Hi, everybody! Honestly, I can't believe that this chapter is done. By far, this is the hardest chapter I've ever written because it's very hard to stay true to Sasuke's character. And then, thank you very much for everyone who has read/reviewed/favorited/followed this story. You people are the only reason I kept writing :''') and at last, ENJOY!
Sasuke knew the instant he decided to make Ino his woman his path was not going to be smooth. He figured out pretty quickly that he wasn't the only one who was prick by the gossip Sai threw into the table, it was pretty much everyone else. That instant, he knew everyone else was thinking of doing the same thing: saving Ino from the oh-so-horrible arranged marriage that Konoha had for some ridiculous reason prepared for her.
He would certainly be lying if he said that it was pure love that spurred him to seek her heart. It wasn't pity either, absolutely. There were a lot of people who had to suffer far more tragic and ironic fate than her – him included-, the back story Sai gave them that night didn't move him. Hardly anything ever moved him, anyway. It was mostly because of his strong sense of rivalry toward everybody else in Konoha and as trivial as the little competition was about, he saw this as one of the way – mostly because his life since he was back to Konoha had been very restricted, he was banned from doing any mission until undecided time and he had to be back at his home before 10 PM- and besides, he was indeed interested in Ino. It was a long time ago, when love had been constantly put aside, when the thought of liking a girl had to be pushed far in the darker corner of his mind; all for the sake of revenge. Sasuke had thought about her several times during his first few months with Orochimaru and then, he was so occupied with other – much more important- things, he didn't have the time to think about something as trivial as girls. He had gone through a lot before they finally met each other once again during the Fourth World War; she had approached him so eagerly he could see her eyes sparkling with hopes and that moment, he knew his wish had been granted.
God, she was still way into him.
Like that, it was like the competition was set on the easiest difficulty setting for him. She loved him, and he wanted her, there should be no big deal, and in a short time, they will live happily ever after. Except, he had rivals, and that's where everything started to get complicated. His rivals absolutely have the upper hand in term of the time they spent together with Ino and he had to admit that he never knew Ino very well, despite his interest to her back then. He only knew that she was pretty, very confident, had an all-around excellent skill back then during the academy days, and she was working at a flower shop. Other than that, she was as foreign as a stranger. On the other hands, his rivals had spent their time working with Ino, harboring interest on her, and definitely they had known her better. Sasuke decided that if there's anything that should be done first in this competition, it was for him to take out his rivals. And take out his rivals he did.
XXX
"I will have a bowl of miso ramen with grilled chicken and extra seaweed, please." Sasuke's presence at Ichiraku was rare and pretty much everybody was intimidated by him. The ramen shop that was filled with soft chattering and laugh instantly silenced at his arrival. Sasuke sighed as people looked at him with those judgmental looks. When he claimed that he didn't care about what the villagers think, it didn't mean that he didn't hate it. It was a relief that a person he sat next to was a very reliable person who never doubts him for a second.
" Sasuke! How rare to see you here!" His voice was the same as always, loud and high pitched. Even though Uzumaki Naruto underwent puberty, his voice still sounded the same from three years ago.
"Yes, I figure I want me some ramen." Naruto flashed him a grin as he slurped the noodle.
"So, how are you and Sakura?" Sasuke asked as he received his own bowl of ramen. Naruto shrugged his head and looked at him with astonishment.
"Sakura's fine. You met her too yesterday during the training." He said, scratching his head. Sasuke closed his eyes. Ever so slow Naruto.
"I mean you and Sakura. You told the fourth Hokage that she's your girlfriend, correct?" He asked. This time, Ayame chimed in.
"You and Sakura are finally together? That is great! Congratulations, Naruto!" She said happily. Teuchi joined the conversation soon enough.
"I knew this day will come, young man! You should bring her here too sometime." He said. "Here, I'll give you bonus octopus as a token of gift." He added a spoonful of octopus to Naruto's bowl. Naruto looked confused at the sudden kindness from both Teuchi and Ayame as he scratched his head.
"No, no, no. It's not like that. Sakura is not my girlfriend." He said, looking at the octopus with confusion, not knowing what to do with the gift that was wrongly based.
"Are you saying that you lied to your dead father, Naruto?" Ayame closed her mouths in horror. Sasuke thought that she was totally exaggerating, but things were going his way anyway so he didn't say a thing and continued eating his ramen as he watched scenes after scenes unfold.
