Chapter 2

Ino was finishing up with her task, before Sophie announced that her father had arrived home from his duties.

Without thinking about it, Ino stood up and rushed out of the room, wanting to see her father.

In her past life, before she was imprisoned, her father had fought tooth and nails to clear her of her charges. But the evidence planted against her showed clear fingers as to whom the murderer was and Ino had no choice but to plead guilty to save her family from being executed for aiding and abetting the murder of an imperial family member. She knew that if her father had pushed more, that whatever evidence were pointed at her would soon point towards her parents.

She could endure the hardships, the rumors, and humiliation, but she could not let her parents suffer the same thing she did. Of course, even though Ino had confessed to the false accusations, the emperor had exiled her parents from the capital and stripped them of their nobility, wealth, and status.

When she heard of what had befallen her family in that dark and lonely cell, she had wanted to take her own life right then and there.

But there was a certain blonde that kept her sane during dark times and had given her hope that in the entire Uchiha Empire, there was one more person who believed her other than her family.

As soon as Ino reached the top of the staircase, Duke Inoichi was taking off his coat and handing off his briefcase to Ken.

"Bring these to the office."

Tears started welling in Ino's eyes, at seeing her father work hard for the empire, the image of normality she had missed up to the days before she was executed.

"Papa!"

Ino shouted and ran down the stairs. Inoichi looked up and was surprised at seeing his lovely daughter's distressed expression.

His daughter's arms wrapped around his waist, and Ino's tears would not stop shedding, creating a wet spot on his expensive jacket.

Inoichi had an awkward look on his face, before relaxing his shoulders and patting his daughter's head lovingly.

"Even though I'm your father, you should still maintain the dignified appearance of the future Crown Princess, darling. There are people watching."

"I don't care about those things, I just missed papa terribly."

There was a chuckle, "You saw me just a week ago."

The servants of the Yamanaka estate knew of the close relationship between the Duke and his daughter. The father clearly doted on his daughter and this was no secret. She was his only daughter and she was the most precious thing Duke Yamanaka had, despite his wealth and status. This was why the Duke had turned down numerous marriage proposals from other noble families, only accepting the proposal that came from the Imperial family because he only thought of the best for his daughter.

What was the best marriage partner, other than the Crown Prince?

Although her engagement to Itachi was politically motivated, at least Inoichi could worry less given the fact that the two families were close and their sons and daughters grew up together. At least she would not be marrying a total stranger.

"Let's have dinner, shall we? Your father is famished with all the busy work from the palace and I miss your mother dearly."

The blonde let go of her father, and smiled, "I asked the chef to cook your favorite meals."

"Wow, what special occasion are we celebrating tonight? Your birthday just passed…"

"I just missed papa a lot and wanted to enjoy a delicious meal with you."

Ken came back from dropping off the briefcase from her father's office, "Chef Louis prepared a marvelous five course meal and had recently purchased a bottle of vintage that he believed you would enjoy."

"Well, let's go then."

Ino and Inoichi walked towards the dining hall, conversing about how their week went.

Ino's mother met them outside the dining hall, the image of grace and elegance.

Her mother gave Inoichi a warm hug and welcomed her husband back, "How was your week, dear?"

They started conversing between them as well with skinship that clearly showed how much they were still in love with each other, despite having been married for decades.

"Come sit here, darling." Ino's mother gestured to her right. Oh, how she missed her parents and being spoiled by them.

All the love she needed was from her parents and no one else.

"Coming, mother."

After their meal, Ino had brought up the topic of possibly inducting a new knight within the Hyuuga branch of their family.

"I found someone that I felt had a lot of potential of being a great knight. His origins may be questionable, but father, trust me, he would be highly beneficial if he were to be trained by the Hyuugas."

Inoichi paused from cutting into the mille feuille, "And who might this be?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Uzumaki?" Kara, Ino's mother, asked.

Her father had a pensive look on his face. Ino knew that he knew the name sounded familiar. During this time, Naruto was just starting his life as a mercenary and had lived under the radar since the tragedy years ago, which was why her father did not recognize the name immediately. Twenty years ago, there was a scandal that shook the capital and the surrounding cities.

