Reviews:
Midami Uchiha of the sand: I actually stopped watching Naruto on YouTube. I'm downloading the episodes now. But there's one thing. In my story, Gaara was never kidnapped, he still has Shukaku inside of him cuz I have an evil plan in my head. MUAHAHAHA!!
Mei: I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'll be writing more, stay tuned. ENJOY!
Itsumo Neko: I actually got the Cousin Idea from one of the forums. People said that they have the same hair style; they're both blonde and Deidara looks a bit girly, He-he. Enjoy this chapter, my dear.
The Great Daryl: and I give your review 15 thumbs up Looks at her fingers Yeah, LOL!!! Thanks and enjoy this chapter.
Kirri Kitty: WAAH! I already miss you, thank you and Kilulu for the review. Thank you and enjoy this chapter.
Bananamike: ha-ha, People are saying it's too long. I see that you reviewed on the 3rd chapter. Please continue with reading the rest of the chapter and tell me what you think. Thank you for your review and enjoy this chapter.
First of all, I'd like to apologize for the delay because I was having exams. I will be off school in June and I'll be spending more time on the stories. Thank you guys for your support, Enjoy this Chapter, everyone.
I'm thinking of finishing this story soon, though I don't want it to end but it's kind of taking too long, don't you think?
Previously:
"Very well, Yamanaka Ino," he said, standing up, still watching the couple with his scope. "the time is near." He said, turning his attention towards Konoha's main gate, seeing that someone was entering the main gate. Deidara smirked.
"He couldn't find a more perfect time to arrive to Konoha. Hmm." he said, laughing, before turning around and walking off.
"I have been told that you're coming here. This morning, your brother told me about the letter you sent a couple of weeks ago. But you've come a bit too early, don't you think," she said, smiling. "Uchiha Itachi?"
The two continued with their making-out session; loving life to the fullest. If anyone saw them, they would tell they were extremely happy with each other
"That won't be for long. Hmmm" a certain blonde standing away from the two said, watching them with his eye scope. He turned around and walked away, deciding to call it a day.
Please remember, Chapter 23:
He walked into the main entrance of the apartment building where Naruto and Sasuke lived. Climbing the stairs slowly, Itachi thought about his meeting with his younger brother.
It's been five years since they last spoke to each other, mainly because Itachi had some unfinished Business he needed to take care off. He never told his brother about the reason he left, nor was he planning on telling him now.
He looked for apartment 25 at the top of the building; his chin-high collared, long sleeved black shirt clung to his body as the wind hit him from the front. Itachi slipped his hands into the pockets of his khaki pants. 'This building is way too high' he thought as he walked towards the only door on this floor.
Itachi sighed as he raised one of his hands to knock on the door a couple of times. A few seconds later, a blonde guy answered the door.
"Oh, Hello" Naruto greeted, "Wait a second," he said, studying the features of the man in front of him. 'He looks like Sasuke, same hair, same looks but, he's not Sasuke?! Hmmm' he thought as the dark-haired raised his hand to lower the collar a bit.
"Hello, Uzumaki Naruto!" he said, his deep voice differed from Sasuke's. Naruto smiled and nodded.
"You must be Sasuke's older brother. Itachi." Naruto said, taking a step to the side. "C'mon in, Sasuke's in the shower" Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. Itachi smiled and walked in, studying the apartment. He couldn't hide the fact that the apartment had a little too much of the color orange. Naruto waited for him to say something but he was tired of waiting.
"Have a seat; Sasuke takes a very long time in the shower, even longer than girls. I think it's something that has to do with the back of his hair. His style gives me the creeps" Naruto said, making Itachi chuckle.
"Thanks, but that's Sasuke for ya. Ever since he was a child, whenever he's done playing around, he'd jump in the bathtub" he said, looking around the apartment. Naruto chuckled but realized something.
"I thought you were coming in at most one more week" he said, crossing his arms. Itachi chuckled, "I decided to give him a surprise" Itachi said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'm sure it's going to be a nice surprise" Naruto chuckled and looked down at his clothes, realizing that he was dressed in green pajama pants and a white/green pajama shirt that matched.