"Yeah, kinda, I mean …" Naruto looked down at his bowl of ramen. "Things are different, now." He looked at Sasuke. "Sakura likes Sasuke." He said. Sasuke raised his eyebrows at the mention of his name. There was no way that he's going to let Naruto shove the blame to him just like that.
"I'm not interested in Sakura, Naruto." He managed to say that coolly. Naruto chewed his octopus.
"It doesn't change the fact that she likes you, Sasuke. I can't do a thing about that, you see." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. So he was right about Naruto giving up on Sakura. If Naruto were serious about going for Sakura, he wouldn't be a reason. Nothing would be a reason.
"All these years and you just give up on her because of one man, Naruto?" Ayame looked at him than looked at Sasuke. Sasuke was almost glad that the brown haired woman kept helping him by making a comment. As much as Sasuke enjoyed a good rivalry with his blonde teammate, this time, the lesser his rivals, the better his chance were. He had begrudgingly admitted that he didn't know where his place was in the competition, so he had to depend on chances. Also, there were already some men he knew he couldn't touch or shove away. Kakashi was too unpredictable and trying to take him out with baseless harsh words would only make him look like a spiteful child. Sasuke was not too sure either that his previous attempt to shake Shikamaru's resolve succeeded. The shadow manipulator spent too much time with Ino. There was Shino and Genma too, both men he didn't know where their weak points are. When Sasuke checked back into reality, Naruto was still busy trying to convince Ayame that Sakura was out of his grasp forever when suddenly a stranger from another seat cheered Naruto on.
"I support you and Sakura-chan forever, Naruto!" He said as he threw his fist into the air. The others soon followed and suddenly they all chanted Naruto and Sakura's names. Sasuke finished his bowl of ramen while he rolled his eyes. And they said that I'm the crazy one.
Naruto was absolutely at a loss of words.
"I … Thank you, everyone." He said, scratching his head again. Sasuke put on his chopstick and looked at his blonde friend.
"Don't mind me; go for her if you want." He stood up and left the ramen shop after leaving some money. The shop was still loud from the chanting. Sasuke smirked as he walked down the road.
Okay, that's one man down.
XXX
"Sasuke!" A voice called him as he continued his walk the street and when he turned his head it was apparently Lee who called him. He walked only with one foot and strangely still managed to approach him with a quick speed.
"Lee. What a funny way to walk." He looked at him from head to toe.
"This is part of my training!" He said; a hint of pride was in his voice.
"It strengthens the calf muscle you know." He told him in an all-knowing tone. Sasuke nodded silently. There are thousand more kinds of training that could enhance the strength of calf muscle but it was Lee anyway, of course he had to do the most stupid looking ones.
"Anyway, I got a message from Kakashi-sensei. He said that tomorrow there will be a special training for team 7, so tonight is the briefing about tomorrow. 7 PM at Naruto's apartment."
"I got it, thanks." Sasuke nodded briefly and continued his walk. Unexpectedly, Lee followed.
"So, where are you up to?" He asked as he walked next to him, still with one foot.
"I am going to the training …" Lee's eyes were already gleaming and Sasuke knew he had said the first part of the forbidden words against Lee. If Lee knew Sasuke was going to the training ground, he would insist to come and train together with him. No, that wouldn't be good. As much as he likes to train himself hard, ten thousand squats or three hundred laps around Konoha was simply too much. He was not planning on overexerting himself, not today anyway. "Equiment Store." Sasuke finished.
"I am going to the training equipment store." He repeated as to make his point clear.
"Ah! Let me walk with you there then, I need to buy weapons too, Tenten's birthday is coming closer." He said; still with a wide smile across his face.
"Be my guest." Sasuke said. Lee stopped a second to change to his other foot and caught up to Sasuke who kept walking.
"Wow that was some nice tights." Lee said as he looked at one of the store along the street. Sasuke looked at an overly bright pink spandex which was displayed at a store with a flashy sign above its door. There was indeed no question about Lee's gaudiness in fashion.
"Do you think that Sakura will love it, if I bought her that?" Lee pointed at one of the display and Sasuke realized that he was looking at the wrong tights. Lee had pointed at even more colorful tights. Every bright color seemed to mix there, yellow, bright purple, bright red, bright pink, bright green, and many more. Sasuke closed his eyes.
"I don't think that …" Lee never listened to him as he was already rushing to the store with Sasuke's wrist on his robust grip. They both entered the shop which apparently was filled with more gaudy clothing.
"Wow! This store is amazing!" Lee exclaimed happily, his eyes gleamed in happiness. He walked to a big white rack with lot of bright tights folded neatly on that. Lee pulled stripped spandex tights and showed it to Sasuke.
