A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to get up. I had it finished but then there was a computer glitch and half of it was erased. After that I felt a bit lazy but then I finally broke myself of it and finished writing the chapter. I liked the re-written version better anyhow. I won't keep you waiting any longer so without further ado, I bring to you, chapter three of Game of Love.

Dislcaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Meet me after dark again and I'll hold you

I want nothing more than to see you there

And maybe tonight, we'll fly so far away

We'll be lost before the dawn- Before the Dawn, Evanescence

"Thanks for picking me up Gaara."

Gaara nodded trying to keep his eyes in front of him rather than the pretty blond as she entered the car. Ino looked amazing wearing a short sky blue dress with blue pumps, her hair on top of her head falling down in small curls. It wasn't for him however and he felt his fist clench the wheel of the car involuntarily. It couldn't believe that she was going out with Neji.

He felt himself to be ten times better than Neji; he could destroy the Hyuga in a matter of seconds yet didn't have the courage to tell his best friend he…Gaara pressed down on the gas. The wheels of his Subaru jerked before speeding off. Gaara had little respect for speed limits.

Besides Ino liked it when he drove fast, she wanted her own car similar to his own. She talked of street racing even though it was dangerous. Gaara would support her no matter what. He hoped she would never get a car of her own. The reason why Gaara was giving Ino a ride was because she had no car of her own, rather was saving up to buy her own.

As long as she didn't have a car she would call upon Gaara. He never wanted that to end. He glanced at his best friend from the corner of his eye. She was starring out of the window, lights from building, neon lights, cars, and street lanterns cast a rainbow of colors upon her. It was almost breathtaking.

Of course Gaara would never say anything of the sort out loud; hell he didn't even speak most of the time. It was a miracle that he was even thinking such thoughts. Ino however…she was a special person to him. She gave out her hand when he needed someone the most.

It seemed only natural he would hold some feelings for her. Up ahead he could see the observatory. Something in his stomach dropped and he was half tempted to ride off course. Ino however had explained she was only going to get the ticket and Gaara believed her.

He didn't think Ino would fall for Neji's games anyway. His car begun to slow then came to a complete stop.

"Thanks Gaara, can you come get me again in about an hour?" Ino asked "But if you have something to do you don't hav-"

"I don't," he interrupted.

Ino smiled and it made him smile. The blond sighed then proceeded to exit the car.

"Okay, wish me luck."

"Why?"

"That I survive seeing this guy."

Gaara smirked; he had nothing to worry about obviously between the two. It seemed as though Ino couldn't stand Neji. That was a load off his chest at least.

"Luck, then."

"Thanks Gaara."

With that she completely exited the car. Waving as it pulled off before turning on her heel and making her way towards the observatory. Eyes opened looking for the man who had her ticket. When she first saw him she barely recognized him.

Hair brushed back and tied into a loose ponytail at the end. The black and white suit fit him perfectly matching well with his eyes and hair. She admitted, though grudgingly, that Neji was a handsome man. The girls would have a field day to here her admit it.

Neji, meanwhile, was having similar feelings. He already knew Ino was attractive but with the way she looked now…Something clicked however and he rid himself of such thoughts. He had a 'mission' to do and he intended to do it.

Putting on fake smiles, both parties approached one another. When they were before each other, Ino stuck her hand out earning a curious look from Neji.

"What?" He questioned.

"The ticket, give me the ticket."

Neji snorted; pulling the tickets out his jacket pocket he waved the two tickets before her just close enough for her to grab them. She tried but failed however when the Hyuga pulled the pair of tickets back. The look of rage on her face was enough to make him chuckle. She was cute when she was mad.

"That wasn't the deal. You said you could go with me."

"But-"

"Now come on, do you want to miss the beginning of the show?"

Ino huffed and if she would have been alone she would have screamed in frustration. What an infuriating man! While she would have let her temper get the best of her and simply walked away after flipping the bird she really wanted to see the show. Mentally counting to ten and gaining control over her emotions she nodded slowly and tried to hide the scowl that was beginning to form on her lips.

"Let's go then."

Neji smirked, very much pleased that the blond had agreed. In a moment he wrapped an arm around Ino's waist only to find himself grunting and gasping for breath a moment later when she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Keep your hands to yourself."

Neji nodded, still wheezing a bit and made a mental note to keep his guard up around this woman least he end up with a bruise.

