A/N- Dipping a toe back in. Another chapter soon to come

She quit Jellies.

Honestly, no one gave a shit and it wasn't like she was raking in any new customers. At best, she knew a few popular cosmetic lines—so she could faithfully refer customers to the right aisle, maybe even guess the shade of their foundation (if she was really feeling generous that day). And the worse, well the worse was the five-finger discount in the supply room during the night shift. What? It wasn't like she was alone, in fact, she only got in on it because some of the other girls needed the extra hands.

They weren't dumb enough to take the boxed shit, only the overused samples—which meant sometimes there wasn't much left after everyone abused the stores' policy. But still, it was smart, getting a taste of the high value makeup without having to spend a pretty penny.

I'll miss that but…

She side-eyed Sai, who's in his own little fanboy world—admiring some shiny bike behind a panel of thick glass.

The bike is just as dark as his eyes, a heavy piece of untouched machinery, almost just as taunting as a pair of new boots. It's propped up on top a marble pedestal like the hottest shit in the market. It's got to be something with all the spectators crowding the window intermittently.

"Oh c'mon, don't tell me the price of that thing exceeds even your bank account?"

She teases in disbelief, sucking on a straw full of mall kiosk smoothie. Mmh Strawberry Momo blast you are that bitch.

Sai makes a soft noise, standing there with one hand in his pocket and the other pressed against the glass—like someone wishing they could melt through any surface to get to what they want. He drummed his fingers, his rings tapping against the pane.

"Just because I can doesn't mean I should." He replies cooly with an even breath.

Ino rolls her eyes, "Oh please. You've been drooling for so long even I'm getting downright uncomfortable."

One corner of his lips quirked up and he only sighs, "Top of the line but not really high performing. Don't get me wrong, she's nice to look at…however, she's nothing but bells and whistles."

Ino pretends to gag, "Gods, men really do talk like this about vehicles…"

After one more sweep with his eyes, he pry's his gaze from the sleek bike and nudges his head, "Is there anywhere else the birthday girl wants to go?" he asks grabbing the boutique bags he had placed down before his inspection.

Some paper, some glossy, some plastic almost as if a designer had handcrafted each one. Gorgeous packaging. Their fonts were bold, elegant and well adored. Brand names she could never hope to afford—not legally at least. Until now.

And here she was with twenty bags that contained an assortment of chiffon, lace and silky articles of clothing. For once her body would be adorned in material that suited her taste. No knockoffs, the real deal. For the first time in a long time—she knew what it was like to be the kid in the candy store, especially since she could finally reach the top shelf.

She slides her tongue along the swirly straw absentmindedly, lost in thought for a moment—trying to think of any place they had neglected to hit. In truth, this mall was a lot bigger than the ones on her side of town.

Naturally it had more funding and more revenue too. The food court offered a lot more than just locally owned ramen shops. They had even taken a break from the birthday shopping spree to try out the tsukune and yaki onigiri that one of the newer places advertised. The smell made her salivate and the taste had her shamelessly sucking it off her newly manicured fingers. The embarrassment stung a little when she looked up to see Sai staring right at her, grinning.

"It's the good thing the food doesn't have legs."

She recalled him saying.

Wiseass.

"Speechless?"

Sai suddenly asks, snapping her from her thoughts.

The blond only blinks—bringing the smoothie up to her lips and taking a tight sip.

"If you keep giving me options, you'll be out of a place to live."

Sai only took a deep breath, "You don't have enough wants to drive me to bankruptcy."

Ino cackled loudly, throwing back her head and then swiping hair over her shoulder, "You sure about that?"

Cocky bastard.

She looked over at him pointedly as they began a slow trudge past the other people coming to gawk at the motorcycle.

"Depends. Would you just be doing it to try and prove a point…or are they things you truly desire? Either way, you should make it all count. The thing about money is, there's always going to be something you want but…what's the milage of those things. A lot of this stuff is temporary."

"You're such a man." Ino spat in faux disgust, stirring the straw around the nearly empty cup of custard. "Who the fuck cares how long it lasts, the point is—you got to turn heads with it on, the moment will always rock your tits off, especially if you looked good as shit. That's what it's all about, looking back on the time you wore the fuck out of Mizuki jeans—or some strappy number that only a handful of people can afford. It's a feeling, a fuckin' moment man."