"Uh, If you'll excuse me, I'll go change" Naruto said, chuckling nervously, and ran towards his room. "Okay" Itachi simply said as his vision followed the 17 years old until the door was closed. He sighed and turned around, looking at a few pictures of Naruto, Sasuke and a couple of people who seemed to be his friends, hanging on the wall or standing on the chest in the living room. He smiled and continued with his observation until he heard the sound of a door, on the other side of the room, being unlocked.
"Naruto, did you answer the door or you fell asleep again?" Sasuke came out of the bathroom, wearing black baggy pants and a white dress shirt, leaving the top couple of buttons unbuttoned. He was drying his hair with a towel when he saw his brother standing there, a smile plastered on his face.
"I-Itachi" he stuttered, startled by the presence of his older brother. Itachi smiled and walked towards his little brother with a smile on his face.
"Hey, little bro," he said, stopping a few feet away from Sasuke who was surprised by his brother's presence. "surprise!" he said, extended his arms, expecting a hug from his little bro. Sasuke stood still, not moving a muscle, making Itachi move his arms back to his sides in disappointment.
"Is that how you welcome your brother after 5 years of separation?" he said, crossing his arms. Sasuke sniggered and walked towards the couch, throwing the towel on it before throwing himself on it as well.
"How come you chose to show up now? Why didn't you show up earlier?" he asked, making his brother turn his head to the side, not wanting to answer his brother's straight-forwarded question.
Sasuke smirked and nodded his head when his older brother refused to answer. Pushing himself up on his feet, Sasuke walked slowly towards his brother.
"I thought you promised mom and dad you'd take care of me. Isn't that what you've promised them? Or I think you've just forgotten since you have some, no wait, lots of important things, more important than your own blood-"
"-Silence, Sasuke!" Itachi ordered his little brother, surprising the latter. Ever since they were children, their relationship was tight yet a bit complicated. Sasuke rarely disobeyed his brother, let alone yell back, which was something that irritated Sasuke. He never wanted to be known because of his brother nor did he want him to treat him like a kid, not anymore. The younger Uchiha let his eyes wander along the walls of the living room, not wanting his eyes to meet his brother's angry ones.
Itachi noticed his brother's anxiety and sighed heavily, "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I've been busy." he stopped, looking at his brother who was about to say something.
"With wha-"
"-With something you shouldn't know!" He said, turning around. Sasuke sighed heavily. "Something you wouldn't understand." Itachi continued, not giving his brother at least a vague clue about his whereabouts for the past few years or what he was doing.
Sasuke nodded and smirked, "And now you're back? You suddenly miss me?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes, making Itachi narrow his eyes back.
"I haven't been the greatest brother in the world, but I still promised my parents-"
"-Our parents", Sasuke said, stressing on the word. Itachi sighed and continued.
"I promised our parents that I'll be taking care of you so, here I am" he said, smiling. Sasuke smirked.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm seventeen and I sure don't need your help anymore." He said, walking towards the apartment's door when his brother suddenly held his forearm, tightly, stopping him from moving. Itachi leaned to his brother's ear.
"Never, ever, walk away while I'm talking to you" he calmly said, sending shivers up the younger Uchiha's spine.
Sasuke, ignoring his older brother's threat, turned his face to face his brother's, narrowing his eyes, their dark-reddish eyes met.
"I don't care what you do, Itachi. I don't even care if you died, because to me," he said before glaring at his brother, "you are" he said, with much anger in his hoarse voice. Sasuke pulled his arm away from his brother's grip and walked towards the door.
"You'll regret this, Sasuke-kun" he mumbled, out of his younger brother's hearing range, as he watched his brother walk out of the door.
In one of Konoha streets
Naruto was walking down the street peacefully, looking around for a sign of both Sasuke and Itachi when he heard his name being called.
"Naruto!" Jiraiya yelled, still following Naruto around for stealing his notebook. He turned around to see a very angry Jiraiya. 'There's no way of running now, is there?' Naruto thought, smiling nervously while Jiraiya was growling like a predator at his prey.
"Where's my notebook?" he said, clutching Naruto's by the collar. Naruto gulped as this was the first time he saw Jiraiya this angry.
"I can't believe you still remember that day. It seems like ages ago." Naruto said, trying to free himself from Jiraiya's grip of anger.
"I'll say this one last time. Where in the world is my notebook?" he asked again, giving Naruto a chance to reply. The latter smirked.
"I sold it" he said, freeing himself from Jiraiya's grip and standing tall. Jiraiya gasped.