Upon entering the observatory they were greeted with a ceiling decorated with stars made of jewels. In the little light provided they shone beautifully almost taking Ino's breath away as she allowed her guard to drop just a bit as she admired the ceiling. Neji watched her, the light reflecting off the jewels were redirected back to the floor and fell upon Ino in a way that made her breathtaking. He wanted her.

"You know my company donated a large amount to build this," Neji started up conversation.

Ino rolled her eyes and simply hummed. Neji continued to talk about his company, his homes, cars, and other things. All the while Ino simply looked bored, nodding occasionally and murmuring a negative or positive response. They wandered through the observatory, video images of the stars surrounding them. It would have been romantic if she hadn't been with him and he wasn't bragging.

Finally Ino's temper grew short. She turned on her heel facing the dark haired man with a twitching brow.

"Does anyone actually find this interesting?"

Neji was taken aback. In reality people did, at least females did. If they didn't talk about material things then what was there to talk about? Keeping his cool he stepped closer to the blond.

"Then please enlighten me on what to converse about."

Ino said nothing, merely glaring and turning on her heel again to enjoy the views. For a few moments she refused to speak, they walked in tense silence. The silence was quickly growing old with Neji; he wanted her to speak, why he didn't know. Normally he would have preferred the silence.

"I'm sorry about Kin," he spoke in a low voice finally.

"I don't care," was Ino's sharp reply.

"She wasn't the one anyway. I follow destiny," his voice was honest.

Ino's shoulders relaxed as she looked at the male out the corner of her eye. She could understand that. Everyone thought she was a slut just because she went through many different guys. She wasn't however, she did nothing with these men and the relationship only ended because they didn't live up to her standards.

"…I didn't take you as being wrapped in something like that."

Neji nodded, almost to himself, he gazed up at the ceiling that portrayed the starry sky in high definition.

"I go along the path chosen for me."

"Why don't you make a path for yourself?"

Neji seemed a bit startled at this. Create a path for him? Though he had thought of it, it never occurred to him to do such a thing. Life was not in one's hands, it was in the hands of destiny. Should it chose to end his life tomorrow there would be nothing to stop it, such as it had with his father and the accident.

"I rather not fight the impossible."

"I could never have that attitude."

Neji looked at Ino in slight surprise. She had stopped and now gazing at him with a light frown.

"I will always try to find my way around something that doesn't feel right. I'm always going to fight for what I desire whether it's in 'destiny's' hands or not."

The blond resumed walking, catching up with the dark haired man. Neji found himself in awe at her words. They made him think, more deeply than he had done in a while.

The evening had ended fairly well. The two had been social and civil with one another. They had even found they had a few things in common, such as a love of martial arts and peace in the stars and earth. As they exit the observatory, still debating on topics, they failed to notice a steadily growing angry Gaara.

Gaara had been waiting patiently for Ino, resting his form against his car watching the doors.

When Ino and Neji had come out Gaara was surprised. Ino was smiling and Neji was returning it with a genuine smile. The sight caused his eyes to narrow and fist to clench, nails digging into the palm of his hand until they stung with the on comings on a wound. He then proceeded to push himself off the car. Stalking up towards the pair, he smoothly slid between Neji and Ino, causing Ino to take a step back with surprised.

"Gaara?"

Gaara met Neji's gaze steadily, though the looks on their face were cool, fire and electrify seemed to fill the air as they stared each other down. Yes, this was Gaara's friend, and yes, they had known each other for a long time. Ino, however, was his best friend and he held feelings for her. He would never allow someone else to steal her away.

These thoughts would never escape, for Gaara showed the way he felt in his actions rather than words and emotions. So no one, except his family, would have any idea.

"Neji," Gaara greeted though there was no warmth in his voice.

"Gaara."

Silence covered them. So uncomfortable it made Ino squirm. Neji noticed Ino's discomfort, looking around Gaara he ignored the other's man presence speaking to Ino as though they were alone once more.

"Can I see you again, Ino?"

Ino was hesitated. Something told her that something was wrong; she had to admit that she liked Neji a bit better now than before and she did have fun. After a moment, the blond finally nodded in agreement.

"Sure, depends on the situation."