The Namikaze were a family of knights that was mostly neutral, unlike the Hyuugas who readily pledged their loyalty to the Crown. They protected the Royal family, yes, but their loyalty lied with the nation, the people. If the Royal Family posed a threat, the Namikazes would not hesitate to turn against the Crown. However, one illegitimate child had sparked a civil war within the Dukedom of Namikaze, causing the entire family to be wiped out. That illegitimate child was Naruto, who was born out of wedlock from a family of gypsies, the Uzumaki's.

The Uzumaki's lived primarily outside of the capital, in a small village just a few miles outside of the Capital, Konoha. They were a family that fled the empire of Iwagakure a hundred years ago, where there was a gypsy haunt that caused their large population in the empire to flee to neighboring empires for their safety due to the heretic cries of the false corrupted High Priest at the time. Many of the families who fled eventually went back after the crusade, but the Uzumaki's were welcomed by the Uchiha Empire and had set up their foundation here.

Although they were welcomed by the Emperor, they were looked down upon by many noble families due to their tainted blood. The fact that it was discovered that the Duke of Namikaze had extramarital affairs with the Head of the Uzumaki's tainted the Namikaze name forever.

It didn't help that there was a massive mana explosion that radiated in the Namikaze estate when Kushina Uzumaki gave birth to their son, Naruto. The radiation caused by the explosive mana within the little baby had caused the people who lived in the compound to slowly wither and die, leaving behind a massacre of a once great noble family.

He continued to take a bite of the sweet dessert, "No."

"But -"

"No buts, Ino. That man is dangerous and we cannot risk him coming over to our land and capital to create another life threatening explosion. Not only that, but think about the political implications this will place our family into."

"We are loyal to the crown, we cannot take in a kid from a neutral family and an outsider into our home, lest we lose support from the aristocratic nobles."

In Konoha, there were two parties.

The Aristocratic Nobles, which mainly consisted of old money, nobles who had flourished in the Land of Fire since the beginning of the Uchiha Empire a millennium ago, who supported only the Crown. The Yamanaka family, one of the founding families of the Empire, was part of the Aristocratic Noble faction.

Throughout the history of the Uchiha Empire, the Aristocratic had always held sway and power within the empire, other than the Crown. It was led by the trusted families of Madara Uchiha, the first Emperor of the empire, to help run the empire by passing laws and ensuring to check and balance the monarchy. In return for this power, the families swore unquestioned loyalty to the crown.

The Egalitarian Party mainly consisted of lower-ranking nobles or merchants. The members were usually from the field of medicine and business. They supported the common people, however, due to the long history of the Aristocratic Nobles in power, they never had the chance to win a majority. In times of peace, the common people were content and did not complain with how the empire was run.

In the future, Sakura's family, who was a long-time member of the Egalitarian Party, left the party and applied for a seat in the Aristocratic Nobles after they discovered the Jade mine. Due to the demand in Jade, despite being Barons and being merchants, they were given special permission from Emperor Fugaku to enter the Aristocratic Nobles.

Ino didn't open her mouth and continued chewing. She understood how important it was for their family to not do anything to ruin the status quo, and the fact that her father brought up the concern of losing support was not a wise decision. Seeing as the Yamanaka family had always taken up the role of representing the Aristocratic Nobles for generations. She wanted to push the subject more, but knew that her father was stubborn and had a point.

Her father grew up in a great family, and nobility was always something he cared about. Ino didn't want to tell her dad of how she knew Naruto Uzumaki would become one of the greatest swordsmen, but she knew that if he was trained by the Hyuugas, when he reached that potential, he would add power to both the great houses of the empire.

She glanced up at her father again and noticed the slight crease between his eyebrows, which meant that he did not want to talk about it again.

Ino had missed these small moments with her father and did not want to ruin their reunion. She could find other ways to employ Naruto and bring him into their family. She just had to think of sneaking the blonde in, thankfully, there was already an idea brewing in her mind.

As her father said, it had only been a week since Ino last saw him, but to Ino it had been months. And she was just happy that her father was alright.

Ino walked leisurely in her family estate's beautifully curated and landscaped garden with two knights and Sophie walking five steps behind her.

