Okay, people, so here's my second chapter! I decided to post it now because God knows when I'll be able to write again, I've got tons of work waiting for me T_T This chapter is a bit more narrative, but still some nice stuff going on with Ino, enjoy :)

PS: I still don't own Naruto, damn it x)

Chapter 2: Friend or foe?

Missions were always the same since Konoha ended the great war: go help peasants in difficulty, search for fugitives or at least find their corpses, help rebuild the village… Team 10 rarely worked together lately, these simple missions requiring only 1 to 2 ninjas. They also rarely had time to spend together. Choji was working with his father on new and more efficient army pills, Shikamaru was in charge of the new genin and their training (the village had lost many of their sensei) and Ino was almost all the time taking shifts in the hospital with Sakura. Even if the war had ended almost 6 months ago, the hospital beds were nearly never empty. The medical ninja had also followed psychological lessons for many people didn't only come to the hospital for physical damage.

Ino was finishing a written report about her last patient when she heard quick footsteps coming her way. She looked up to see a panting Sakura with a very worried look on her face.

"Tsunade-sama wants to see you right away, she says it's urgent!" she managed to say.

"O.. okay, I'm on my way..".

"No, wait!" Sakura got a hold of her arm before she left. "She's here, in the hospital!"

Ino frowned, not knowing what to expect, but nodded once and followed Sakura down to the first floor. They stopped in front of room 109 and Ino looked at Sakura, worried. That was Naruto's room, he was lying in coma for the past 6 months, ever since he fought against Sasuke Uchiha. Everyone knew that Naruto Uzumaki had won, but no one managed to find Sasuke's body. Sakura had been a mess since the moment Kakashi had brought back a half dead Naruto, bleeding from almost every pore. She would sit every day next to the boy's bed, talking to him, trying to wake him up by telling stories about what their friends were doing. Ino had never seen Sakura drink as much as she did now.

"Sakura…", she started, worried.

"It's okay, Ino", Sakura said. "He woke up."

The pink haired girl said this looking right in front of her, avoiding her friend's look.

"So what's wrong?" Ino felt a sudden rush of adrenaline, as if she sensed something bad was going to happen.

"You'll see..", Sakura said opening the door.

The room was unusually clear, Sakura always kept the windows and curtains shut. This time, everything was open and the sun threw it's shiny strands in the room. The Hokage was standing on the right side of the bed, her arms folded and her head down, as if she was troubled. Naruto was sitting up on his pillows, his clear blue eyes bright as ever, but there was a little sign of melancholy in them. He smiled kindly at his new visitor.

"Hey there, Ino-pig!" he said weakly.

"What up, dork?" the blonde's voice was filled with tenderness. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, I guess.."

He was better than good, Ino could already feel his impressive chakra flowing all around the room. However, she was still worried by the general attitude of everyone.

Tsunade looked up at the blonde and understood her question without any use of words.

"Naruto woke up just about an hour ago", the Hokage started. "We finally know the details of that battle."

She then looked intently at Naruto, the boy sighing and continuing the explication.

"When I fought Sasuke, Kyubi acted on his own instinct even though he should have fought with me", he said, his voice slightly shaky. "By the time we both were worn out and heavily injured, he decided to seal Sasuke's chakra… then I lost conscience."

Ino stayed there, just dumbly looking at him, not really understanding what was happening, but she felt her intestines go upside down inside her, she wondered why…

"What are you saying?" she mechanically asked.

"Sasuke's alive, Ino" Sakura coldly answered.

Suddenly, Ino felt nausea work its way up to her throat. She immediately thought of her family and friends and was already unconsciously making plans on how to protect them, or to run away… Ino swallowed slowly. Sasuke being alive, to her, meant war over and over again as she remembered all the damage this only traitor had done to her beloved village. On the other hand, she somehow felt reassured. He had been her first crush, after all… Then she started thinking rationally. If he was alive, he must be very weak, having no access to his wicked chakra. Nothing made sense by the time she decided to speak.

