NEW CHAPTER YET AGAIN! HOORAY! Still waiting for DoubleRainbowRainbow to be free, it's not beta'd yet. Though I did my best to correct the grammatical mistake here and there ;)
Enjoy! (Thanks for everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited! You're all angels in disguise!)
The moment she laid her eyes on them she immediately realized that she was witnessing Ibiki's plan at work. Ino could feel panic started to rise up to her throat, but she tried her best to hold it in.
Calm yourself, she ordered herself to do just that.
As she inched closer toward the weapon store, her mind was rapidly strategizing for all the possible what ifs scenario. However, Ino was no Shikamaru who could easily make hundreds of plans in a matter of seconds, so in the end, the door to the weapon store came first than even a single strategy. It was official; she's going in without any plan. Her only preparation was one, single deep breath as she finally opened the door to the store, and suddenly Ino realized that Tenten and Darui were not even aware of her presence. They were too busy goggling and smiling at each other.
She could see Ibiki grinning smugly on her head.
Ino tried to gain composure and decided to act normally. She greeted his fiancé affectionately and Ino could totally see that obvious flash of guilt in Tenten's eyes. Her heart sank. What was that guilty look for? Did something already happen between the two of them? Her mind rapidly shot all those questions like machinegun bullets, though in the end, she managed to act normal. However, her subconscious apparently was not utterly calmed down. She needed to show Tenten that Darui was off the list. Darui was hers. She linked her arms to Darui and when something got on her nerves, her grip to him subconsciously tightened. That was tawdry. She didn't want to be seen as this jealous girlfriend by Darui because she was going to be his wife in the future, and Ino aspired to be the cool wife. Not the overly attached ones.
Ino cursed at her former mentor inside. He must had known about the fact that her knowledge of his atrocious plan to destroy her marriage arrangement was not going to change anything. She couldn't just blurt it out loud to them that whatever was going on between them was merely the result of Ibiki's manipulation. That'd make her the jealous and conspiratorial one. She had to find another way, though the more she thought about it, the more her head hurts, and the more her head hurts, the more impatience she gained. At this rate, she'd really just blurt it all out.
Ino took another deep breath to calm herself once again as she reminded herself that the game was not yet lost. She still completely had the upper hand here. She comforted herself with the belief that Ibiki had chosen the wrong girl. Tenten was her second closest friend after Sakura, and there was no way that she'd do anything to damage her relationship with him. Tenten's sense of loyalty was so strong, it might have been more effective had he use Sakura as the bait for Darui. Maybe he could hang Sasuke in front of her eyes as the prize. For Sasuke, Sakura would stop at nothing. Ino had heard that Sai was also included in this plan, maybe Tenten was his choosing. Ibiki would have chosen someone better and the artist knew nothing about Ino. With that in her mind, Ino felt no panic when Darui asked for a private conversation with Tenten. Ino easily walked out to the weapon store and her mind was actually were already taken off of the matter. She was thinking of places for a nice lunch date … until that happened.
Until that happened.
Darui patted Tenten's head and the weapon master blushed furiously as she watched his back with so much meaning as he left for the door. Waves of anxiety started to wash over her as her mind started to spout everything in her immense vocabulary of curses.
Calm down. Ino ordered herself once again. It was nothing big. Darui was merely patting Tenten's head and well, patting one's head is no big deal, right? Come on, Kiba patted every dog he encountered. Ino closed her eyes as she repeated the words 'calm down' to herself several more times on her mind though it did little to nothing to make her regain her composure. Darui closed the store's door and gave her a look.
"I'm sorry that you have to wait. Shall we go now?"
"Sure."
He was acting like what he had just done was nothing big. Well, it WAS nothing big. They walked side by side toward the central of the village in silence. Ino's thought were so crowded with premonition.
Where's your focus, she scolded herself. She hadn't been herself ever since Ibiki's plan unveiled. It was like she was back to her old genin self whose emotions were swayed by the littlest bit of incident.
No. Ino thought. I haven't been myself ever since the Sasuke incident.