She bent down and picked up a cosmo, smelled it, and appreciated the fact that such an underrated flower also had a light fragrant smell to it. Nothing fancy, or distinct, but still smelled fresh and helped Ino lose anxious thoughts.

This has been Ino's favorite flower since she was young, always thinking of how simple it looked against all the exotic and expensive flowers that surrounded her estate. It was simple, yes, but also resilient.

She had some time to relax before she started her daily lesson with the imperial etiquette tutor.

Lady Tsunade was not only the tutor who taught all members of the imperial family since the Emperor took his throne, but was also a formidable figure in the capital's social circle. Her family had served the imperial family for generations and was a respectable countess herself. Whatever her opinions were, were the opinions of the noble ladies. One word from her would shift the tide of the capital social circles. If you had her on your bad side, it was most likely that you would be ostracized and would never have the courage to show your face in social circles again.

Sophie spoke up, breaking Ino from her thoughts, "Miss, Lady Tsunade has arrived and is waiting for you in your study."

Ino placed the cosmo she was holding on the ground.

"Let's go."

Although she already knew all the royal etiquette in her past life, which she had to learn once talks between the emperor and her father regarding her engagement with Itachi had started, she still had to participate in order to not arouse any suspicion. In Ino's mind, this was pointless as she had excelled and learned everything in her past life.

She entered her study and saw Lady Tsunade setting up for their lesson for the day.

Ino bowed, "Thank you for coming, Lady Tsunade."

Lady Tsunade straightened up her back and showed the grace and elegance of an upper class woman of the Uchiha Empire.

"Let's see if you remembered the lesson I taught last week, shall we?"

A few hours later.

The instructor used a thin stick to lightly tap Ino's shoulder, checking for her posture.

"Marvelous."

Lady Tsunade, her instructor, walked around Ino to check for any mistakes, pride and wonder evident in her eyes.

"I have never seen such a quick learner, as well as a noble lady that held so much grace and elegance."

The older blonde took her glasses off her face, "His Majesty has definitely chosen a bride for his son well."

Ino simply smiled, "Thank you, Lady Tsunade, this is all because of how great of a teacher you are."

"You give me too much credit. You are a child well-fitted to be the Crown Princess and the Empress once His Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne."

Ino smiled bashfully at the compliment. Being on Lady Tsunade's side was already a great honor, but the compliment she dished out today showed that Lady Tsunade greatly favored her.

Someone knocked on the door, Sophie entered the room and bowed, "Lady Ino, there is a visitor for you. I escorted him to the drawing room. Please head there once you are ready."

Lady Tsunade clapped her hands, "Well, this concludes our lesson for today, Lady Ino."

Ino bowed her head, "Thank you, it was a pleasure as always."

"The pleasure's all mine."

Ino gestured towards Sophie, who immediately came to her side and escorted Lady Tsunade out.

Ino wondered who would have requested for her, since she did not recall having any plans from any of her friends and acquaintances. She has been holed up in her room trying to come up with plans to prevent the horrible future from her first life, while also spending as much time as she could with her parents.

Could it be Hinata? She did send her a letter yesterday, but it was difficult for Hinata to travel from the East to the Capital.

Outside the drawing room, before Ino could take another step, she felt a presence behind her.

A hand touched her shoulders and Ino yelped in surprise.

A deep throaty chuckle sounded behind her, the man leaned down and whispered, "Boo." His breath gave her goosebumps.

Sasuke.

He didn't lean back and his smell overpowered Ino's senses, her anxiety coming back. She remembered how in her past life, there was a time where she slept next to him every night after she was almost abducted by kidnappers from another empire and would only feel safe when she was around him.

But today, all she felt was fear.

Ino was frozen and was unable to move. It was when Sasuke realized that she wouldn't move that he slowly moved away. He waved his fingers and the doors opened as a response to his mana.

He took a step forward and wrapped his arms on her waist, light pushing her towards the drawing room. She hesitated in her steps.

"Don't worry, my guards have secured the perimeter and it's just us two now."

Sasuke moved his head towards the crook of her shoulders and started nuzzling Ino's neck.

"I missed you."

Ino was frozen, heart beating faster.

His even breathing tickled her and gave her warm butterflies in her stomach.