"Sakurawill love this." He said with full of confidence. Sasuke gave him an odd look.
She will vomit at it and burn it and throw its ash to the sea.
"She'll hate it." Sasuke said. Lee laughed.
"You're just jealous aren't you, Sasuke? It's because I see these tights first and you can't give them to Sakura, ha!" Lee pointed at him and as much as Sasuke wanted to rebut, he decided to stay silent to end the argument quickly. In the end, Lee purchased the tights. He even had it wrapped nicely and once again they hit the street. Lee was humming happily; satisfied with his recent purchase.
"Lee, how can you be so …" Dense, is what Sasuke wanted to say. "Confident?"
Lee looked at him. "Mm? Confidence is important for all ninja to have because …"
"No, no. About Sakura," He quickly cut his upcoming lecture. "She rejects you all the time and you are still so eager on giving her gifts and such."
"What? She never rejects me!"
There we go. Dense.
"A magazine told me that being direct is the best way to convey feelings." Lee told Sasuke when they entered the equipment shop. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Lee obviously had a funny way of conveying his feelings. "There once a man who said that a good offense is the best defense." Lee told him as he lifted a kunai and judged it with one eye closed. Sasuke looked at him as he couldn't believe that Lee was capable of wise words.
"I'm done shopping." Sasuke said as he took some random kunais and brought it to the cashier. Lee followed him with three blue scrolls on his hands. They went out of the shop.
"Well, I'm going home." Sasuke lied. Lee nodded.
"I'm going to the north training ground!" He said.
"See you later." Sasuke gave him a smile and turned back. He really went to his house in case Lee was following him. He then headed to the south training ground after putting his shopping bag at his front door. Sasuke walked as he enjoyed the scenery of the streets near his house. It was quiet and most people there had been acquainted with him, hence, they didn't look at him with judgmental looks anymore. He entered the training ground when someone caught his eyes. Ino was sitting still under a tree in a meditating stance. Sasuke wanted to walk closer but then figured that Ino would do that too, so he kept his cool and approached a training dummy instead. He trained his taijutsu skill there when finally a voice called him.
"Sasuke-kun." Her voice was soft and playful. He didn't look at her when he greeted her back.
"Ino."
"Are you training alone?" Ino looked around. "Where's Naruto and Sakura?"
"They're busy."
"That's too bad." Ino said as she watched him intently while he punched the training dummy mercilessly.
"You might want to watch out though if you're here training alone." She giggled and moved back to her place under the tree and continued her meditation. Sasuke was about to question what she meant by that but the answer came quicker.
"Why, if it isn't Sasuke!" A familiar voice greeted him. In fact, the voice was familiar because he just heard it less than an hour ago. Sasuke closed his eyes in defeat.
"Lee. I thought you were going to the north training ground." He stopped his training and turned around. He was hoping that there would be some mercy for him by the presence of Neji and Tenten. There wasn't though, it was just Lee and Gai.
"Huh? Isn't it the north training ground?" Lee looked confused.
"It actually depends on where you face, Lee! South or north is just the same!" Gai said and then he laughed shamelessly. No, it's very different! Sasuke could feel his impatience rising up.
"You look like you're practicing your taijutsu! Let's train with us then!" Lee said enthusiastically.
"No thanks." He said bluntly, hoping bluntness would drive them away. It did nothing to the duo though, as expected.
"Don't be shy, Sasuke! You won't bother us at all!" Gai said as he pulled Sasuke's hand. He was about to yank his hand but Gai's grip was extremely robust.
"I don't want …" He started but then as soon as Gai's grip went loose, Lee was already literally kicking his way to him. Sasuke dodged and instinctively made a counterattack.
"Now that's the spirit Sasuke!" Gai exclaimed enthusiastically. Sasuke sighed as he corrected his fighting stance.
"Come at me any way you want!" Lee said, looking so eager on taking him. Sasuke mentally groaned as an electric current flow through his sword, he knew that he had fallen right into Lee's trap. Dead center.
This is the punishment for trying to take Naruto out of the game.
XXX
When he finished his training three hours later, Ino was still there, but this time she was watching him with a dreamy look. Lee and Gai looked at the clock and they looked like they were reminded of something important and after a hasty goodbye, they left immediately. Sasuke approached her and sat next to her.
"You are still here." He said as he leaned his back to the tree, catching his breath. Ino grinned.
"There's no woman in this world that could resist the sight of you training so hardly, glistening in sweat with sunset as the background." She hummed. Sasuke gave her an odd look.
