Chapter 9

It was an event worth celebrating. At long last, Ino was home. For months, she craved to see the faces of her friends and family. For months, she wondered what they were doing in her absence… she wondered what colour lipstick Sakura was wearing, what her mother was cooking that night… all the trivial little things that bore no significance.

Now that Ino was home, she should have been ecstatic. It wasn't as if she had been away for very long. She had been away on even longer missions than the eight months she was gone. It was the idea that she would never see her village again that made her extremely homesick. Eight months later, she was situated back where she was before she left. It was like nothing had changed. Naruto was still as loud and annoying as ever. Hinata was still just a meek. The only difference was that Sasuke had returned.

Sasuke… her childhood crush. Ino had thought that the world would collapse when he left. Was that an unnecessarily dramatic statement? Sure! She was also an unnecessarily dramatic teenager. Sasuke… she had always managed to make a fool out of herself when he was around. In front of Sakura and others, she would act possessive, and… well frankly, a little skanky when he was around.

During their few moments alone together, she would feel awkward and not be herself. Since he left, Ino had developed her character, and filled out her personality a little. Even now, with her frontal lobes fully developed and her teenage hormones in check, the few times she had run into him since her own return had been awkward.

Old habits die hard, I guess.

Sasuke was back… No matter how many times she repeated it in her head, it seemed surreal. Sasuke, who had deserted his friend to pursuit his murderous brother… Sasuke, who had allied himself with the man who killed the Third in pursuit of power…. Sasuke, who had formed a wedge between her and Sakura. Sasuke, who she had cussed out as the worst scum on earth… was back. Sasuke, whom she had once stayed up thinking about.

Ino didn't know what to do with him. Everyone else seemed to accept him back with open arms. There didn't seem to be any repercussions for his actions. If it had been a novel or a movie, the only right ending would have been Sasuke's death, perhaps after he accomplished the task of hunting down his own brother. Instead, Itachi was reportedly killed in a freak accident, and Sasuke was back and insultingly healthy. If the village were in its right mind, it would cast him out. More than anything, Ino just wanted to ignore him. The few times she ran into him, she had been polite… treating him as though they were barely acquaintances. His stupid scowl didn't make it any hard to do.

So, when she passed him on the bridge, she was surprised when he called her name.

"Ino…"

Even after all this time, Sasuke's voice still made her heart skip a beat. Ino turned around and flashed him a stupid smile with fake enthusiasm.

"Hi Sasuke!" The pitch of her voice was a touch too high for her liking. Stupid Ino… Her voice never got distorted when she talked to Gaara. Gaara… I wonder what he's up to now…

Sasuke looked at her with his slanted eyes and a grin that would have made her melt just a few years ago. Now, she was torn between… well, melting and tearing it off his face.

"I heard you got to play Princess for a while. It seems almost… fitting…", Sasuke purred. Can guys purr?

"I… umm…. Yes." Ino blushed profusely. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Where were the witty comments that came so easily when talking to anyone else?

"How did you find it?"

"It was… great!" That stupid high pitch voice again. Better think of something to add to that. "The village was… ummm…. great… and the people… the people were just…. Great…" Shit.

"Sounds great." Sasuke smirked again. Damn Sasuke….

"It was…. Great… Umm…. I'm gonna go to the forest now to uh… to train." Fuck. I'm starting to sound like Hinata. Ino flashed another dumb smile before turning around to continue her path. For every moment she spent with Sasuke, she missed Gaara more and more. Even though she had to play a role most of the time, she still felt like herself. Gaara had been extremely easy to talk to. With Sasuke, she was a mess.

"Have fun"

Oh, I'll have fun… That last thought didn't even make any sense. Ino felt like breaking into a jog, but she could still feel Sasuke's eyes burning into the back of her head. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Oh Gaara…

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Author's note: Been a while, huh? Sorry it's so short. I just felt like writing… but didn't have enough time to write lots…. So… To be continued!