Chapter 6

Screams echoed throughout the corridors of the Torture and Interrogation building, causing the blonde beauty to rub her head as she finished up on her last prisoner of the day. It was a rogue ninja who was currently slumped at his chair, eyes glassy and mouth agape in a silent scream as he stared up to the ceiling.

"What a messy twisted mind you have..." The Yamanaka muttered, lightly smirking at the mess she made of his mind a result. She then motioned for the guards to take him away, a command they complied to immediately snickering along the way at the well-deserved faith of the foul-mouthed prisoner.

Shortly afterwards just as she walked back to her own office, her eyes narrowed at the person waiting outside her door, leaning against the pillar of cement wall with arms crossed in his usual carefree manner. His dark eyes met hers as she approached her door and she urged her expression not to display her irritation although it was clear in the hardening of her light eyes.

"Sasuke." There it was again. That contempt in her voice.

He sighed as he stood up straight, taking a few steps closer. "You said we would talk 'later'. I've waited a few hours." he said simply.

She turned away from him, turning the knob to her door to enter her room to discard her interrogation robe in exchange for her ninja pouch which she tied around her thighs. All the while, she felt his eyes on her as he waited through the silence.

Her eyes snapped to meet his when she was done, catching his gaze still on the slit of her skirt that bared her thigh before looking away in what seemed like discomfort.

She raised her brow at this, choosing to ignore this as she haughtily pushed her way through Sasuke who had been standing right at her doorway.

"I'm tired Sasuke. Some other time." She said as she slammed her door close, walking away with speed in her steps to get away from the raven-haired man.

But Sasuke was persistent, following her as she stalked out of the Interrogation Department into the streets leading to the main building. He finally caught up to her speedy steps moments after she exited the building, all the while keeping his long steps steady. When he did, he caught her arm in his firm hand although careful not to bruise her seemingly fragile skin.

She took a deep breath as she felt his grip on her before she turned to face him with her expression schooled to a blank one, reflecting none of the annoyance she felt bubbling inside her.

Sasuke was first to speak as she parted her lips. "I've waited 2 years for you to talk to me, Ino. I left to find Itachi not being able to say goodbye since Sakura said that you needed time. I've given you time." His eyes met her aquamarine depths with determination. "Now talk to me."

Ino paused at his words. Sasuke was a man of few words so this was new to her yet looking into her eyes brought her back to the night he left the village and the night she had heard Itachi's death announced. Her eyes watered for a brief moment before they darkened at the fury that gathered.

"No, let me go." She tried to pry her arm away from his grip but it only tightened. "Sasuke, I'm warning you."

He met her eyes with the same intensity. He was getting what he wanted today.

But Ino had different ideas.

The kunoichi moved in a split second that he only felt the gathering of her chakra causing his eyes to widen when she had twisted his arm and felt her sandals connecting with his abdomen sending him flying back with a groan before he caught himself at his feet. He gripped his abdomen as he coughed, her chakra-induced strength catching him off-guard. She stared into his shocked hues with fury in her eyes.

"What did I even do to get you this mad? Itachi is alive. I brought him back!"

His words seemed to make her anger worse. She was shaking in fury now and she launched up in the air in blinding speed, fist blazing with her clean blue chakra. Eyes widening, Sasuke moved just in time before her fist connected where he once stood, the earth breaking under her fists whilst leaving a large dent on the ground with pieces of the once intact ground flying away from her like projectiles.

It had been similar to the strength Sakura and Tsunade displayed, not as large-scale in impact but close which blew his mind. Ino was formidable in her mind techniques and nature release and was known for her feline-like movements in taijutsu. She always preferred to conserve her chakra in Taijutsu since she never needed it. Her moves were unpredictable and adapting, graceful and flexible like water.

These strength-fueled attacks were an entirely new side to her he never knew. One she never needed to use due to the effectiveness of the style she usually preferred. Although, Sasuke shouldn't have been surprised. She was an apprentice of the fifth Hokage after all.

Activating his Sharingan, he saw her chakra flare wildly, causing her long blonde hair to rise ever so slightly as if they had a life of their own. Her eyes were darker as she jumped out of the crater she created on the ground, glaring at him.

