Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the characters mentioned in this piece unless mentioned otherwise. The events of the actual story are mine however and I will not tolerate anyone stealing the plot and or original characters added to it without expressed permission.
Author Notes: Alright, I'm back after along break from writing, but I'm here to stay, at least until I finish this piece. Here are some little tid-bits you should consider before reading:
1. This story starts the afternoon following Sasuke's departure from the Hidden Leaf Village around chapter 180 or so in the manga.
2. Though nothing seriously violent or sex related happens in this chapter, be forewarned that anything can happen after this, so if you are 12 or under you really should not be reading.
3. Read once to get the general idea of the story/chapter and then read again before reviewing.
4 Please give worthwhile and constructive reviews
5. Enjoy… or else.
A Criss-Cross Love Affair
Characters and Original Concept by: Masashi Kishimoto
Story Written By: Joseph Ross
Chapter 1: One Sunny Afternoon…
The air within the flower shop was filled with the scent of freshly clipped flowers as the bell above the glass door entrance jingled. The sound made a certain blonde haired girl turn in the direction of the door with a soft smile. Putting down the beautiful arrangement of red and white flowers for a moment, the young woman brushed a loose strand of her shimmering silky hair free from her cool bluish-green eyes. With a small bow of her head, the customer who had just entered only seconds before began to recite her request of the young woman. The young woman listened intently, her bright smile never fading as she offered the occasional nod and various suggestions when the customer was indecisive about an aspect of the arrangement of flowers that was already beginning to form in the young woman's mind. With a small phrase of thanks and another bow from the young woman, the customer headed back out the doors in which she had come, the jingling of the bell following. Just as fast as she had put down the task at hand when the bell had first sounded, the young woman went back to her work, now burdened with yet another task.
As the nimble cream toned digits of the young woman worked their way across the stem of a lone red rose a soft sigh passed her pink lips, the smile fading only to be replaced with a frown. The eyes of the girl stared into the rose, the flower that not only was beautiful and pure, but also represented an abstract idea known only as love. While she could hide the feelings tugging at her heart during a customers brief visit, there was no way she could suppress the emotional whirlpool twisting and thrashing about within her. True, a rose was of beauty and of love, but it also had thorns. Subconsciously, the girl's thumb ran over one of the green stems many sharp spines.
"Ino…" A soft voice echoed from behind the young woman.
"M-mother?" Ino, the blonde haired sylph had jumped slightly when her name caressed her ears in the voice that was very familiar. Without even noticing a single drop of blood was freed from the confines of Ino's tissue from the very thorn she had been thumbing gently before her mother had voiced Ino's name.
"Oh my… I'm sorry dear." Ino's mother frowned slightly when she noticed the small cut upon Ino's hand. "I shouldn't have surprised you like that." As her mother reached for her hand, Ino jerked it away slightly.
"It's fine really, no need for you to worry…" Ino was cut short.
"That cut is not what I worry about, Ino, but what is on your mind." Ino was about to interrupt, she was planning to try and somehow convince her mother otherwise, but was not allowed the chance as her mother's words once again filled the still air. "I know something is wrong and it is not place to question you or force the truth out of you, but at least take the rest of the day off and try to clear you thoughts a bit." Ino's mother rested a hand upon Ino's shoulder. "I've been watching you from time to time all morning and while you may seem nice enough when someone comes in, you just go back to moping over that bouquet you have been working on for nearly five hours." Ino raised her head and parted her lips as if about to speak, but turned her eyes to the floor with a soft sigh. "Now you go for a walk or go spend some time with your friends, filling in for you won't be too much trouble." Ino's mother lifted her hand off of Ino's shoulder and moved behind the counter.
Ino managed a small smile to her mother before taking off the white apron that had adorned the front of her torso from early morning until that very moment. She remained silent and made eye contact with her mother only once as she handed her the apron. Ino was already out the door by the time her mother had given her goodbye with a concerned look.
I hope she will be alright, she thought to herself before continuing to work on the bouquet Ino had left unfinished.