"YOU WHAT?!" he yelled, almost deafening Naruto who rubbed the inside of his ear with his index finger.
"Keep it down, old man. I sold it, so what?" he said, carelessly. Jiraiya shook his head.
"But it wasn't complete!"
"Don't you remember the time where I sold your story and it made the top charts? It was five years ago. Remember?" he said, waving his index finger in Jiraiya's face. The latter rubbed his chin.
"Hmmm, you're right. but still!"
"Don't worry, it'll be a success. Because I, Uzumaki Naruto, have the talent." He said, making a pistol move with his fingers at Jiraiya "I have to go, see ya" he said, running off, leaving Jiraiya dumbfounded.
A few minutes later, Naruto realized that he was as far as he could go away from Jiraiya. He turned around and chuckled,
"This is getting so much fun, he-he" he said, acting like the-11-year-old prankster he used to be. Naruto sighed and walked towards one of the juice stands.
"Hi, One Uzumaki Naruto Special, please" he said, receiving a nod from the guy behind the stand as he picked a cup to fill it with the mixture of juice Naruto has founded once. Naruto turned around and leaned on the counter, looking right and left at the people passing by, trying to find a hint of the Uchihas.
"Here ya go!" the man behind the stand said. Naruto turned around and picked the cup, giving him the money. "Thanks" he said, turning back around and leaning on the stand, now taking a sip from the juice.
"Lemonade and strawberry, please" a deep voice said, making Naruto turn to check who was its owner. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed guy looked at Naruto and smiled, nodding.
"Hey," he started, taking the juice from the guy and paying for it "good day, isn't it?" he continued, smiling. Naruto nodded back, "Yeah" he said, turning his attention back towards the passers-by. The blonde guy leaned next to Naruto, watching the people along with him.
"This tastes good, mmm." he said, taking a sip from his juice. Naruto looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, best juice in the whole village. I like to chill here if it was too hot" Naruto said, sipping from his Juice. The blonde guy laughed.
"Yeah, but it's not too hot in here though" he said, looking at Naruto and pausing for a second.
"Wait a minute, I know you" the blonde guy said, waving his index finger at Naruto, "Uzumaki Naruto, I presume" he said, smiling. Naruto knotted his eyebrows and chuckled.
"How do you know me?" he said, sipping from his juice. The blonde laughed, "Everyone knows the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi," he said, referring to him being the host of the nine-tailed demon fox. Naruto frowned and looked at the ground. The blonde looked at Naruto and smiled.
"but they also say you're one of a kind in this village" he said, taking a sip out of his Lemonade-strawberry juice. Naruto looked at him and chuckled, "Don't know about that, really" he said, looking at the ground before looking at the blonde guy. "It's embarrassing, you know my name but I don't know yours" Naruto said, raising a brow. The blonde laughed and looked at Naruto.
"Deidara," he said, nodding, "nice to finally meet you, Uzumaki" he said, moving his vision back to the street, and took a sip from his juice. Naruto looked at him and nodded, "Nice to meet you too, Deidara" he replied, also moving his vision towards the people passing by. Both stayed silent while finishing up their drinks.
"Well, it was nice meeting ya, Uzumaki. I have to go now" he said, extending his hand to shake Naruto's. The latter chuckled and shook Deidara's hand. "It was nice meeting you too, Deidara" he said, nodding.
Deidara nodded one last time and turned around, walking off. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the blonde who was walking away. 'I bet he's something. I couldn't sense him when he first showed up here' Naruto thought as he looked at the guy behind the counter. "Thanks for the juice" he said, waving his hand and walking off.
In front of Yamanaka flowers shop
"And then all of the sudden I was like 'Sakura, you can't take that, that's mine', and it flew out of our hands and splashed on the ground. Then Naruto showed up all energetic, with the floor being wet, and slid across the room and slammed into Neji. Neji fell into an awkward position with him," Ino laughed as she opened the door to the flower shop, telling Gaara about an incident that occurred the previous year. Gaara, not being used to funny situations, was laughing his head off.
"and you can picture someone as stern as Neji being laughed at. Ah, you should've been there!" she said, laughing, and walked behind the counter, putting on her white apron. Gaara chuckled as Ino kept on laughing, the laughter he loved to hear from her. At that moment, Gaara started to remember how his life was, before everything that happened to him in the past few years.