Yes, the kiss with Sasuke was the one that had triggered it all, wasn't it? What was it with that certain Uchiha? First, he almost ruined his friendship with Sakura (again) with the kiss and his sudden ultra-willingness to make her belong to him which prompted her on making rash decision of abandoning Konoha for the rest of her unmarried life. Then, he had to be the one who had to unveil Ibiki's plan to her. For that, Ino was actually grateful to him, as though the reason as to why he did that still baffled her. There was no benefit that Sasuke could possibly get from this, but this was Sasuke. The man seemed to always do things that nobody else can explain.
"You've been spacing out for a while, Ino." Darui reminded her, effectively dragging her back to the present.
"Sorry. I have lots in my mind at the moment." She smiled at her fiancé apologetically. She noticed that Darui was putting his hands on his pockets which gave her no way to hold it as usual. Ino pretended like she didn't notice that and casually linked her arm with his. He flinched.
He fucking flinched.
Ino could feel irritation started to seep at her heart. Was she jealous? No. Had Darui been a simple boyfriend from her early simple life, she wouldn't be that jealous over pats on the head or a flinch. However, at the moment now, everything seemed like it was at risk. Everything seemed like it was the result of Ibiki's manipulative intervention and that didn't sit well with her. She closed her eyes as she summoned every bit of patience she had in her. Sink Darui in a world of his own guilt; that was her gameplan for now.
She batted her eyelashes innocently at the Kumogakure shinobi. "You're flinching. Is there something wrong?"
"Sorry." He said. "It's just so sudden, it took me by surprise, is all."
Ino feigned a gasp. "Are you uncomfortable showing our relationship in front of my people?"
She sneakily retracted her arms but then Darui held her hand. A part of Ino was relieved. The grip had been tense and awkward, something was definitely amiss but Ino chose to ignore it. At least he was trying to make amend. This made her able to advance to step two. Ino looked at her fiancé as they entered a popular family restaurant. It was packed because it was lunch hour, but they managed to find seats just for two.
"You look like you had something in your mind. What are you thinking about?" Ino asked as soon as they were done placing their order.
"Dull things." Darui answered, way too quickly and his lies became more obvious as he quickly changed the orientation of the topic toward her. "Funny, though. Shouldn't I be the one asking that question? It looked like your mind was pretty occupied as well."
Not a good liar, Ino took a mental note though that had been a good point for him. Ino was an investigator at heart and had Darui been a good liar, she could only imagine that she'd forever second guessing his words, trying hard to read the bottom lines, wondering if there were things she missed along those sentences he said, whether it's truth, half-truth, or mere bullshit.
"Yes. A lot has happened." Ino shrugged. "I really am sorry that you have to see me and my father during our quarrel yesterday. We're not usually like that."
"He loves you a lot, I can see that."
Ino nodded. "He does and sometimes it gives him an illusion that he knows what's best for me."
Darui gave Ino a weird look. "Maybe it's because he does?"
She shook her head. "Well. In the end I'm the one who will go through it all, of course I get to decide."
"You should be grateful that you have someone that loves you so much."
Ino gave his fiancé a small smile. "Of course I'm grateful! I love being spoiled and …" She lowered her head and gestured Darui to come closer to her. Darui leaned his ear toward her.
"I secretly enjoy all the arguments and fights. It shows that he cared." She whispered.
Darui nodded. "I thought so. You seem like exactly that person."
The blonde haired woman nodded as she finally decided to tiptoe her way to the question she had been waiting to ask. "Speaking about caring, though … Aren't you tight with Tenten now?"
Darui was trying his best to hide his nervousness and he was doing a decent job at that, but Ino was a veteran interrogator. She was trained hard at seeing people's body language she couldn't have unseen it. So, the moment Darui unconsciously shifted their touching legs away from her, Ino knew that he was nervous about the question. He fixed his gaze on her deeply, which was actually just another sign that he was trying to hide his nervousness, before he cleared his throat.
"She confided in me about a certain problem, I'm just helping her."
Ino arched her eyebrows. "What problem?"
"I think it will be most appropriate if you ask her yourself. I mean, it's unbecoming of me if I just told you things she chose to confide in me."
Ino narrowed her eyes as her hand reached for Darui's cheek. "I would know sooner or later, anyway. Tell me."
"You don't seriously ask me to betray a friend's trust." He replied as he gently took her hand and put it on the table. Ino took a deep breath as her mind raced. What is it with him and Tenten?