The air outside was thick and filled with the smell of people and other various aromas twisted and mixed together to create a reeking miasma to a sensitive nose. Ino, accustomed to the sweet and cool air within the flower shop owned by her parents was almost overcome by the various scents that assaulted her nose. She showed little signs of her general disapproval of the air she slowly took in through her nose other than a small grimace that adorned her otherwise very beautiful visage. As Ino traveled away from the flower shop the grimace faded as her nose grew accustomed to the air, but her destination was unclear, I don't want to go home and I don't want to stay in town, not right now…. Ino no sooner gave that singular thought heed than she decided on a destination. The forest.
The shade, sounds, and scent of the forest were much more appealing to Ino's senses and allowed her to relax to a much greater extent than if she had remained inside the walls of Konoha. Finding a large tree, Ino placed herself at the base, sliding her back down the bark until her body was resting on the ground, her back against the tree. The rays of light that managed through the tree's leafs created patterns of light and dark over Ino's body. Ino was dressed in her usual fashion, a violet top that covered only her upper torso and a matching skirt that hardly came midway down her thigh and also bore long slits up either side and also long white cloth sleeves that started a short way down from her shoulder and ended nearly midway down her forearm. The way she dressed would have hardly been appropriate for a girl of any age if it were not for the gauze wrap that covered her body from the top of her shoulders down to slightly below where the skirt ended.
Ino eyes focused on the branches above her and was now free to explore her thoughts, which were focused on primarily one person, Sasuke. Why did he leave like that? He didn't even tell anyone, not even me! The feelings burning within Ino were not only of anger, but of sadness and even of jealousy of how Sakura had been the last one to see him before his departure. Maybe if I were a better person and not so mean to Sakura he would notice me? Maybe if I were as strong as I talk myself up to being…. Ino's cheeks began to ripen with a soft hue of red as blood was drawn to the surface, tears beginning to swell in her eyes. Why can't he even see me!? Why!? No matter what I do, he never even gives me a second glance… . Using her arms, Ino pulled her knees to her chest in where she buried her face as the tears that had been swelling inside of her all day finally came to the surface and flowed freely from her grief stricken blue eyes.
There, beneath that tree, Ino cried for what seemed like an eternity. All the bottled up emotions that she had been carrying around were finally coming out, but something, even in the state she was in, caught her attention. She raised her head, giving full view of the trails of tears rolling down her face. The sound of wood snapping just barely touched Ino's ears. There was someone else out in the forest other than herself. Standing up and wiping her face with the sleeve covering a majority of her arm. Swallowing once and closing her eyes momentarily she gathered her emotions and tried to force her mind off Sasuke as she trekked off in the direction of the suspicious noise.
"Byakugan!" A soft voice managed out in a barely audible tone.
A girl with short black hair faced a large tree stump, her body in the fighting stance native only to the Hyuuga Clan's "Gentle Fist" style TaiJutsu. As the single word departed her throat and passed her lips the veins surrounding her pure white eyes bulged out. She breathed heavily and her hands looked raw, the stump before her looked to have lost all of its' bark and had various indents and cracks throughout. Soon the reason was apparent for the appearance of both the girls hands and the stump.
"Haiiii!" The open palm of the girls hand slammed with full force against the bare wood of the stump, a gentle blue glow accompanying each powerful strike into the wood. Splinters of wood were freed into the air with the second strike and a following third and forth. The palm strikes were rapid and the girl providing them showed no signs of stopping as her breath continued to increase in its' depth and frequency.
From behind a bush Ino watched the girl, her eyes wide. Hinata has improved this much since the exams? She questioned silently, her eyes paying ever more attention to the details of each strike and of Hinata's form. It was still amazing to her that anyone would could do what Hinata and the Hyuuga Clan members could do. Not only was the Byakugan an amazing bloodline skill, but their TaiJutsu was fascinating. Forcing ones own chakra into someone else's body with a simple touch or strike seemed like something that would require skills far above Ino's level of chakra control and stamina.
"Ugh…" Hinata's blows to the stump ceases as the warn out girl fell to her knees coughing as one of her hands grasped at her chest, her fingers tugging at the cream colored coat with fur along the collar and cuffs that was worn over her entire torso. Hinata remained on her knees, panting heavily for only a few moments, forcing herself back to her feet and into her fighting stance, but only found herself standing there and hardly able to move. Hinata muttered something beneath her breath, her eyes looking towards the ground with a saddened appearance held within them.
