Disclaimer: I claim not, therefore you sue not.
A/n: I'm sorry this took a while. I sort of lost focus, but something happened in Christmas that sort of jolted me into inspiration. Thanks for the reviews!
Chapter 3:
He couldn't understand how his plans wouldn't progress as he'd initially believed they would go. Impossible, how could every plan fail? Every single damn scheme would only bring Mr. and Ms. Perfect closer together. Tearing them apart was becoming more grueling with each passing day.
"Naruto, focus!" Unfortunately, Naruto's become so intrigued in breaking Konoha's favorite couple that his focus was beginning to slip; and it was showing in his training.
"Ugh-"He grunted through gritted teeth, forming a fist as he swung.
Yet, all he could think about was Sasuke. Konoha's former rookie of the year with his arms embracing the girl he truly believed would see him for who he is.
The blonde brought his hands together, attempting to form a seal but was cut off by Sasuke's punches. He cried roughly, gripping his midsection as he slid a few feet back. Cringing, he looked up to see his superior who grinned in his self glee.
"Naruto, what are you doing!" Kakashi-sensei's cries were blurred by the boy's growing anger. Lately, just being close to Sasuke did nothing but piss him off. It was like torture, especially since Team Seven still existed and he had to endure the brilliant love birds each morning; especially in the early hours when Kakashi had some high horse excuse for being late.
"Dope, are you concentrating at all?" Sasuke arched his eyebrow, crossing his arms. Kakashi glanced at his prized students, from his knowledge of the Icha Icha books as well as personal experiences; he had a gist of what was actually occurring between the two rivals. He smiled, knowing that boys will be boys. Naruto was no different then Obito in that sense.
"Aye, that's enough." The sensei raised his partially gloved hand, crinkling his exposed eye. It was amusing, 'if only Sakura was here to watch', but the girl in questioning hadn't shown up for training that morning. He finished with his usual line of departure before his figure was replaced by a cloud of smoke.
As for Naruto, his hate only accumulated. After destroying Sasuke's house that seemed to be his only form of any genuine revenge the past few weeks has been a little eccentric for Naruto; dealing with Ino every which way had its moments but detesting someone who the latter practically worshipped wasn't a good factor in any relationship.
"Oi, idiot." Sasuke retreated from his rival, hands shoved in his pockets as he casually strolled away from him. Naruto suppressed a growl, fighting the urge to bite the guy's head off.
…..
"Naruto!" Ino cried out, allowing the glass door to close from behind her. She squinted her eyes, protecting herself from the sunshine that radiated into her blue pupils. Taking a few steps towards the dirt road she scratched the back of her ear. 'I could have sworn he was here,'
"I did it." A whisper vibrated into Ino's ear, her spinal cord quivering in an odd sensation. Instincts brought her to yank her kunai off of her pocket to throw but once she witnessed the cornflower tinted locks she sighed heavily, wondering why in the hell she even tried.
"Naruto," She shook her head, she couldn't help but beam at him. He seemed to be ever so satisfied with something, and his smile was addicting…in his own little goofy stupid way of course. "Did what?"
"I just…" His grin grew as he flared his teeth, his palms formed fists as he couldn't tolerate maintaining the secret any longer. "I kissed her!"
"What!" Ino suddenly found herself crying out, feeling her heart beat slither to the pit of her stomach. The grotesque pang prickled her abdomen, along with her nerves blazing in her fingers. "I mean, how? What did you do?"
"No, it's not like that." The boy reached over his head to scratch the invisible itch, his eyes lingered to the side and away from Ino. Heat arose under his ocean orbs, a hint of shame rearing its head into his subconscious. "I…I sort of used the transf-"
Ino blinked, her eyes widening. "You used the transformation technique! Are you freaking kidding me? So…you turned into Sasuke!" In all honesty, Ino was internally satisfied with that answer. It was as if a great deal of relief was liberated from her shoulders. "And Sakura never knew!"
"Sheesh Ino, you almost sound happy to hear that." Naruto crossed his arms, sneering at her. It puzzled him how each time he would take a step closer to their goal she acted disappointed and when the situation was vise-versa she was overjoyed with her progress. In the words of Shikamaru, women are so troublesome. "And no, she thought I was Sasuke." He blurted out, regretting ever telling her anything.
Ino shuddered at his reproach, feeling slightly guilty. Oddly enough it was beginning to bother her each time she saw how gaga in love he was with Sakura. How gaga in love practically everyone was with Sakura. "Yeah well, aren't you so proud of yourself?" Ino hated getting so emotional, especially around an idiot like Naruto. She shoved him out of her way, closing her eyes as she proceeded to walk as far as her legs would allow it.