"He is no threat to us anymore, why should we care if he is alive or not?" Ino felt Naruto and Sakura tense at her words. Tsunade sensed it too and quickly spoke.

"Traitor or not, he is a member of our village", she said firmly. "And as you say, he isn't a threat to us anymore, so why not bring him home to his friends and give him a chance to repent?"

"Repent?" The blonde clenched her fingers to a shaking fist. "That guy doesn't have a conscience, he was ready to kill his so-called friends! He deserves to rot in the shit he got himself into!"

"Hey!" Naruto hissed.

Ino stopped there. She didn't want to hurt Sakura's and Naruto's feelings, but the only idea of having that murderer in their village again disgusted her. It was Sakura who spoke first after a long silent moment, with strength in her voice.

"I want to make him pay for what he has done!"

"Sakura…", Tsunade and Naruto said together.

"Not physically", the kunoichi continued, "but bring him back to Konoha and make him clean up the streets, the blood on the hospital floor… Even if he doesn't have a conscience, it would at least piss him off, and satisfy many, I think."

At the end of her phrase, she was smirking. The other three were surprised by her attitude, but Ino got over it quickly and patted her on the shoulder.

"Congratulations, Mother Theresa", she said smiling "you're officially a cold-hearted bitch like all of us mere mortals!"

"And it feels damn right!" Sakura hissed through her teeth.

"What's the plan, Hokage-sama?" asked Ino enthusiastically.

"Team 10, you're the only team complete and free, you will go with Kakashi to find Sasuke", said Tsunade. "Sakura, you're also welcome to go with them , but if you prefer not to…"

"I'll go!" replied the kunoichi.

Tsunade nodded, closing her eyes.

"Naruto, you'll stay here, as we discussed it."

"Yes" responded the Uzumaki, lowering his eyes.

It was the first time Ino had seen him not jump on the walls for being banned of mission. He must have grown a lot during the war.

Sakura and Ino left the room and started walking towards the staircase in silence. The blonde didn't know what to tell her best friend but before she could think of anything, Sakura interrupted her thoughts.

"Drink tonight, the usual spot?" she asked in a neutral tone.

"Yeah, sure." Ino answered.

"What will you do if we find Sasuke?" the tip of Sakura's nose was a little red already after two cups of sake.

They were sitting in their favourite bar, where they where sure only youngsters went. On their table, a bottle of sake almost empty. Sakura had taken her shoes off and was in the lotus position, Ino stretched her own legs into her friend's laps.

"What do you mean, pinky?" asked Ino, emptying her third cup.

"Will you go off chasing after him like you used to?" the said pinkette asked.

"Ugh, please, Sakura!" she frowned at the thought. "The guy's so stiff, and not in the good way, if you know what I mean! Besides, he's not the only man in Konoha…"

"Did you know that after he left, I've never loved anyone?" Sakura simply stated.

"Wha-…you mean you've never…" she didn't finish her sentence.

Sakura looked at the blonde with curiosity, not knowing what she was asking her. Ino looked at her intently, making funny movements with her eyebrows which eventually made its way to Sakura's brain.

"Oh! You're asking me if I ever had sex?" asked Sakura, slightly outraged.

"Well?.."

"Of course I have, I'm not frigid you know!" she said making an "oh, puh-lease" face.

"You never know, Virgin Sakura" the blonde replied, snorting.

They drank in silence for a while. The bar was getting a little crowded and they looked over to make sure nobody they knew would interfere with their drinking. Then Sakura spoke again.

"You know what?" she started. "When we were genin, I was so sure I would end up married to Sasuke and you with Shikamaru."

Ino blinked at her for a while then burst into laugh. Sakura looked at her, disoriented.

"Me and Shika?" Ino said a bit too loudly. "Why on earth would you think I would ever get married to that lazy ass? I mean, I'm not even sure he's interested in women, you feel me?"