Even after all that, she still felt warmth and excitement towards Sasuke after her initial anxiety faded away.

She missed him too.

Ino enjoyed this moment before coming back to her senses, this would be the last time.

"Sasuke, actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

It was actually a good timing that Sasuke had appeared in her estate unannounced. She could finally cross off one thing from her list.

She brought her hands on his arms around her waist and twisted out of his embrace. The fall in Sasuke's expression did not escape Ino.

She turned around and faced the Second Prince.

The bright red eyes staring at her still gave her fear, but she knew she needed to do this as soon as possible to save herself and her family.

Ino closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Let's end this."

It was silent for a few seconds, so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Ino kept her eyes closed, because she was afraid of what expression he would make. She was afraid that his expression would turn from love to hatred and start spewing hurtful words towards her again.

"Ino."

Sasuke's voice broke the silence.

Ino, still in fear, kept her eyes closed.

"Open your eyes."

Whenever they were together alone, Sasuke never used a demanding tone when talking to her. That's not the case now. His tone had underlying tones of anger, confusion, and hurt.

She shook her head, "No."

Sasuke walked closer to his lover and brought his hands to the sides of her face, his thumbs lovingly caressing her.

"Please, why?"

The hurt in his voice made Ino open her eyes and she was shocked to see tears pool at the corner of his eyes, "Why? Tell me you're lying. You haven't been the same since you woke up from that nightmare. Please, tell me why you suddenly want to end things. Is it because your family is pressuring you into marrying my brother?"

"I told you before, didn't I? I promised you that I would be powerful enough to be worthy of being the Crown Prince and marry you. I just have to work out some things and I know I made you wait, but please, give me some more time."

Sasuke was rambling, which was uncharacteristic of him. He was usually so sure and arrogant, but what Ino saw right now was different.

Red pupils were following her every move, searching for why Ino was suddenly spouting nonsense. Just a week ago, everything was fine. She had tied the silver handkerchief on her window multiple nights that week after her father announced that she was going to be engaged to Itachi. She was heartbroken that she was going to be another man's wife, before they could come out with their relationship.

Sasuke did make a promise that night, but Ino knew he was bound to break it. He was going to fall for Sakura when he met her, and she did not want to be stuck in the crossfire and bring downfall to her family.

Sasuke could tell that Ino was nervous from her fidgeting and the fact that she couldn't look straight at him. But the thing that shocked him the most was the fear hidden behind her clear blue eyes. Which made him question whether she feared for him or of him.

Ino's mind started spinning. What kind of an excuse should she give? She definitely could not tell him the real reason why, otherwise he would think she was nuts and send her to an institution.

Sasuke was about to open his mouth again, but Ino beat him to it.

"The thing is… even though I love you, I can't help but feel like I have a responsibility as the sole heir of House Yamanaka to go through with what's best for my family. I can't choose my own selfish desires over the demands of both our fathers. I have to go through with the wedding, and as hard as it is, I have to do it. Ending it now will make it easier for us to move on and for you to be able to find another more suitable partner in the future."

Ino's voice was cold when she delivered the message. She could feel bile coming up from her throat when she admitted that she still loved him.

It was true. Despite everything he did to her in her past life, he was her childhood friend. He was the one who understood her the most and his betrayal still haunted the beautiful blonde. If she ended things now, he wouldn't hate her as much when he finally gets to meet Sakura Haruno. She wouldn't be in his way, they could just ignore her presence, and she would be able to live a peaceful life. At least their relationship would still be amicable and not as chaotic and toxic as before.

Her hands, which were clasped together, tightened.

Ino felt lightheaded and she wanted to faint but she had to hold strong. She has to see this through.

After that, she can focus on the other factors to prevent that tragic future.

Arms wrapped around her shoulders, her cheek leaning on Sasuke's shoulder.

"I won't let you go. The moment you said yes to my proposal… that was the last chance you had to walk away. I don't exactly know why you're suddenly feeling this way, but I'm not leaving you."

Sasuke placed a light kiss on top of her head and then he was gone.

The next thing Ino knew, she felt water dropping onto her hands, not realizing that she had started crying.

Man, I'm on a roll updating three times within three days. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please do not forget to leave a review!