Until We All Fall Down Chapter 8, Insatiable, a naruto fanfic

Until We All Fall Down

XxMookinexX

I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, I only wish I did. Any and all unrecognisable characters and situations belong solely to me and are not to be touched without permission. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the soul purpose to entertain.

This story takes place when our characters are 18/19 and takes account of everything up to chapter 337 of the manga. Written in Ino's POV.

Heheheheheheheh… I love this chapter. Oh! And I finished my AS Exams! HELL YEA!

Okay Special thanks to liltle, Cheese Maiden, tsuchi, lori, tomboy-girl21 and Katar who all reviewed last chapter. VOILA! Here are your gorgeous slices of chocolate fudge cake. Be indulgent. You deserve it. Next week should be… carrot cake? I'm running out of ideas!

– Chapter Eight –

Insatiable

My head was a whirlwind of thoughts. You know that point where you're worrying and you have too much to think about so it all blurs together into an incoherent mass hammering on your brain for attention. My head hurts.

Let's recap, shall we?

See, the reason I was brought into that meeting was because we were to report about our encounter with the mist-nin. We'd sent a message to the Hokage, Naruto, to tell him we had run into him and were on our way to Sunagakure to get medical help for Chouji and a message had arrived a few hours after our arrival to order us to stay in Sunagakure and help them defend against the mist-nin.

I told them about the boy I saw… and the tapestry which showed his death. Judging by the percentages and how old he appears I'd say he had approximately 13 months to live. It was a very strange thing to have to tell somebody, let alone an entire room of people intent on my every word, especially since Gaara was keeping eye-contact with me from behind his desk. It was probably one of the most nerve-wracking experiences I've had.

Soon after Shikamaru (who had also been present along with Kankurou and Temari as well as some sand shinobi I didn't really know) had abandoned me for Temari, although rightly so considering… You see, yet another piece of news we gleamed soon upon our arrival was the life-changing fact that Temari was pregnant – explaining just why she looked so indefinably different when I saw her just now. When we go… she'll be travelling back with us.

"Shikamaru's a father?"

I laughed upon reading the shocked look on Chouji's face. He'd woken up not an hour previously and I'd taken it upon myself to update him on everything that had been happening. (After about fifteen minutes rest before a medic-nin from the sand came to woke me up and inform me of his miraculous recovery. See! I did rest. I'm clever.)

"Yeah, he seems… ecstatic for lack of a better word. Thrilled, chuffed, if a little surprised – but happily so." He smiled, his eyes sparkling and I grinned back. We were thrilled for him. I looped my fringe behind my ear again, my bracelet inadvertently knocking against my cheek as I did so.

"That bracelet…" I saw the flash of recognition in Chouji's eyes before they narrowed. "Who gave it to you?"

"Gaara did," I replied, trying to be nonchalant, although I could tell he wasn't fooled for a single minute.

"And how long have you been on a first name basis with the Kazakage?" he asked, an indefinable trace of emotion in his voice. The blush on my face must have been enough because he asked another question before I had time to reply. "Do you love him?"

"What an absurd question to ask," I spluttered, feeling the blush creeping up my neck and spreading to the roots of my hair. Dammit, this isn't funny. I don't appreciate being made to feel like a tomato.

Chouji frowned and sat back in slight shock.

"Does he love you?" he questioned, and there was something in that unreadable expression of his that made me reign in my hysteria. After all, Chouji's never been anything but open to me in all the years I've known him.

"Maybe," I whispered, collapsing into the seat beside him. "There are times when I think he does… but with Gaara it's hard to tell…" I hope so I added silently in my head, staring down at my feet and the floor. He seemed to consider me for a long moment.

"Then I am happy for you," he said at last. My head whipped up then, my eyes wide. I recognised the sentiment in that tone. It was all I wished he'd never have. It was all too familiar, all too reminiscent of that incident when I first felt companionship for Naruto and Sakura and Sasuke broke my heart.

"Chouji…" I started nervously, almost awkwardly.

"After all," he stated. "It wouldn't do for Ino to be unhappy."