"What did you do!? How dare you even ask such a question!?" Her hands formed rapid hand signs before she stomped hard at the ground.

Earth Style: Rain of Shards

He's seen her perform this when they were kids but it had evolved so far from what it once was. The ground broke apart around her into huge sharp shards of earth that circled her, glowing green before they shot forward towards him in heart-stopping speed, threatening to skewer him where he stood.

Yet Sasuke was prepared, with lightning-speed, he summoned his Chidori to shoot forward to destroy the shards of earth, also careful not to harm the enraged female before him. He missed the smirk on the said female's lips as she closed her hand into a knuckle, pulling at the thread of chakra that connected her to her technique. As his lightning was about to hit the shards, it parted into thousands of smaller shards circling Sasuke's technique before it targeted him. His eyes widen, questioning why his Sharingan didn't predict her actions, his heart stopping as his Kiri shot forward towards her making him unable to fully evade the barrage of small earth shards that sliced through his skin.

His lightning, on the other hand, without a target, hit Ino full on. Sasuke winced as he moved towards her, the hundreds of cuts in his skin stinging as he moved. He was alright, Ino wasn't attacking to kill but it did hurt like a bitch. Although, that was the least of his concern.

Ino fell onto her knees with a scream, confirming his worries before her gaze was directed towards him and she gave a smirk as she crumpled into the earth.

An earth clone? How did I miss that with my sharingan?

He suddenly felt an explosive pain on his cheek as the real Ino appeared before him, socking him hard right in the face causing him to stumble back holding his cheek. Ino then grabbed him by his dark shirt, glaring right into his eyes.

"You left me. You tried to kill my friends. You tried to kill Itachi knowing that would crush me! All that and you never apologized. And you ask me why?!"

Her eyes were tearing up now as she shook in fury, knuckles white as she gripped him. Sasuke couldn't look her in the eyes with this much emotion flowing through them alongside the pain in her voice. He shifted his gaze away before he could muster up the courage.

He felt her start to pull away but he held both her wrists before she let go, willing himself to keep his eyes on hers.

"I'm sorry, Ino. I would take it all back if I could. I swear."

That was the only time Ino had ever seen Sasuke's eyes so full of emotion with his voice full of remorse and she could no longer hold back her tears as they freely ran down her cheeks.

She pulled away, not knowing what to say. She felt conflicted at his apology. Ino knew he meant every word but at the same time, it couldn't take away all the pain he has caused.

She turned away from him, needing to get away.

While Sasuke stood behind her, hoping she would say something. Hoping she would forgive him. Hoping she would direct her carefree smile towards him once again.

"Get those cuts healed, Sasuke."

That was all she said before she was gone, the breeze flowing through strongly with her disappearance.

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The sky was still relatively dark when Itachi woke up, stretching out his limbs as he rose off his bed. He always woke with the sunrise out of habit. He headed to the kitchen as he always did every morning, brewing coffee as was his morning habit. Taking his time the way he never had the luxury for most of his life, he began to prepare breakfast for the day. Sasuke enjoyed his eggs sunny side-up and Itachi had perfected his technique a week after Sasuke had found him. He chuckled at the memory of Sasuke's bewildered face at Itachi's many attempts.

Once breakfast was laid out, a knock rang from the door.

The raven-haired man furrowed his brow at this, as it was barely 7am in the morning. He was no sensor but he recognized the familiar and distinct chakra signature of the Yamanaka heiress. He strode to answer the door, greeting her with a smile. "Ino! What are you doing here so early?"

And was met with silence as Ino stared at him with an expression akin to shock, her cheeks reddening as her eyes skimmed through his form before she quickly looked away.

Itachi was puzzled. "Ino?"

"U-Uh erm, I-Itachi, why are you only in your boxers?" she spoke in a tone he never heard on her before, so soft and timid that it reminded him of a certain Hyuuga heiress.

His eyes widened, understanding ther reason for her peculiar tone as he looked down on his own form. He scratched the back of his head as he closed his eyes with a smile sheepishly.

"Oh I'm sorry, Ino. Habit of living on my own for the last year." he chuckled at the blonde women that still refused to look at him, her cheeks bright red. He stepped aside to let her in. "Come on in and take a seat, I'll put something more decent."

