Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Summary: Seven deadly sins. Four missions gone wrong. Sometimes things don't always go the way they're planned. Sometimes you have to deal. Some people do it differently than others.

The Seven Deadly Sins

Chapter 3 (chapters refer to sin levels; this is the third, least sinful sin): Greed

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Greed: avaritia; A desire to possess more than one has need or use for

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If you haven't figured out already, don't expect characters who already "commit" the sins on a daily basis, to suffer from them when they're especially sad. I mean Chouji for gluttony? Everyone expects that. He does it even when he's in a great mood. It doesn't show a new side to the character.

Ino slumped into Shikamaru's couch and groaned, her stomach flipping as she absently thought of how dirty she was getting his furniture. "Shikamaru…"

Shikamaru ignored her and walked up the stairs to his room, slamming the door shut with a resounding 'boom'. Crashing sounds from above were heard as she pulled herself up from the overstuffed couch and made her way to the bathroom. A cry of rage and an explosion followed her into the bathroom.

'Poor Shikamaru…'

She refused to acknowledge the painful clenching of her own heart and she resolutely pushed aside the horror that had been trying to cloud up her mind. What she wouldn't give for Sakura's inner personality right now…something to block from consciousness those gruesome thoughts in her head.

Ino took off her clothes and tossed them out the window onto ground, but not before pulling out a box of matches. She tossed her bandage wrappings, her jewelry, and her hair ties out as well and struck a match, dropping it on top of the pile of her possessions. She watched them burn and turned away when the last tendril of smoke left, twisting the knob for hot water and stepping into the shower.

It was cold at first, but it heated up quickly. She didn't bother to turn on any cold water and her skin was soon red and irritated, her cheeks and eyes burning. 'Burn away the feel, burn away the sight and the sounds…burn them away!'

She took the loofah hanging on a small hook on the shower door and scrubbed at herself viciously, trying to scrub away the guilt and the shame. I was only when the hot water ran out that she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself.

After Ino wiped herself to a relatively dry state, she padded up the stairs to Shikamaru's room and entered quietly, avoiding the shattered light bulbs and torn up books. The scorch marks and the blood.

She reached his cabinet, avoiding the hole he had punched in it, and put on one of his black shirts, pulling a fishnet over it. She then searched through his drawers until she found a pair of green boxers with the tag still on it and she ripped it off, donning it before she also took a pair of his black chuunin pants.

'Hm. He probably went out. I guess I'll write him a note…'

Ino grabbed a pen and quickly scribbled on a yellow post it he had on his desk. She then walked out of his room and grabbed her wallet and keys from her pack before leaving the house and locking the door. No need for anyone to break in and rob the Naras, eh?

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Ino didn't laugh with glee as she would normally have done. The dead look from before was still in her eyes. She took the bag from the sales clerk and adjusted it slightly so it wouldn't be too much trouble to hold with the other ten bags in her hand.

Ino continued down the street in the shopping district and saw a man in his late teens sitting on tope of a bicycle with a two person carriage attached to the back. Without so much as a word, she tossed her bags in and nodded to him, "1,500 yen an hour. Follow on the street."

The boy grinned and nodded, kicking the brake back and riding slowly so as to not lose Ino. He wasn't dumb enough to steal her things, as his eyes had easily landed on the hitai-ate wrapped around her bicep.

(a/n: 100 jap yen $1)

Ino strolled into another boutique and let a wry smile—the only one she could pull off right now—adorn her face as the sales ladies came to help her. They had obvious disgust for her, seeing as how her hair was still wet and messy, she had small smudges of make-up around her eyes along with dark rings of sleep loss and fatigue. She was wearing badly fitting boys' clothes and her face and neck and arms were still red from the hot water of her shower, but they hadn't missed either her hitai-ate or her little display outside their store.

This girl had money.

Ino browsed through the store, pulling out everything she thought cute and tossing it behind her, the sales lady catching each one. When the pile was a little over a foot thick, she walked to the dressing rooms and took the first from the pile.

'It wasn't my fault.'

Ino pulled on a silky crème colored blouse and absently wondered what it would look like with blood smeared on it.

'Chouji's blood…it wasn't my fault.'

She pulled off the layered, lavender skirt she had donned and tossed it over the top of the dressing room curtain, "I WANT THIS!"

She took a pair of artfully ripped jeans from the pile and zipped them up. She turned around and examined herself in the mirror.

"Chouji-kun! Shikamaru-kun! Don't these jeans look nice on me?"

Chouji shrugged and tossed a caramel into his mouth, "Yeah, Ino-chan. You should get them."

She felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes and she quickly swiped them away. She took off the blouse and tossed it over, "I WANT THESE!"

She threw the jeans into the corner.

'It wasn't my fault. I wanted to save you! But you were…'

Ino buttoned up a pale, peach colored sundress and tilted her head, looking at it from a different angle in the mirror.

Tenten screamed bloody murder when she landed in the arms of a corpse. Ino spared a glance at her and felt a jolt throughout her body.

No way to mistake that face, those swirls. No way to mistake that face. No way to mistake that face. No way to mistake tha—

"GI-GIMME THESE!"

Ino sniffed and threw the dress to them.

'I want more. I need more things!'

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Ino walked to the shopping mall. She could find a larger variety of stores in there, and the bicycle boy would wait for her outside the entrance.

"Excuse me…"

Ino had been counting the amount of cash she had for the stores that only accepted cash.

Ino turned her head and saw an old man sitting on the street. He was dirty, with a scraggly beard and weathered skin. "Do you have any money to spare? For an old, homeless man like me?"

Ino raised an eyebrow and sneered before stalking away.

"No."

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Ino bumped into Sakura at the mall four days later and nodded to her. Sakura skipped up, dragging a heart eyed Lee along with her.

"Hey Ino-pig!"

Ino halfheartedly murmured a, "Hello forehead girl, Lee-san."

Sakura grinned at her and dug into her pocket, "Hey, Ino-pig! Look at what I found!" She brought out several small hair barrettes, sky blue with little white butterflies on them. "They match your eyes perfectly!"

Ino's eyes teared up at the sight of the butterflies, 'Chouji' and she gently stroked the ceramic insect…then she snatched up all the clips. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

Without another word, she floated away, ghost like, into her favorite kimono store.

'Chouji, you stupid fat idiot. You shouldn't have gone alone we told you we told you we told you to COME WITH US!'

Tears rolled down Ino's face as she tried on a pale green kimono with blue and yellow birds embroidered on it, flying towards a sunset.

'We told you not to wait for that stupid new restaurant to open! We would've taken you once we got back from guard duty!'

The deep purple obi was a little crooked. Ino adjusted it.

'You should've come with us when we went! You should've gotten it over with as soon as possible! Look at where your stupid stomach got you now!'

Ino posed in front of the mirror and nodded. Her eyes slid down to the silk tabi socks on her feet and the delicate geta she wore.

"I'll take the whole set."

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The next time she saw Sakura, she returned the clips, smiling awkwardly. "Um, sorry, Sakura-chan, I didn't mean to be so—"

Sakura shook her head and smiled, understanding lighting her eyes. "It's alright Ino-chan."

Ino nodded in relief.

"So, you wanna go bowling?"

Ino gave a small smile and linked arms with her much mellowed out best friend. "Of course, Sakura-chan."

'Until next time, then.'

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A/N: This chapter was a lot harder to write. Please review! At least five reviews for this chapter or else I won't update.