"Jeez! First I couldn't even concentrate at training today and now this," He hissed, turning away from Ino. He needed a walk but Ino took the only way, and so he was jammed between Ino and the Yamanaka's flower shop. Feeling defeated, he chose the glass door as he leaned against it to open. With the sound of the bell ringing above his head he stumbled into the small but modest store. He wasn't much of a flower person but in any case was impressed by the exotic flowers. "Che, it wasn't like I actually did the transformation anyway." He grunted, bending low to get a closer look at the Lilly. What started as a small prank turned into a petty argument between he and his comrade, and he hated it when people were angry with him. Especially Ino, at this point she seemed to be the only person who related to him at all.
"Great, now I have to apologize-"
A cough cut off his thinking, the teenager glanced behind him to see Inoichi standing behind the counter. A triumphant look plastered on his face, Ino's father beckoned for the boy to come closer.
"So it seems the young lovers already had their quarrel."
"Um…" Instead of getting a grownup angry with him, Naruto chose to ignore that comment of Inoichi since he really needed advice. "You could say so." Placing his elbow near the counter, he sighed heavily before continuing, "A stupid joke got Ino all riled up-"
"Sunflowers-"
"What?"
"I don't particularly know if they are her favorite, but they seem to suit her don't you think?" He winked at Naruto, hoping to see that the lad would get the point.
"But-No! That's not…I'm not her-!"
"It's on the house, no charge," Inoichi pulled out two matured sunflowers, resting them in Naruto's hand. "Now go, my daughter's pretty stubborn."
"But I'm…" Naruto mentally slapped his forehead. While he watched Inoichi disappear behind the curtains, he figured that Ino's father already had these plans in mind. "I guess I have no choice." He shrugged, seeing that if he made up with the girl she would at least walk around with him for a while. He was desperately lonely.
….
As for the term of a hypocrite, she looked past that word; she didn't particularly declare it wrong…only implied it. Moreover, in a way Sakura deserved this. Plus, it was his entire fault for planting the idea in her head anyway. If anything, he promised to take the blame.
Ino grinned, brushing her rosy bangs away from her head. The transformation technique was easier than she thought it would be all she had to do was find Sasuke. It wasn't easy pretending to be Sakura; she had to endure all the nosy questions of that thing which involved Sasuke. Doing it with a straight face wasn't exactly enjoyable. Yet, the idea of meeting with the gorgeous Sasuke was just about sufficient enough for her to give up on dignity. To think, once she found Sasuke…
"Sakura, I have to talk to you." The words spewed in stumbled distortions, and he didn't quite plan it that way, but his mind was still in a clutter at the thought of her. Maybe it was a crush, and maybe what he was doing was wrong. He couldn't help it; love was something that simply would not be denied. And he cursed himself for it; his supposed characteristic was completely thrown off.
"I…" Thought could not form in her head; her hands shook slowly as her palms became damp. Because he just had that affect on her, after all. All he had to do was speak, only speak and it was enough to drive her mad. 'Control yourself Ino, you're still Sakura, remember?' "S-Sure!" She stammered, feeling childish for her lack of maturity. As their fingers laced and a confident grin was lined on Sasuke's face, Ino felt her legs wobble like silly putty. In her state of childishness she allowed to be taken away.
They walked in utter silence, the silence thick and aloof but Ino felt some closure. All that she could muster was how much of bragging rights she was going to receive and how much she was going to smash her ego against Naruto.
Naruto…
Her lips curved into a smile.
Naruto, stupid Naruto who refuses to shut up. She's become so accustomed to his voice that she could hear that loud tone minutes before she went to sleep. His insanity was always amusing, and the fact that he was so stubborn was just so adorable-
Shit, why was she focusing on Naruto on a time like this? Interrupted, she felt a squeeze from Sasuke as they finally stopped.
"I guess…we've reached our destination" In his fleeting look, Naruto reached in his pocket to pull out the flower Inoichi gave him. Although it was intentionally for Ino, he didn't think she would mind. Besides, she would do the same in his shoes, right? He did feel somewhat culpable for manipulating Sakura, but it wasn't as if he never did that before! And so, with that justification in mind, he was dead set on knocking Sakura off of her feet. But it was so hard being Sasuke, arrogance he could handle but tranquility was a whole other entity he couldn't comprehend.
"Sasuke, I don't think we should…" Reality struck, and Ino knew it was morally wrong for pretending to be someone she wasn't. The next best thing was coming up with some lame excuse to get out of there without being caught,
"Sakura…you're so beautiful." Naruto rested the golden flower in her hand before lifting her chin with his index finger. Sure it was wrong, but it felt so good to be wrong. Self satisfaction comes first. Even if he wasn't Sasuke, he wanted that message to be clear in her mind, and he didn't want to leave without a kiss. And as if it was an itching rash, Ino's stupid remark bashed into his subconscious.
"Yeah well, aren't you so proud of yourself?"
Like a knife in the gut, Naruto couldn't take it anymore. Neither could his chakra, POOF the sound erupted as he knew the end was near.