He remembered his life when he was a miserable child. He remembered how he changed from a cold-hearted monster to a caring, strong leader as a Kazekage. Gaara was definitely thankful for the change. He liked how people changed the way they felt about him. He liked how she felt about him, the girl he fell in love with.
'Am I in love with you? Or is it just mixed feelings?' he thought, looking at the ground and spacing out.
"Gaara, are you still there?" she asked, waving her hand in front of his face before moving from behind the counter and to his side. Gaara looked at her, breaking out of his thoughts, and chuckled.
"Yeah, I'm still here, hopefully" he said, smiling. Ino rested her hands on her hips, tilting her head to the side.
"What were you thinking of?" she slyly asked, making him laugh and take a step closer to her.
"A certain beautiful blonde Kunoichi that managed to flip my world upside down." he said, smiling. Ino paused for a second, "I wonder who she is. Are you going to introduce me to her?" she asked, smiling. Gaara smirked, "I'll think about it" he said, chuckling. Ino laughed and looked at the ground, blushing.
"What made you think of me?" she asked, playing with the small belt on his grey vest as she took a step closer. Gaara moved his hands to her hips, leaning his face closer to hers.
"You know you're always on my mind, Ino-Chan" he said, making her smile. She always liked how he made her name sound beautiful when she always hated it.
Ino blushed and bit her bottom lip. Gaara, loving how Ino looked when she did that, couldn't help but to lean closer to close the gap between their lips, moving his hands to cup her face. As their lips met in a heavenly kiss, Ino moved her hands to his sides, clutching the sides of his shirt, pulling his body close to hers. They kissed for a couple of seconds before taking a breath. Ino moved her right hand to his chest, and then moved it up to the side of his neck. Gaara caressed her cheek and gave her a peck on the lips. As they both opened their eyes, her baby-blue eyes met his sea-foam green ones, both stood there, silently, for a moment. Both wishing to be somewhere else, doing something more than that.
Gaara smiled and kissed her again, deeply and passionately, while she replied with much love and passion. He pulled away and looked in her eyes.
"Ino" he said, giving her another peck on her lips, "I have some work to do. I promise I'll make it up for you later" he said, caressing her cheek. Ino shook her head and smiled, one hand clutching the side of his shirt while the other moved down to his chest and played with his grey vest.
"No, you've been spending a lot of time with me. Once you're done with whatever you're doing. We can spend as much time as we need together." She said, biting her bottom lip. Gaara chuckled and nodded, "Ok then" he said, looking at her lips and smiling. "You won't mind, will you?" he said, leaning closer. Ino grinned and shook her head as their lips met for one last kiss. She shivered as she kissed him back, noticing something different in his kiss. They both kissed deeply as Gaara licked her lips, making her give him the entrance to her mouth. Their tongues moved in sync, both fighting for dominant. Ino gave in and let him take control of the situation. Moving her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer, kissing him deeper. His hands went to her waist, moving up and down her sides. She gasped when she felt his right hand move under her shirt and to her belly button, caressing her stomach with his thumb. He broke the kiss, resting his forehead on hers.
"I-I have to go" he said, walking away. Ino blinked a couple of times, not comprehending what had happened in the last second. "Gaara!" she called, but he was already out the door.
"What happened?" she asked herself, biting her bottom lip. Ino sighed and walked slowly behind the counter, thinking about this whole situation. A few minutes ago they were making out in the park, and now he gave her this vague sign through the kiss. She wasn't sure what he felt. She wasn't even sure what she felt.
Ino touched her stomach, where he touched her. It was the first time she was touched by a guy, no, the first time she was touched by him.
'Was he giving me the sign that he wants to move things along? Or did I do something that made him go away?' she thought, breathing heavily. Ino didn't know whether she wanted to move things along or go steady with him. She was actually feeling it was moving too fast. She didn't want to waste any moment of their time together yet she wanted to take it slow. Ino sighed and went behind the counter, sitting on the chair. She put her elbow on the table and leaned her chin on her closed fist.
"I don't know" she said, sighing heavily as she watched the clock over the door. It was already 9:30 am. Ino looked at the flowers, moving her vision towards a certain purple flower. She grimaced as her eyes watered, feeling a tight knot in her stomach and a pressure on her chest.