She continued laughing at her friend's naïve thoughts and her own cool way of talking. She stopped when she saw Sakura's emerald eyes widen. Ino then heard a very familiar voice behind her. She slowly turned around and looked at the man standing there. The pineapple head she could recognize even between actual pineapples was looking down on her.

"Guys, let's go somewhere else." said Shikamaru calmly. Ino would have liked to melt away into a tiny glass as he turned around with his friend Choji, Kiba and Neji. But then he added:

"Too many sluts in here."

Ino's vision turned red and she shot murderous looks to the back of his neck. Choji followed him directly, Kiba and Neji stayed a bit behind. Kiba looked at Ino from her head to her bared legs, with a seductive smirk.

"Hmm, me likey sluts" he said turning away.

The blonde's jaw could've hit the ground if it weren't for Neji's "I'm-trying-too-hard" smile which only gave her the goose bumps. She had already turned him down several times. It's not that he wasn't handsome or strong, he was kinda hot, but she couldn't even imagine going out with a guy whose hair was as long and silky as hers. And by the way, she knew Tenten had a huge crush on him.

Anyway, she really felt bad towards Shikamaru. She knew she was loud when she drank, but couldn't she have shut her huge mouth just this once?

"So life sucks, eh?" stated Sakura, filling their cups once again.

That night, Ino couldn't sleep, turning from right to left in her bed, thinking. The next day, she was going to search throughout the country for a criminal who broke Konoha and her best friend's heart. The young woman was wondering what it would be like if they really found him… alive. Would Sasuke be the same, arrogant and cold-hearted kid he used to? Or would he be demented with power and anger like that freak, Orochimaru?

The steady breathing next to the blonde kept her relaxed, although she already felt her stomach twist in most uncomfortable ways. Ino had brought Sakura to her house, figuring she could use some company and mostly because the pinkette would've probably lost her way home thanks to all the sake in her blood. The blonde turned to her friend, analysing her traits. Sakura looked peaceful in her sleep, her mouth slightly open and frowning just a bit. Ino touched the bare skin of the other kunoichi between her eyebrows, tracing the little lines formed by her constant frowning. She would get early wrinkles if she continued, thought Ino, sighing. Sakura had really had a hard childhood and had been literally thrown in the reality of adult life. Her sensei never really took care of her (only when Sakura was about to die did Kakashi react), nor did he ever take the time to train her, like he did with the other two. Her first love had treated her like shit and even tried to kill her. Finally, there was Naruto, sweet and caring, but always putting himself in trouble and leaving to train for years. Yes, Sakura was most of the time left behind, and even so, nobody ever really gave her credit for everything she had been through.

Ino rolled on her back and looked steadily at the ceiling of her room. A bad memory crossed her mind, and she slightly flinched as if a thought could hurt. Well, this one apparently did. The blonde thought of Shikamaru, and the disgusted look he gave her when she saw him in the bar. She slapped her forehead. How could someone be so stupid? On the other hand, Ino had only spoken the truth. She would never be able to go out with Shikamaru, because basically, she would live the relationship alone, and that's not the purpose now, is it? Then why did she feel so bad about all this?

The next morning, on the day of the mission, Ino was standing in front of her mirror. She inspected her reflection for a minute, than slapped her cheeks and started pinching the slightly red flesh. "Aaargh, I'm so fat!" Ino thought in disgust. Her blue ocean coloured eyes then fell on the tiny bag next to the sink. The bag contained three tubes of pills, all from the Akimichi. One was the army pills that increased chakra and strength and the second was full of little poison filled pills. The third, the one she really resented but was necessary, were little dark blue little orbs that are designed for suicide if a ninja got caught. Ino reached out with a shaky hand and grabbed the bag. The kunoichi got prepared, she took twice the amount of weapons that are normally needed. Her ninjustu wasn't very efficient on the battle field, she could only be useful by keeping the other's backs safe.