"Creepy." He commented. Ino laughed.
"How's the training?" She asked. Sasuke snorted.
"You should have told me." He said begrudgingly.
"I had told you, Sasuke-kun," Ino smiled. "So, how is it? Did they beat you up good?"
"It was very intense. But they'll never be able to beat me up." He said as he lifted his chin up with pride. "I feel like I might have grown several times stronger already." He smirked. Ino giggled.
"Lee and Gai's training tends to make you feel like that, indeed." She commented as she searched her bag. Sasuke could never understand how a ninja (who was training) could still bring something as fashionable as a purple leathery tote bag. Ino was a special case, he guessed.
"You must be hungry after your hard training, Sasuke-kun. Do you want my bento?" She offered him a purple lunchbox. Sasuke looked at it hesitantly.
"No, thanks." He said coolly. "It's yours."
Ino opened the lid and the smell of the food soared in the air immediately, Sasuke looked down and he had to admit that it was a very delicious looking bento. He was about to refuse but his stomach betrayed him before he could say anything. It growled.
"Oh, have it, Sasuke-kun. I insist." Ino chuckled as she shoved the box to him. His face reddened when he received the purple box and started to eat the food. Ino sighed in happiness.
"Ah, Sakura's going to be sooo jealous when I tell her that you eat my bento." Sasuke decided to ignore her comment and kept eating.
"The bento is really good." He told Ino quietly. Ino looked at him and grinned widely.
"I'm so glad!" Ino exclaimed in happiness. "It's the first time someone told me that my cooking is good. I wasn't much of a cook before." She hummed happily as she watched Sasuke gulped down the sausage.
"You know, Ino." Sasuke said as he drank the water the girl had offered him after he finished the bento. "Thanks." He smiled at her and Ino blushed furiously. They looked at each other for quite a long time.
"Sunset and we're looking at each other with full of meaning." She sighed as she smiled at him. Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "Isn't it about time you're kissing me?" She asked playfully. Sasuke looked away.
"I was just kidding, okay?" She said, feeling that she might have said the wrong things.
"Do you still like me, Ino?" He asked suddenly. Ino blushed at the question.
"I do." She let out a feminine giggle. Sasuke looked at her again and he must be thinking about Lee's words on their previous conversation about 'the best defense is a good offense' and 'being direct is the best way to convey your feelings' because he leaned into a kiss with her. Ino momentarily froze at his sudden movement, but then she slowly kissed back. Sasuke smirked at her response and then he felt a slight quiver of chakra. He cracked open an eye and saw Sakura from faraway, looking horribly shocked. Sasuke ignored her but then Ino saw her too and that was when she abruptly halted the kiss. She quickly stood up and gave chase to Sakura who was running away, knowing that she had been seen. Sasuke followed Ino.
"Ino, wait." Sasuke called her, and then sped up his step and blocked her way. Ino stopped and she looked at him.
"I have to explain everything to Sakura." She said.
"Explain what? That it wasn't like what she was seeing?"
"Yes." Ino panted. Sasuke folded his hand in annoyance.
"What is it, then?" He asked, his eyes judged her and he knew that Ino was intimidated. Be it that she trained under the best interrogator in the world, he knew very well Ino had always had that weak spot for him. Every girl who ever had a crush on him does.
"I shouldn't have …" Ino looked away. "It was … a mistake." She said softly. Sasuke's eyes widened.
"That was a mistake?" He repeated her words darkly. He felt like angry already. If there were anything that he was not; it was that he was a mistake. Ino knew that she had said the wrong things, and decided to change the subject.
"Sakura loves you." She said; her cerulean blue eyes looked at him evenly. Sasuke snorted.
"I don't see her that way." He told her. "Besides, it didn't seem to matter back then."Sasuke stated; referring to the girls' rivalry years ago. Ino sighed exasperatedly.
"Things are different now, Sasuke-kun." She said and even though she thought he didn't know, he knew that she was referring to her marriage arrangement with Darui. But that was practically the reason why he was hot on her trail at the very moment and he would never let that be a problem.
"You said you still like me." Now, his voice was accusing. It was mostly because he couldn't simply accept the fact that at the moment she was practically rejecting him. He was not going to be rejected. Not after they kissed.
"Yes. Because I didn't think that you would like me too! Because I didn't think that you would kiss me for it!" Ino said, frustrated.
"You kissed back." He said; throwing another accusation.
"I did." Ino looked away. "And that's why it's wrong." She said. Sasuke lifted her chin up gently which startled Ino and made her blush at the same time.