Gaara's form tensed further. Fury raged within his core and it took every ounce of self control not to punch the Hyuga in the face at that moment. Turning around, he grabbed Ino's wrist tightly dragging her off at a fast pace. Ino looked surprised and a bit irritated but followed nonetheless without a good bye to Neji.

Neji watched the display with a raised brow and a smirk. He had been successful, yet while he should have been glowing with achievement at that moment, he felt rather peaceful. Vaguely he wondered if it had been Ino's presence which caused him this peace of mind. Shrugging to himself, he concluded he wouldn't think too deeply into it.

Feelings had no place in this game. Pulling out a cell phone, the young man dialed the number to of his driver's.

Ino was now struggling against Gaara's grip. They were halfway down the street and she could barely see the car anymore. She tugged her arm away from the man.

"Gaara, stop!"

And he did. He released her hand allowing it to drop to her side once more. Mentally he was counting in his head till ten to calm down. Finally he turned towards his best friend slowly, he was emotionless and unreadable. Which in itself threw Ino off guard; she had always been able to read Gaara,

"What's going on between you two?" Gaara questioned.

"What does it matter?" Ino replied.

She didn't like being interrogated, a scowl begin creeping its way to her lips. It stopped however, as she saw an almost desperate look in his eyes. She relaxed, it made sense now. Gaara was only looking out for her well being and he didn't want to lose his best friend. A smile took place of the scowl upon realizing this.

"Gaara, whatever goes on in other relationships won't affect our own. Nothing will ever change."

The words did not have the type of effect Ino was intending. Rather, Gaara looked even more rigged then before. Something was bubbling up in his chest wanting to over spill. Her words didn't comfort him because he wanted things to change.

"I want-"

His words and possibly a confession were ruined as Ino's phone began to ring. Ino held up her hand to signal Gaara to hold on a moment. Pulling her phone from her purse she looked at the caller ID that flashed "Uchiha Sasuke' on the small screen. Flipping the phone open, she brought it up to her ear and answered it with a simple-

"Hello?"

"Ino, where is Hinata?"

"I haven't since this afternoon. Have you tried calling her house?"

"Yeah, maybe she's just running late."

"If I see her I'll tell her to call you."

"Good. Bye."

Ino rolled her eyes at the rude nature of the boy. Someone needed a stick pulled out their ass. Flipping her phone closed, she looked back up at Gaara only to find him walking back towards the car.

"Hey, Gaara, wait!"

She walked in a quick pace. Catching up with the red haired boy, she looked at him tilting her head in confusion.

"Were you going to say something?"

Gaara merely grunted and shook his head.

"Forget it."

Ino looked unconvinced for a moment but let it go for the moment. She would find out eventually. Shrugging to herself, she continued walking tilting her head towards the sky and taking in the stars.

Sasuke hung up his phone for perhaps the fifth time that night. A light sigh escaped from between his lips. Hinata was no where to be found, and to his surprise he found he actually cared. Maybe he did more than he thought.

Walking down the long hall of the penthouse he shared with his older brother, he stopped before Itachi's room. Raising his hand he rapped on the door twice. What was his brother doing in there anyway? The man had been in his room since that afternoon.

"Itachi, have you seen Hinata?"

"No," was the sharp reply.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but didn't bother his sibling any longer, continuing his way down the hall towards his own room. Inside Itachi's room, a small whimpering could be heard. Itachi looked down at the pretty young woman beneath him; his arms were holding his body from lying upon her petite form. He bent over, lips touching a soft cheek kissing the tears that had begun to fall.

Hinata closed her eyes. The guilt was slowly killing her. Though she wanted this, wanted to be with Itachi, the fact that there was Sasuke was causing her heart to split in two. She wanted to curl into a ball, disgusted.

Itachi watched on, jealously rising at the reaction Sasuke had brought out from Hinata. His foolish little brother appreciated little, how could he appreciate her? Besides Hinata was his, his alone. Only he could be with her this way and he would be damned if he allowed his brother to be in his position.

Itachi's body fell beside Hinata's, his arms reaching out and curling around her in a possessive manner. Hinata tensed for a moment, but then relaxed falling into the comforting warm embrace. Itachi's breath could be felt on the shell of her ear. They were silent until Itachi spoke in a soft tone.

"Soon he won't matter anymore. You'll be mine and mine alone."

And though Hinata swore to herself that she could never be with Itachi, deep down she truly wished his words could happen.


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