'He doesn't hate me, does he?' she thought as she tried to prevent herself from crying, but she'd failed as a single tear strolled down her cheek, followed by a couple of other tears.
Ino touched her cheek, 'Why am I crying? It's not like it's over. God, I'm jumping into conclusions so quickly' she thought, sighing heavily. A couple of seconds later, the door to the shop was opened and she saw someone she didn't want to see.
A couple of blocks away, Gaara was walking further away from the flower shop, hands in his pockets. He looked at the ground and gently kicked a small stone that was in the way.
"Gaara!" he heard his name being called. He turned around to see Kenji, the young boy whom Gaara has met on his first day in Konoha. He smiled and nodded, "Hey, Kenji, it's been a while" he said, looking at the young boy who had a smile plastered on his face. "Yes, Gaara, and lots of things happened" the boy excitingly said, making Gaara chuckle.
"Really?" he replied, turning around to fully face the boy and crossed his arms. Kenji nodded, "Yes, mom bought me a bicycle and I have a new tooth, look" he said, showing Gaara his new tooth. Gaara laughed and kneeled down to be at the kid's level.
"That's great. I'm happy for you" he said, smiling. The boy nodded and then looked at Gaara with a serious look on his face. "What?" Gaara asked, noticing the boy's intense gaze. "Uh, you look like you have a thing on your mind!" he said, putting his hands behind his back.
Gaara chuckled and looked at the ground, "I guess you understand people by just looking at them" he said, smiling. Kenji nodded, rubbing the back of his neck "People say I got this from mother" he laughed, making Gaara laugh as well. "I have to go try out my new bicycle. See ya!" Kenji said, running off. Gaara smiled and stood up straight, looking at the ground.
'Perhaps I should go back. I'm sure she feels guilty about me walking off like that and I don't want her to be' Gaara thought as he took the same way he came through to go back to Yamanaka Flower shop.
Yamanaka Flower shop
He walked in to the shop, surprising Ino. "Deidara" she mumbled, sighing heavily. He walked in with a smile, but it quickly turned into a frown once he saw her in tears.
"What's the matter, Ino?" he said, walking closer to the counter. "He didn't do anything to you, did he? I'm gonna kill him"
"He didn't do anything," she said, looking at the counter, "it was me." she said, wiping away her tears. "He hates me" she said, tears flooded down her cheek once more.
Deidara shook his head and walked to her side behind the counter, "If he hates you then he's a jerk" he said, walking closer to her. She didn't stop crying, instead, she pushed herself in his chest, sobbing her heart out. Deidara was surprised by her movement. A couple days ago she hated his guts and probably didn't want him to spend time with her and now there she was, crying her heart out in his arms.
"Ino, it's alright" he said, wrapping his arms around her. "Things like these happen between couples and if you want my opinion," he said, pulling her away, "I think you two were going too fast and that's what led to your break up" he said, nodding. Ino knotted her eyebrows.
"We didn't break up."
"Oh, he just happened to walk away without saying a word?" he said, raising an eyebrow. She looked at the ground and nodded slowly. He shook his head, "That's bad news there, Ino-Chan. I'm sorry." he said, pulling her closer in a hug. "I'm here for ya, and ya know that, mmm?" he said, looking at her. She looked up at him and nodded, her cheeks were pink and her eyes were puffed, making him laugh.
"Don't you look funny?" he said, chuckling, making her chuckle along with him. Deidara played with her hair, moving her stray strand of hair behind her ear, making her sigh deeply.
"It happens a lot, I mean, my hair" she said, looking up at him. He smiled and bit his bottom lip. "I like it" he bluntly said, before leaning closer and capturing her lips with his, catching her off guard. She tried to pull away but he was too strong for her, or perhaps she was too tired, physically and emotionally. The only thing that she could do is to give in.
Ino closed her eyes and gave in to his kiss as he moved his hands around her waist, pulling her closer. Ino unconsciously moved her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She kissed him back, not realizing what she was doing,
not noticing that Gaara was just outside the door, witnessing the whole scene.
OH SHIT!! CLIFFHANGER!!!
I hope you liked this chapter, please tell me what you think. Cuz I had a brainwave about that last scene at the last moment and I liked the Idea. What's going to happen? You'll have to wait. Please review!