Trap With No Victim
Now Sasuke wasn't much of an optimist, nope, far from it. But when you're locked in a bare cell, with nothing but a bed and small stool, the only light was given from a dinky fluorescent light from the hall outside the door, and the only company is the silent ANBU guards who switch every three hours, things could change. If only for one hour, day or week.
Sasuke lay stiffly against the thin mattress, thinking over the events of the day before. 'Hmm, not that bad really. At least now I have some things to think about…'
Konoha seemed to be in good times. Security was actually pretty good; he hadn't even been able to sneak into the village, ANBU officers had already found him fifty miles away. One had brought him to the Hokage, while the others continued with their patrol.
The Hokage… Well, he had to admit, he was quite surprised. Not so much that Naruto had become the Rokudaime or how soon he had. Nope, subconsciously he hadn't really doubted that Naruto would be able to fulfill his dream.
He was more surprised how much Naruto had changed. But now that he thought about it, he would have to act more mature for the job. So now that Sasuke thought about it, it wasn't too surprising that Naruto had gotten serious for such an important job.
But Naruto had also changed physically. Six years had given him a bit more height, not as tall as him, but he wasn't short anymore… His hair had gotten longer, and was definitely not as spiky.
Not an orange jump suit in sight. There wasn't even any orange in the whole office. Naruto had been wearing the traditional Hokage robe like a coat over a Jounin uniform. He looked a lot like the Yondaime in the portrait Sasuke had spotted on the office wall.
Naruto wasn't the only one who'd changed and progressed. From those he'd seen, a few of them had become ANBU. Like Ino.
She seemed to have changed just as much as Naruto. She looked a lot taller, about Naruto's height. She had changed her hairstyle; it was short, put up in a messy bun with two locks framing her face.
Apparently she was Konoha's top ANBU spy, from what he'd overheard, but with that technique of hers Sasuke wasn't too surprised.
Now with the whole tea thing that's where Sasuke got a bit confused. Was Ino Naruto's secretary or something? Or was she just being nice. Cause either seemed possible. She did seem to have a soft spot for the Rokudaime.
She must have gotten over that whole clingy fangirl thing she used to do. She didn't seem all that pleased to see him.
Good, it would be really pathetic for her to still like him, maybe Naruto had helped her with that?
But anyway, from what he'd seen she seemed to have changed for the better.
Moving on, the most surprising thing was the ANBU dog-boy. Sasuke had always thought he was pretty weak, loud and really annoying, much more than Naruto.
But then again, with his dog-traits and survival skills he would be useful. But useful enough to be ANBU? Again, he probably had gotten stronger, like Ino.
His mind wandering back to the conversation Kiba and Lee had been having, he suddenly wondered about Sakura. His biggest fangirl. He hadn't seen or thought of her since that day she'd begged him to take her with him. Which would have been foolish, he thought. She would only get in the way.
It sounded like she was going out with Lee. He chuckled to himself, thinking maybe that was why Lee looked at bit different. No more green spandex, bowl-cut or thick eyebrows. His hair was longer, sleeker, Sasuke recalled.
Lee, he was a Jounin now. Maybe he was a sensei, that would fit. Lee was the sort who would love to help other grow in strength and mind. That's what made him similar to Naruto.
Sasuke sighed and turned onto his side, facing the grey wall. Neji and Shikamaru were of the ANBU, and apparently Hinata was a teacher at the academy. That left Shino, Chouji from the rookie nine and that Tenten girl that had been on Lee and Neji's team.
He was curious, for no other reason than from lack of having anything else to think of.
There. Right on time. The creeking of the door, shuffling of feet and low murmurs. The guards were switching again.
Floosh. And there was his tray of food going through the flap Sasuke liked to call the doggy-door. Perfect time to suddenly develop a sense of humor, right?
Sasuke got up from his bed and went to where his food was on the floor. He bent down and suddenly heard the loud hiss of 'bastard'. He looked up and saw Ino's pale blue eyes glaring down at him through the door's barred window. It was up high and rather small, but you could still see the whole room through it, considering the cell's size.
"Ino." He said calmly. He should of felt annoyed, but even that emotion had left him. They were all slowly slipping away from him, much like his frayed soul.
The blonde girl glared harder before her eyes flickered away, her expression of disgust. "I wanted to talk to you before I left for my mission." She received no answer, not that she waited for one…
"I've wanted to tell you ever since you life." Her voice was rising and her face scrunched up in anger and disgust more with every second. "You. Are. A. Goddamned. Bastard."
At this point Sasuke decided he should sit, might take a while. This only made Ino stop and growl.
"You know what you've put everyone through, you jerk? Not only was Shikamaru self-doubtful, and Chouji and Neji almost died, but you put Naruto through something that no one with his kind of past deserves!" She took a breath, gasping for air as she had been shouting the whole sentence.
"He was broken, and he pushed everyone away. Even Iruka-san and Tsunade-sama. He was hurt emotionally, which is probably the worse kind of pain you can go through. Unlike physical pain it sticks there, even now I know he remembers it in the very back of his mind.
It triggered some other things too. Experiences he's been through because of the treatment of the villagers."
"And how would you know?" Sasuke asked quietly, looking her straight in the eye until she shifted uncomfortably.
"They found him in a self-induced coma about a week after his recovery. Tsunade-sama asked me to used my family's jutsu to coax him out." Her voice was soft and sad, and she was staring at the floor.
"I'd never seen anyone's memories before then. But he's special. And after that we became closer, I'd never really paid him any attention before that." She smiled now.
"I like to think I'm the only one who truly knows him. Anyway, we became friends and we helped each other through it. We'd both lost our best friends at one time, so maybe that was an other reason. Even now I can't really feel close to Sakura like back when we were little. Before you."
Sasuke stood up and took his food to his bed. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?"
Ino no longer looked angry at him, just annoyed. "One last thing. I won't be here for your execution, so make sure to tell my grandmother hello in hell for me. I still have her awful cat she left me, the one she knew I hated, I'm f-ing allergic, the old hag…" Now Sasuke could tell she was just ranting to herself, so he decided to ignore her and eat his now cold food. Ramen, of course.
A/N: Wow, that was… fun. Next chapter I think I may or may not have. Five months and Sakura finally comes to talk to 'Sasuke-kun'. Lol. I think I may read a fic for the NarutoIno pairing relating to this. I had to post this today, I needed something for my beloved kitsune's birthday. Lol. Hoped you enjoyed it! Sorry all you Sasuke-fans out there, just don't kill me, k?