"Ino, do you still want me?"
"What I want doesn't matter." She said softly as she directed her gaze away from him. It was an answer enough for him, but Sasuke knew that it wouldn't convince her. So he tried to retort with a more selfish answer.
"Be it then. What I want does matter though. I want you."
"I can't. Sakura's my best friend." This time, she tried another angle. Her blue eyes were confused. Damn, she was desperate to shove me away. Sasuke would have hated Sakura at that time if he didn't know that it was Ino's marriage arrangement that was the real reason.
"You want me to be with Sakura?"
"Please." Ino said softly.
"I can't. Naruto's my best friend." It was obvious that he was mocking her, but at the same time, he reminded her at how ironic the love triangle between them was. Ino was about to say something but then she noticed the time and gasped.
"It's almost 7 PM, I have an appointment." She said and then she looked at him. "Don't you have an appointment too?" She asked and then she looked away.
"Indeed." Sasuke looked at the giant clock and remembered about the briefing at Naruto's apartment.
"But our talk is not over." He eyed her. Ino didn't say anything and turned around. Sasuke watched her back before he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a hug. Ino gasped at his sudden movement as he enveloped her in his arms.
"I swear that I will make you love me so much once again that Sakura won't matter," He whispered to her. That Darui won't matter. "That anything won't matter."
He could feel her hand on his chest and as he felt a sudden warmness on his chest, he could tell what happened.
She was crying.
XXX
The briefing had turned out to be a surprise welcome party that Naruto had painstakingly prepared for him. Everybody was there, cheering for him, shaking his hand, congratulate him; welcoming him home. He couldn't keep his focus, though. He found himself kept looking for a certain platinum blonde and when he found her, she was amidst of some talking to her pink haired best friend. It was just like a casual conversation outside, but he knew that it must be about what Sakura had seen previously. Sasuke's mind was already taking wild guesses as to how Ino would explain things to Sakura. He was about to think up the scenario when Naruto put his arm on his shoulder with a wide grin on his face.
"How do you like the party, eh, Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"It's great, thanks," Sasuke gave him a small smile.
"You said that you're not interested in Sakura but you kept ogling on her instead of enjoying the party." Naruto commented as he drank a suspicious blue liquid from his glass.
"I was ogling at Ino." Sasuke put it bluntly. Naruto was a little bit startled at Sasuke's blunt reaction.
"You are trying to get Ino?" He whispered. Sasuke nodded.
"Yes."
"Man! That's awesome! Is it because Sai's story?" Naruto asked enthusiastically.
"It spurred me. But I already liked her even when we were still in the academy." He told his friend. He was not completely lying, anyway. He liked her before. Then it was a timeskip, and then he decided to like her now. What Sasuke never expected was that Naruto's eyes would gleam so shiny. He couldn't be wrong when he deduced that Naruto was after Ino so why did his friend look so happy for it?
"Wow. You know what's awesome, Sasuke? I am the same with you!"
"Huh?"
"I've liked Ino since we were in the academy, too!" He said enthusiastically. Sasuke frowned.
"Well, last time I heard, Sakura hadn't changed her name to anything near Ino." He folded his hand. Naruto froze the moment Sakura's name was mentioned but then he let out a hearty laugh.
"The story's too long, Sasuke!" He told him. "So I guess we will be rivals from now on!" He patted his shoulder with a happy mood.
"What about whoever wins became the Hokage?"
"Don't be silly Naruto." Sasuke answered in which Naruto grinned.
"But seriously, Sasuke, I'm very serious about her."
"So do I." He said coolly.
"We are even right now. I am not the dead-last student looking at the top student anymore. We are two equal ninjas who are going to fight over one woman's heart."
"Those elaborations seriously sound crappy."
"Whatever." Naruto said. "I'll win her heart for sure, Sasuke. Even if she liked you before."
Sasuke was never the one to back down from a challenge, so he smirked and bravely retorted "Let's see."
You might want to watch your back though, Naruto. For I am not the only rival you have.
DONE! You can tell as soon as you've read this story that I haven't found a beta yet. How do I even find a Beta? I've tried to search and then I found a lot of names and then … what? How do I know that they are a good beta? Or is every Beta a good Beta?
By the way, I know that there isn't much SasuIno moment here, but it's because Sasuke normally didn't socialize with Ino in the series and to have them suddenly frequently hanging out together is just weird. It's just the beginning though ;)
I'll give you a SPOILER FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER; it will be titled 'Yamanaka Ino'!
Okay, before I talk too much, review please it will be greatly appreciated.