"Do you like her?" She finally asked the question, no more tiptoeing.
"No." Darui answered quickly, he didn't even look the least bit shocked at the question. It was almost like he had prepared for this question to be asked.
Ino sighed. "It's just that … well, you just knew her and you already care about her like a lot."
"I sympathize with her, Ino." His tone came like a scold and Ino had to admit that it made her felt a little bit ashamed to fuss over something like that. Only then Ino had realized how selfish she had been. Darui had mentioned about her friend having a problem and all she cared about was how that problem affected Tenten's relationship with Darui, not what the problem is.
"Does she look like she need help? Should I rush to console her?" Ino asked quietly, in a tone that was seeking for forgiveness. Darui understood that and gave Ino a small smile.
"I don't think so. I think she's strong enough to handle that problem on her own."
"Really?" Ino asked skeptically. "You just know her for less than two days."
"A wise person once said that you can see the personality of a person from her eyes. Her eyes told me that she's strong." Darui said.
"Do me. Tell me my personality."
Darui laughed. "You're the exact opposite of dull, Ino."
"Is that good?" Her eyes bored into his.
"Of course. Nobody like dull things."
"I like Darui." She was making a pun of his name while flirting with him at the same time. That was definitely a first. Ino mentally patted herself on the back. Darui smiled.
"Thanks."
Ino pouted. "Not I like you, too?"
"I like you, too." Darui repeated. Ino wanted to ask if he really meant it, but to be fair, she didn't really mean it either. She liked Darui, but definitely not in the way she made it sound to Darui earlier. At least not yet. They have all their life ahead of us to cultivate that feeling. Ino nodded with determination.
"Anyway, I'm still going to visit Tenten later. I think she'd love a company."
"Trust me on this. She's strong enough." Darui convinced her.
"Besides, aren't you busy at the hospital?"
Ino's thought darted back to Kakashi and winced at that. Inoichi had brutally tore Kakashi's memory of her into dust and spread it all over the place. That was why it hurts when Kakashi saw Ino. His mind was trying to supply him with his memory of her but the effort that was needed to do that was so great it hurts. So far, Ino had managed to find the pieces of his memory of her and sewn it back pieces by pieces, but it's not even half-done yet. She was still far from completion. To make matters worse, there were a lot of things she didn't want to see in Kakashi's memory. Ino had been secretly excited at the idea of taking a thorough look at Kakashi's memory. She had been with him a lot of times, but the man itself was still shrouded in mystery. This way, she felt like she'd get to know him much better about his past and his thoughts.
She wished she hadn't.
Kakashi's life was a string of tragedy after tragedy. It was like a certain curse followed him and doomed him to a bad luck for the rest of his life. Ino could also feel his feeling through all that, and even though he's crushed and conflicted, he still kept an aloof front.
Wait.
Wait, wait, wait.
That hadn't been Darui who said that she was busy at the hospital. That was another familiar voice. A sense of dread overcame her as she turned around at the source of the voice. What her eyes met was not to her liking.
No, no, no.
Darui was the first one to greet him.
"Oh. Hi, Sai. Fancy to meet you here."
XXX
Tenten really wanted to talk to someone about it but there was no one to talk to. The moment her problem involved Sakura and Ino, the person she could talk to about private things immediately ran out. Tenten thought she could talk to Hinata, but the timid girl was on a mission along with Gai and won't be back for some time.
The other, only choice was one of her closest friend and also Hinata's less timid cousin.
Tenten stared at Neji who was hitting the training pole to train his jyuuken. Despite their close relationship, Neji hadn't even realized Tenten's feeling for Lee even though it's been going on for years. She didn't tell him either, because, Neji was not exactly the kind of person to talk about that stuff.
"Neji." She called him.
"What?" He asked, his speed didn't waver from her interjection. Tenten gave it a thought.
"You like Ino, don't you?"
Now, his speed did waver. "What do you mean?"
"It shows." Tenten sighed.
"What does that have to do with you?" Now, he completely stopped as Neji folded his hand and looked at Tenten, as if demanding answers. Tenten sat under the tree and sighed.
"Nothing." Tenten said. Neji nodded.
"Exactly." He was about to continue his training when Tenten spoke up once again.