No! He wasn't supposed to feel that way. He wasn't supposed to suffer because of me… But maybe this was inevitable too, since I was so oblivious of his feelings up to this point. I've never thought of Chouji as anything other than a brother.

"Thank you," I whispered, unable to express just how much I felt I owed him in that single phrase. He smiled at me, piously happy, and I remembered what it was like to be in those shoes so wisely I chose to say nothing more. He probably wouldn't want me around for a while as he digested the news. I should know. I avoided Sasuke for a week and Sakura for up to five days following that event. So despite all the things I wanted to say just then… despite all I wanted to do to somehow make it better, I simply hugged him one last time and left the room.

Outside I realised I had a tear on my cheek and found myself wondering if it was his or mine. I reached up to brush it away only to look up and see Matsuri watching me. She stared at me for a few long moments before turning smartly on her heel and walking away.

Briefly I considered just how much of our conversation she had overheard, and how much of it she planned to relay to Gaara. But in that moment I realised I didn't care anymore. It was too sad – life too cruel for me to indulge in petty thoughts of how vindictive she might be. To my knowledge she'd done nothing untoward to me in the past few days to merit the way I was thinking of her. She was simply a devoted student who cared for her master, and with a brief spell of insight I realised I'd do the same in her shoes. If someone foreign was interested in the Hokage – in Tsunade or in Naruto – I'd be instantly suspicious.

Somehow, the knowledge that her vendetta was nothing personal she had against me lifted a great weight from my chest. Smiling the tiniest fraction of an inch I went on my way, trying to feel hopeful that maybe things might be okay after all.

Unfortunately my spirits didn't last too long. The guilt from treating Chouji like dirt over the years ate away at me and I wasn't sure what to do about it. I didn't have anyone to talk to. Usually this would be where I'd find Sakura, because this is a girly thing. A girl problem that I know she's been through too, but Sakura wasn't here. It wasn't the sort of thing I could discuss with Shika – or rather it wasn't something I'd feel good about discussing with him. I wouldn't want to put him in a position like that – jammed between his two best friends' feelings. Especially not now, when I considered his relationship with Temari – he should be spending as much time with her as possible. The only other people I've ever discussed things with were Chouji (which was out of the question) and Asuma-sensei (whose grave lay back in Konohakagure). Who else who was here could I talk to about this? The only people who I actually knew here were Gaara, Temari and Kankurou, and I say that with the confidence that I couldn't possibly talk to any of them. Kankurou 'cos I just don't trust him. I'm sorry but something about his creepy face paint freaks me out so we've never had any discussions that stretched further than simple pleasantries. Temari was a good bet, but I wouldn't want to trouble her, not when she has her hands full with Shika and the baby.

Which leaves Gaara…

Which leaves nobody because that is a conversation so full of embarrassing admissions that I'd burn up before I could get out of it.

Groaning I slid down the wall of my room, watching as the wind played around with my curtains. There was no way I could get to sleep like this.

Suddenly I heard something billow, and realised the wind had picked up. I shivered and moved to grab the bed sheets off the bed so I could wrap them round me for warmth. There was no point in lying there, tossing and turning till the early hours so I walked out onto my balcony instead, and marvelled at the star-lit panorama before me. Sunagakure was beautiful at night, so unlike Konoha. It was scorching in the day time but freezing in the night – suddenly I was grateful for the thickness of the duvet I'd been given. I stared upwards and smiled at the full moon. There was something mystical about nights like this. Shika often said so when he took me out star gazing. But… someone else once told me that monsters came out on nights like this… Sakura, or maybe Naruto. I've never understood that.

"What are you doing still awake at this hour?"

I shivered, only half from the cold and turned to face him where he was perched on the rooftop behind me.

"I could ask you the same question," I replied, a slight smile on my face as I drew the sheets tighter around me. He dropped lightly down to join me on the balcony, leaning back against the railings and looking out at the city spread beneath the sky.

"I don't sleep," he stated, eyes flicking towards me once before busying themselves with his city once more.

