presence of a Kami with someone considered so... mortal. And besides, Sasuke has a slight suspicion that Ino was just in it for the money. Although he could never admit that to Sakura. Since Sakura tends to protect her dear Ino with her life.

(-_-)

Ino sat in her bed on Saturday morning as she viewed each document scattered around her with extreme care and careful attention. She was handling a divorce case and it's pretty nasty. Both parents wanted the custody of the child, and both parent also want the inheritance that comes with the child.

Ino was disgusted. She tossed the file aside and kicked them off her bed.

She laid her head against her pillow and her mind drifted to the Uchiha family.

Personally she thought that they were a bunch of blood-sucking, soul-twisting businessmen who has no compassion or empathy for others. She especially didn't trust that Madara fellow. He was somehow very twisted and manipulative from her impression. He expanded the company by himself, and was fairly proud of doing so. It's was an extraordinary feat, an accomplishment that allowed him to control all aspect of other people's lives, including marriage.

Ino suspected that Madara only wanted Sakura to marry into the family due to her influential family. It's not a secret that the Haruno name went way back to the time where Feudal Lords and Emperors existed. And looking at the situation now, the Harunos were on the verge of bankruptcy and Uchihas were so rich there's almost oil dripping from their cores.

Ino rolled over. It was true she wanted to create a huge scandal in using Uchiha's name. But the sixth page accident was completely a surprise. Maybe there would always be paparazzi following an Uchiha.

Her doorbell rang, which was a surprise considering only Sakura came here since this apartment was new. And when Sakura came, she didn't bother much with doorbells. Sakura usually barges in with bags and bags of junk food, wine, and a couple of classic films.

Ino had a fair idea of who that was. She jumped off her bed and glanced at herself in the mirror. Yes, prefect, she thought to herself with a smile.

Itachi saw the door open, and was greeted with a blond girl with her long hair down and in pajamas.

"Ino-chan," Itachi wasn't fazed one bit at her attire. "I think we should talk."

Ino invited him in while her eyes glued to his body. It's not hard to pretend that she has a sexual interest in the man. He was literally... the sexiest thing since sex.

It made her mad, somehow. Some people were naturally blessed with genes like that. She has met other members of the Uchiha family. Yes, equally pretty.

Itachi sat down on her couch, and stated, "Ino-chan, I think we need to talk."

Ino snapped back to reality, "Huh? Oh… Yes? Tea?"

"No thank you," Itachi smiled. "Are you aware of the little... act yesterday that got covered in the news today?"

Ino glanced towards her wall, where she cut out the newspaper article out and had put it in a picture frame.

Itachi's eyes followed her gaze and saw the frame. His smile didn't faze, he looked back at Ino expectantly.

Now there's the difference between two Uchiha brothers. The older one was capable of smiling and lure you into a trap then eat you up while the younger was dead inside.

Ino cleared her throat and bent her head down, "I am...aware of it."

Itachi then said, "As I am sure that Ino-chan isn't the instigator of this article, I am also sure that Ino-chan knows the consequences? We must set this straight or else the Uchiha name is in jeopardy."

You mean your freaking name is in jeopardy, Ino yelled internally as she smiled back and said, "Of course, Itachi-kun. I am very willing to corporate with you. Now, what do I need to do?" She grabbed her cup and drank to hide her grimace.

Itachi said while still smiling, "You need to marry me..."

Ino choked on her tea. Some of which was spilled upon Itachi. He coughed awkwardly as Ino scrambled between tossing him a towel and wiping her mouth.

"…Or we clear this scandal up by going to the press," Itachi finished. While smirking at her reaction. He personally didn't believe that anyone could put on a better act than he did, and he was challenging the girl in front of him to act better.

Ino quickly wiped her mouth while cursing the Uchiha bastard's tendency to speak half a sentence at one time. She quickly twitching her muscle to make a smiling face, "Itachi-kun, as much as I would like the first option, I am simply quite-"

Then she saw his smirk.

That was when Ino's temper flared high up while she kept her posture of polite and friendly in place.

Two can play this game, you bastard.

And that's when all hell broke lose.

A/N: Next chapter will be quite shocking. Please wait patiently for 3 days.