"You don't actually deny it. So, you still like her, don't you?"
Neji turned to Tenten. "Why do you care suddenly?"
"She's with Darui …" Tenten said. "Don't you want to stop her?"
"She's serving her duty to Konoha. What kind of a man I will be if I did that to her?" He then narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong, Tenten?"
He approached her and sat next to her on the tree. Tenten could hear his sigh of comfort as soon as the tree shades protected him from the harsh sunlight that day.
"I think I like Darui-san."
It had been funny, how easier it was to admit that she liked Darui rather than Lee. In her mind, it was because liking Darui made sense. He was nice, considerate, and easy to get along with. Lee was actually all that too, but he's Lee. Neji frowned.
"What? It's only been two days."
"He's understanding and I felt something, you know, a spark."
"Whatever that is, you have to vanquish it." Neji said sternly. "It's inappropriate to like an engaged man."
"But Ino doesn't even like him!"
Tenten had finally figured out the reason why liking Darui was more reachable to her than liking Lee at the moment. It was because in Ino's case, at least she didn't like him … and also she got a very long queue of male ready to be her suitor as soon as she got out of the arrangement.
If she got out of the arrangement.
"That's not the point." Neji put it coldly. "We need the good relationship with Kumo, Tenten. You know that. We can't all be so selfish."
"But …"
"It's just a stupid crush. It'll go in a week or so."
So this is why she didn't talk to Neji about feeling.
"You're right." Tenten whispered. Maybe this was it. Maybe she really was that unlucky in love. Lee, whom she thought was the love of her life, was stolen by Sakura. Now, even her fling to Darui appeared to be impossible as well.
Tenten sighed.
"You'll find someone else, okay?" Neji patted her shoulder. Tenten knew that it was directed toward her, but Neji's tone was so distant it was almost like he said it to himself. Maybe he did say it to himself. Even if he decided he's going to let Ino go, it didn't mean that his heart was any less broken.
"I'm sorry." Tenten squeaked.
"What?"
"About Ino." Neji let out a bitter laugh at that.
"I've been through that kind of disappointment long ago, and it wasn't even for Darui."
Tenten knew who Neji had meant. After all, Neji was there when they found out that the blonde had been sleeping around with Kakashi. Tenten had wondered how Neji felt about all that, but they never talked about things like emotions and love to each other. Tenten and Neji were close, but decidedly not that kind of close.
"You still like her, though."
"Is it strange? At first, I was angry then disappointed then … it's okay." Neji said. "In the end, it doesn't matter. It's completely my fault to dream about someone who's ready to get married."
"What is it about her?" Tenten asked. Neji gave it a thought.
"I don't know." Neji said. "She's Ino, I guess."
She's Ino. As vague as that was, Tenten could understand his answer. Ino was … Ino. Bright, passionate, beautiful, charming Ino. Bossy, nagging, loud, controlling Ino.
Neji closed his eyes. "Please don't tell anyone about this."
"Of course, I won't." Tenten said in an almost defensive manner.
Then silence engulfed the both of them. Tenten and Neji were both deep in their own thought. In Tenten's side, she was thinking about how unfair it was for Ino to get all the boys while she had to despair over every last one of her crush. However, Ino was her friend and she felt ill to even have the gut to even think about that.
"Hey, Neji. I have a scenario I'd like to ask." Tenten called out.
"What is it?"
"If." Tenten began. "If this arrangement is miraculously canceled, will you fight for her hand?"
Neji lingered on his answer. "I will."
His answer was so short and so soft, Tenten was thinking about asking him to repeat it once again. However, it appeared Neji was not done yet.
"I can't let her get away again, can't I?"
Tenten took a deep breath.
"Then, won't that scenario be the happy ending for both of us?"
XXX
The first thing that came to her mind was how to tell Darui that the man before them was a very dangerous man who planned on destroying their marriage without sounding like a crazy, paranoid person. Sai's smile was as fake as ever, though Darui didn't seem to notice it and he even offered Sai to sit with them. An offer which the artist gladly accepted. He really had no shame. Ino closed her eyes as she prepared herself for a mind game with Sai. She's not going to lose this time.