With her bag on her shoulders, Ino headed towards the Konoha gate. Kakashi was, for the first time she could recall, on time. His back against the gate, the Copy Ninja was reading his usual Icha-Icha Paradise. He lifted his one free eye when the kunoichi arrived. Sakura followed closely behind.

"Hello ladies" Kakashi said smiling with his eye.

Said ladies only nodded. The atmosphere was already so tense, Ino couldn't even imagine how it would be when they would find Sasuke-kun…

"Whaaaat? No way!" Ino thought to herself. "No more 'kun' for bastards!". She slightly shook her head to get rid of her stupid, childish thoughts. Concentration had to be the only thing on her mind.

Shikamaru and Choji arrived ten minutes after the girls did.

"Hello everyone!" said the ever so happy Choji.

Shikamaru didn't even bother looking at the others, he only nodded towards Kakashi and took out a cigarette of his pocket.

"Okay team, we move out now, I'll explain the plan later on the way" Kakashi said putting his porn book in his back pocket.

This five ninjas left the village and started jumping from tree to tree. They ran like this for about three hours when Kakashi gave them the signal to stop. The silver haired man took out a big map and put it on the floor. The others crouched in a circle to have a better view at the indications.

"Here", Kakashi pointed one finger on the map. "Naruto said last time he saw Sasuke it was near the east borderline of the Land of Fire. It shouldn't take us long to get there, about one day. We will spend the night camping just before we get there so we'll be on top condition."

The jounin then looked up to the four youngsters in front of him, a consternated look on his one visible eye.

"If he's alive, we still don't know what he would be able to do", he started. "Do not underestimate him just because his chakra is sealed, we don't know to what extent it is limited and it is Sasuke Uchiha we are talking about."

Everyone nodded once, neither wanting to talk. They travelled in complete silence, each ninja meditating on a personal plan on how to fight the next day. Ino felt like they were mourning, and this atmosphere didn't really go with her usually optimistic character. She started humming a lullaby to the rhythm of her footsteps. "Hey, this kinda works!" the blonde thought to herself. "It feels like we're going on a school trip, I should try this more often!"

The kunoichi was brought back to sad earth by a really ugly glare Shikamaru shot at her.

"We really don't need any of your cheerleading, thank you. Save it for your bathroom."

He then looked back in front of him, losing himself in his calculating mind. Ino was furious but kept it to herself, deciding to continue her singing in her head to keep her calm.

~It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight..~ Yeah, it definitely calmed her down.

The five ninja stopped in the late afternoon and settled two tents near a calmly flowing river. Shikamaru started putting up a few traps for possible threats. Kakashi found himself a stone a few meters from camp and sat there reading his book. Choji was starting up a fire to0 quickly cook up a random meal (anything is good when your tummy is aching!). The two girls sat at the entrance of their tent, Sakura studying some manuscripts on medicinal herbs she "borrowed" from the village library and Ino was sitting with her legs crosses, slowly making her chakra flow through her smallest veins. This relaxed her beyond belief, and she also learned to control her chakra. The young woman sighed in satisfaction. "This isn't as horrible I thought it would be. The key is to relax. Breathe in, breathe out, br-.. What the hell?" Something small but incredibly hard smashed on her head. Ino opened one irritated eye to try and find the impertinent little excuse of a living creature that dared to disturb her. She found Shikamaru a few meters across her, on the other side of the shy campfire, playing with little rocks. The blonde then looked down to see a rock at her feet similar to those the strategist was playing with. She glared at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry", he innocently said, with a slight smirk on his lips. "I was exercising my skills of throwing weapons, I'm too lazy you see…"

Ino closed her eyes and concentrated on relaxing herself. ~It's just a ride, it's just a ride. No need to run, no need to hide…~ She slightly smiled as her breathing became more even. Smash. Another rock on her head. Now she was pissed.