"She is going to train herself to death if she keeps this up." Ino whispered under her breath. Indeed, Hinata had gained Ino's respect for determination, but there was a limit to everything. Standing up from her hiding place behind a bush outside the small clearing, Ino slowly made her way in the other girls direction. "Hey there, Hinata-san." Ino had mustered a small smile, one of her hands resting on her hip once she stopped. "You should take a break," Ino winked, "even strong ninjas like me take a break every now in then."
Hinata's white eyes turned towards Ino, her pale cheeks reddening like a tomato. "I-I-Ino-san.." The slight surprise in her soft voice was evident even from the distance Ino had remained away from Hinata. "I-I didn't know anyone was watching…" her words trailed off. As her cheek remained flushed. Hinata moved her hands up in front of her, each of her index fingers extending and tapping against one another nervously.
"Don't worry about it, Hinata-san." Ino replied with a dismissive wave.
Hinata was a very shy and quite girl, hardly anyone knew much about her other than she was the eldest daughter of the current head of the Hyuuga Clan, the greatest of the ninja clans of Kohona. Ino had never even heard Hinata speak during their years together in the ninja academy besides on a few extremely rare occasions were the instructor would call on her to answer a question. From what Ino could tell, Hinata lacked self-esteem and seemed to be depressed all the time besides in a few cases where Ino remembered her smiling, but those were almost as rare as the words from her mouth and only seemed to be when the airhead Naruto was around. There was something about him that lifted most peoples spirits, but it seemed awkward, if nothing else, that when Naruto was about Hinata seemed about the only time she actually smiled.
"Ino-s-san, what b-brings you out here?" Hinata managed to stutter out, her words soft and her eyes on her index fingers that continued to tap against one another.
"My mother gave me the afternoon off, so I thought I would come out here for a walk." Ino tilted her head some. "How long have you been out here?" The question could not help but be asked, especially seeing how beaten up the stump was and Hinata's apparent weariness.
Hinata's fingers began to tap against one another a bit faster than before. "Since early this morning…" The white eyed gaze of the girl still failed to free itself from the repetitive tapping of her own index fingers. It seemed as if she were becoming more nervous with ever word that left Ino's mouth.
"Oh?" Ino's smile had weakened some. From the way Hinata was acting, Ino felt almost as if she were somehow scaring the girl in some way by her actions and words. Trying to sound a bit more upbeat than previous, Ino once again spoke. "Have you eaten anything since you came? I wouldn't mind taking you to eat somewhere in town for lunch."
Hinata shook her head, "N-n-no thank you, Ino-san." Hinata's words were fast and almost sounded as if they were one. Her cheeks brightened once again. "S-sorry for being rude Ino-san, I need to train some more…" Hinata's voice once again faded from Ino's ears, but the shy girls lips continued to move as if continuing the sentence under her breath.
Ino's hands balled into a fist as Hinata continued to talk only to end up muttering once more. Ino's left eye twitched slightly, her face reddening. "Come on!" She shouted. Hinata may have been shy and quiet, but her behavior was beginning to wear away at Ino's nerves. Never once had Hinata looked up from her hands as she spoke and no matter what Ino said the girl seemed to be mortified of it. "If you want to train, that's fine! But once you start starving yourself just to work to death and can't even look into the eyes of a person that is speaking with you, that is simply stupid! You have more sense than that…" Ino's face was still beat red even after her shouting. "If you really want to train, fight me. If I win you have to quit this nonsense for today and go get something to eat and go home to rest."
Hinata had finally looked up from her hands, her eyes wide. She was utterly shocked by Ino's outburst and after recovering slightly, her eyes once more fell to the ground. "S-sorry…" Hinata muttered her apology just loud enough for Ino to hear.
"Sorry? For what?" Ino yelled before stomping her foot. "Just fight me, I know I will win and then maybe I can talk some sense into you once you have some food in your stomach." Ino waited for Hinata to get into her fighting stance.
"B-b-but…" Hinata was still looking down at her fingers, still taping against one another.
"That is it…" Ino grumbled before pulling her fist back and charging forward. "If you won't defend yourself this should be finished quickly!"
End Notes: Revised and now a little better, I hope all of you like it and continue to read on into the story as I post the chapters. Thanks.