"Feel free to eat your food first." Sai said as he watched the servants delivered Ino's and Darui's food to the table. Ino wanted to begin the mind game by politely saying that she'll wait for his food no matter how long it took, but Darui had said thanks first and just eat his food like that.
"So, is Tenten okay, Darui-san?" Sai turned to Darui who was enjoying his beef katsudon. His dark eyes flicked to Ino in amusement which confirmed everything for the Yamanaka. The pale skinned man was really the devious concocter behind everything.
Ino summoned every happy thoughts she had to keep her from attacking this very man who sat across of her. However, memories of Kakashi emerged and it left her felt worse.
"She's fine."
"She looked so pale, yesterday." Sai remarked. "I almost thought that she was really sick or something. Then again, I think we all know it's not her body that is sick."
His delivery of mystery was perfect, Ino had to admit. His voice was soft enough that it sounded like a gossip, and his look seemed like he expected both Ino and Darui to perfectly understand what he was implying. It was like this man had been under the tutelage of Morino Ibiki himself for years.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Darui deadpanned. It was obvious that he was still eager to keep Tenten's secret.
"Oh. Of course you didn't know. You're an outsider." Sai waved his hands. "What I wanted to say was that I think Tenten was crushed about Lee."
"What about Lee?" The question came out of her mouth sooner than what her mind had intended to do. Sai feigned a confused look as he looked at Darui and Ino back and forth.
"You don't know about Lee? Oh. I'm sorry. I thought that you have exchanged information. Isn't that what couples do?"
Ino snorted. "No, Sai. But it's okay, you can't know that, can you? You've never been in a relationship with anyone, after all."
That was definitely a cheap low blow, but that was the first insult that came to her mind and in a mind game like this, speed is of utmost importance. Though cheap low blow like that seemed like not to be too effective with Sai whose expression didn't even change in the slightest.
"Yes. To think that I'd be beaten by Lee-san …" He let out a weird chuckle. Ino frowned.
"Stop beating around the bush, Sai. What happened?" She asked him impatiently.
"Sakura and Lee is now together as a couple." Sai laid out the fact.
Ino's face drained of all its colors as everything suddenly made sense to her. That was why Tenten suddenly adored Darui. That was why Darui cared about Tenten so much, isn't a damsel in distress his favorite kind of woman? Wasn't he merely a rebound to Mabui back in the past?
Then, as soon as her mind settled with the understanding, questions after questions rapidly flooded her mind. All of it started with 'how'. Ino then looked at Sai and she realized that the answer was in front of her all along. Sai was the how. The damn man was showing off his work to her.
"How?" She hissed. "How the hell does it happened?"
Sai frowned, as if he was trying to remember the fact before he looked at Darui, as if to confirm a fact. "She just blurted it out like that, doesn't she?"
For a second there, Ino almost forgot Darui's presence next to her.
"Yes. Lee-san was overjoyed."
How? What did Sai say to Sakura that makes her do that? What kind of magic did he do that convinced Sakura to be in a relationship with Lee? Ino was pretty sure that Sakura's heart was a hundred percent devoted to Sasuke there was practically no other space for other men in there.
Wait. Sasuke.
Sakura stopped at nothing for Sasuke.
Ino then realized that Sasuke had a hand on this as well. After all, with this scenario, everything worked exactly he wanted it to. Ino's arrangement would be cancelled and Sakura was got rid of. However, Sasuke then betrayed the coalition and straight out told her about Sai and Ibiki's plan. It was the only piece of the puzzle that didn't fall into place. Why? Did he change his mind about her?
"What did you do, Sai?" Ino asked.
Sai feigned another confused look. "What are you talking about?"
"I know that you're planning something."
"What are you talking about Ino?" Sai asked, his thin brows furrowed. "I don't understand. Do you understand, Darui?"
"No. What's wrong, Ino?" Darui turned to her. His look was worried. Ino then knew what Sai was trying to tell her here. She didn't even have to think it, because Sai said it first.
"See? If you're acting crazy like that, no one will understand, Ino."
XXX
PLEASE REVIEW! Tell me what you think about the chapter/the story/everything! A short chapter, I know. I decided I'll finish the 'marriage arrangement arc' in the next chapter and YES I HAVE AN ARC IN MY STORY MUHAHAHAHAHA.