"Okay, that's it" she yelled, still seated. "You throw something at me again, just once, and I'll pull so hard on your pineapple hair, your eyes will fall out of their sockets, got it?"

"Pff, whatever." He folded his arms behind his head and turned his full attention to his favourite companions: the clouds. At least they weren't troublesome or noisy.

"Wow, the legendary team 10 friendship.." Sakura chuckled.

"Ahhmmmmm" Ino pretended to be into her yoga session. "I'm not hearing a word you say, bitch!"

Sakura turned back to her manuscript, still laughing.

…

"Stop humming, it's getting on my nerves!"

"It's not like you're sleeping…"

"As a matter of fact, I am, so shut it!"

"Wow, you must be one rarely gifted ninja, Sakura-who-communicates-in-her-sleep."

"Gah! I hate you, Ino!"

The pinkette sat up, grabbing her head in her hands. It was almost dawn, and none of the two kunoichi had had some shut-eye. Kakashi was on guard outside the tents that night, the other two boys were in the second tent. Ino held herself up on her elbows and started analysing her friend.

"You know, we might not find him." the blonde stated. "He might well be dead, stop being so nervous."

"I know!" hissed the other. "I don't need any comforting, I've been just fine all these years by myself, thank you!"

"Okay, now you're just being rude!"

"Do you think I give a damn about being rude to you?" She was clearly enraged. "Believe it or not, everything isn't always about you, Yamanaka!"

This said, the young woman stood up (as much as she could in the tent) and went out. Ino sighed and took a kunai for safety reasons before leaving the tent too. Sakura was heading to nowhere, just boldly walking to where her feet led her. She just wanted this situation to end. She hoped Sasuke was dead so she shouldn't go back at being the nice little girl with the huge crush. "Uchiha, please be dead!" the kunoichi thought.

"Oh, so you want to be the one to tell Naruto his beloved friend is a white, stinking corpse?" her inner surfaced.

"You, shut up, I don't need you right now!" Sakura snapped at her own thoughts.

Ino was now wondering where Kakashi had left. He was supposed to be looking out for them near the tents. The blonde continued to walk behind the other girl, and they were getting a bit too far from the campsite, and that worried her.

"Sakura…"

"…"

"Hey, Sakura!"

"…"

"Goddamit, billboard-brow, will you stop for one friggin' minute?"

Sakura stopped right were she was and turned slowly to face Ino.

"What did you just call me, you excuse of a pig?"

"Yeah, yeah, be mad!" Ino shouted. "You're not the only one affected by all this, but with your behaviour, you're putting us all in danger and messing with the mission!"

"Oh, I'm the one messing with the mission?" she snorted. "You're the one sleeping around with everyone, and because of you we have tensions within our team! Stop pretending you're so goddamn perfect for one second, and try considering other people's feelings! Like Shikamaru, you don't give a rat's ass about him and I think you made that clear for everyone, especially for him!"

Ino was dumbfounded. How dared Sakura say she didn't care about her team, about Shikamaru?..

"This is myteam we are talking about, wecare for each other!" the blonde snapped. "We have always been together and will always be, don't act like you know my team better than me, you schizophrenic psycho!"

"You think you're so much better than me because your team hasn't deserted you yet! But don't worry, dumb blonde pig, you're just as useless as me!"

They suddenly stopped their dispute. Something in the air was really off, and it came from neither of them. Ino had a trail of goose-bumps going down her spine and Sakura was completely alert, feeling a presence really nearby. Both girls turned their heads towards the forest just next to them. A pair of cold black eyes was staring at them.

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of Sasuke, but I liked the idea that he would bring everyone back together, in a certain way :p I love making Shikamaru the rude kid who pisses Ino off, I've had so muh fun writing it! If people keep on reading my story, chapter 3 should be up soon enough, and I promise some fluff! :D please review, thank you!

DarkDream93