Her wide eyes of teal finally met his onyx once as she stepped into the house as she nodded shyly. When he walked away into his room, she slapped her cheeks with both her hands as she huffed, trying to hold back a squeal as her mind replayed the image of Itachi's very, very defined muscles. If you were wondering, yes he had abs like a god. She shook her head as she tried to compose herself.

You're a grown woman, Ino. Not a little fangirl. Get it together!

She managed to compose herself within the minute Itachi took to get dressed, He walked out of his room in loose grey joggers and a black tank,

"So what are you doing here so early?" he asked as he saw the young woman still standing by the door.

She smiled as a small blush appeared on her cheek, embarrassed for her reason. "Well you see, after that incident with Sasuke yesterday, Tsunade and Sakura sort of gave me a scolding. I heard he didn't go to a medic. With all those cuts, I felt a little guilty about losing my temper."

Itachi thought back to Sasuke coming home the night before, all battered with cuts and bruises as he dismissed Itachi's curiosity and concern saying he'd sleep it off instead of get healed. He nodded in realization, curiosity rising at the state of their relationship but deciding it wasn't his business to pry. He had been gone from their lives so long, it could be anything that was causing their disagreement with one another.

On one hand, Itachi wondered if it was his brother's bruised ego for letting the young kunoichi injure him that much. He chuckled at the thought. "He's stubborn like that. His room is right there, I'll leave him in your capable hands, Ino."

He watched as she stiffened as he pointed out Sasuke's room to her before she took a deep breath and nodded. She knocked on his brother's door which his brother answered with a sleepy groan, something along the lines of "5 more minutes". He watched as she sighed, shaking her head as she opened the door anyway, striding right in what seemed like irritation.

Itachi sighed, heading back to the dining table to enjoy his cup of coffee.

She left the door open as she entered Sasuke's room, seeing the younger Uchiha with his covers over his head as he turned away from the door. She sat on the edge of his bed, pulling the blanket away, watching as he hissed in pain as he turned towards her with sleepy eyes trying to adjust to the morning light.

Her eyes landed on his bare chest and arms that were marred with many shallows cuts from her attack, uncleaned by the look of it. She sighed, her hand glowing green as they hovered over his chest.

Sasuke's vision finally cleared just as he felt her soothing chakra on his skin, dulling the sting of his many cuts. He stared at the concentrated look on the blonde kunoichi's face, confusion in his expression as he wondered why she was here, healing him.

"Ino? Why-" he started but she cut him off.

"I haven't fully forgiven you if that's what you're wondering. I just didn't want any more scolding from Sakura." she said dismissively, still not looking him in the eyes as she focused on his cuts. "And I-I might have taken it too far yesterday. I'm sorry I lost my composure."

The second part, she murmured. Sasuke watched her expression change to one akin to guilt and he couldn't stop the urge to reach out for her hand, clutching it in his own watching her green chakra flicker out. "It's okay. I deserved it after what I put you through." He watched as her teal eyes finally met his. "I'm really sorry, Ino. All I cared about was myself and my desire for revenge, I overlooked what was important."

Her eyes widened at the sincerity in his eyes and words, never having seen the usually stoic Uchiha expressed such genuine emotions so openly. Sasuke saw her eyes water for a split second before she pulled her hand away from his. Sasuke reacted with a sigh in disappointment.

"I've been holding a grudge for so long. It's not easy to just let it all go and pretend it's all okay. But I'll try, Sasuke." she murmured as she adverted her eyes away from his.

"Now let me finish healing you."

Sasuke nodded, closing his eyes as her soothing chakra took away the sting of his cuts, a slight smile gracing his lips.

Progress. Sasuke thought that was enough for now.

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I am so sorry for the delayed update. Life has been insane with the pandemic but I'm healthy and alive and I hope all of you are safe. I will try my best to stay on my update schedule starting today because ItaIno and SasuIno needs more fanfictions and deserve to be highlighted for the hawtness of this trio.

I've decided to stop torturing Sasuke and give him a bit of mercy from our blonde goddess and added in a bit of fluff. Next chapter will be more ItaIno goodness. 3

Stay safe guys and hang in there!