"I couldn't either," I whispered. "If you want I can make you a sleeping-draft. I'm sure it's not good for you to be exhausted."

His lips curled in amusement, as if indulging in some private joke at my expense.

"And it didn't occur to you to make yourself one?"

I shrugged, "I don't like the taste. Besides, I'd quite like to think for a little while."

"Whereas I never need to think?"

It was a terrible thing for me to do, I know... but I pouted. "I didn't say that."

"I don't sleep," he repeated, and I realised I'd misheard him the first time.

"Why not? I thought Shukaku was removed." My tongue gets seriously carried away with me whenever he's involved. Gaara stiffened, as though in disbelief of the words that had left my mouth. Perhaps that name is taboo for him. To my surprise, however, he just laughed, tilting his head back slightly as he did so, so that the moon was reflected in his eyes. But the sight was enough to sober him up apparently. His face took on a melancholy look, and I wondered just how expressive he was beneath his sand in comparison.

"…He was strongest on nights like this." Again he looked at me before turning away again. "Old habits die hard."

My heart went out to him. I wanted nothing more than to hold him at that second, perhaps from an in-built maternal instinct in all members of the female human race, perhaps because of my feelings for him – but I restrained myself. All too aware of the lack of familiarity I had with him.

"Are…" I bit my lip, unsure if I should ask the question but he turned to look at me in silent encouragement. "Are you scared?"

He blinked, as if unable quite to process my words for a few seconds before looking away again, as if he could lose himself in the stars for eternity. "You're really quite remarkable."

It was my turn to flounder like a fish on dry land.

"I mean," he continued, rewarding me with a small smile and an amused glance. "I don't think I've ever met someone so astute in all my life."

"Are you?" It felt like my heart was beating in my mouth, my pulse was so loud.

"Perhaps," he shrugged. "Nights like this remind me of the day I died."

"What… what was it like? Being dead, I mean."

"I don't remember."

"Oh," disappointment filled me, but I supposed it was probably a good thing since the last thing you'd want to remember was being dead. That sort of knowledge would make you mad.

"I remember dying though," he supplied, as though offering up a poor substitute. I smiled. Though there was little happiness in the smile due to the memories it stirred up for me.

"And what was that like for you?"

He regarded me with those fake-teal eyes in the moonlight and answered me directly for the first time so far in our conversation. "Lonely."

I nodded. "Me too… When I was stabbed I seriously thought that was the end of me, and I remember panicking because everything just… faded, you know? I thought that there was no one there. No one who cared. I couldn't feel and I couldn't hear and I couldn't see. Apparently Shikamaru and Naruto were with me… but I just don't remember them being there. I thought of you, you know? In the end-" He shot me a bemused glance, but I kept going regardless. "-I thought that I'd make you regret it if you didn't look after my friends if I died. Isn't that strange?"

I laughed slightly, all too aware that he was watching me. Another gust of wind blew, causing a tremendous shiver to run down my spine. He appeared beside me, almost absentmindedly, helping to tighten the sheets around me, though I noticed the way his fingers lingered on my skin – sending small electric jolts through my system. My breathing suddenly doubled in heaviness and I found my gaze wandering to the most obscure places… like his lips.

I forced myself to raise my gaze, only to meet his in the process. I blushed slightly as I realised he'd caught me looking, but I leant into the hand that was pressed against my cheek none-the-less. Then the most bizarre thing happened. He leant towards me, and the sand literally peeled away and dissolved from his face.

Oh my god he's bloody gorgeous…

He kissed me and I stopped thinking altogether.

Chapter eight… AAAAAH! THEY KISSED! YEEE! Am I the only one going 'about time'?! That being said I think they needed the build up. It works well for them. But yes! I hope you enjoyed that as much as I liked writing it. Please review people! I love knowing what you think.

Oh yea! All my exams are done! WOOTAGE! Forewarning: I'm not going to be here on 20th-25th which misses a Monday update, when would you like it instead, considering you have one more week to decide. Just start thinking about it.

Luv ya

XxMookinexX