A little commotion for the dress.

They walked in silence for a moment, despite all the voices rising toward the high ceilings. They stepped onto the escalator—Sai waiting to step down behind her—tattooed fingers clutching the strings of her bags. She twisted around to look up at him.

"Like how you feel about vehicles and tattoo junk."

He looked like he wanted to object to that comparison but only nods, the intensity in eyes almost made her shut the fuck up but she had gotten use to that glimmer there.

She stares back.

"Right." He replied in a husk low.

She fished out her cell, which had been vibrating endlessly in her back pocket. Annoying since she had enabled, 'Do not disturb' mode. Everyone had been blowing her up with messages since the buttcrack of dawn. She was certain they'd all be the same. 'Happy Birthday' or something along those lines.

The device automatically unlocked to her face and she realized it was Sakura, calling.

Of course this asshole would pester me further.

Irritably she answered, knowing that the calls would keep coming.

She had gotten a lot more persistent since she became ill-with-child.

"What?" Ino asks not even bothering to hide her distaste for small talk.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"Thanks, bye."

"Don't you dare hang up on me you ingrate! I'll scream."

Ino furrowed a brow, "Like I give a shit."

Sakura laughed so hard, so hard it almost felt like she had been facing Ino in real time.

"You should." she hummed, sounding awfully pleased about something.

Ino and Sai stepped off the escalator. People rushed past them to the opposite escalator and Ino shivered, feeling a slight chill. She twists around in her boots to see how Sai was holding up. The bags didn't seem to be stopping his mobility. She was impressed that he could carry all that stuff for more than two hours.

They were on the ground floor and closer to the exit where Sai had parked his dark green Acura Integra. She couldn't wait to get home; she had been itching to try on every piece—see what she'd pair them up with.

"Can you be any more fuckin' cryptic? Gotta say I don't like how this little asshole in your gut has changed you."

Sakura laughed, "Gotcha."

Ino could definitely smell her way before she snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her into a clumsy hug—though the grip was locked.

The shock was heart stopping. Ino hung up the phone immediately, as if that would sever the interaction altogether. People brushed past them with curious glances and Ino draped an arm over her friends shoulder—trying to look her over. There was little to no space for Ino to process the ample stomach between them.

"Holy shit there's a real fucker cooking in there?"

Sakura laughed, "Oh my gosh I missed you! We all have. What are you doing here?"

The two pulled themselves away, Ino's eyes still stuck on the baby bump as she slid her phone back into her pocket.

"Doing some shopping." She offered, trying to ignore the presence of Sai behind her and hoping that Sakura wouldn't notice. She shuffled much closer—hoping to keep the attention on her.

"Uh—um what are you doing here? Last I checked, this mall isn't anywhere near you."

It's been a while. The last time she had seen Sakura, they were helping Hinata pack up she and Narutos' apartment and the girl definitely wasn't toting around that.

Sakura began rubbing at her sweater cladded gut, a strange lean to her stance—something new.

"See if you had been answering my calls and texts, you'd know I moved back in with my folks for a bit."

Ino furrowed a brow, nodding, "Damn."

"Yeah, I could use all the help I can get with this situation." She continued, patting her tummy. "It's been…something else."

"I'll bet." Ino says cocking her head to the side, feeling slightly strange that her worlds were colliding much more. "This kid is already calling the shots. Can't you just, send it back."

Sakura only laughed, though her eyes flew back behind Ino.

"uh—oh, hello."

Shit.

Ino only looked over her shoulder, as if she hadn't noticed Sai was looming behind her—awkwardly holding bags and being ignored.

"Hey." Sai says, acknowledging her with a nod.

Fuck me over a balcony…

Sakura raised her brow at Ino, "A friend of yours?"

Ino gave up, stepping aside to point her smoothie at Sai.

"Sai this is Sakura, Sakura—Sai."

Sai paused for a loaded moment before leaning forward to awkwardly shake Sakura's hand, Sai looked more so like a bag rack than a human being. And Ino was pleasantly

sure that he wasn't keen on shaking hands with anyone. The guy was such a germophobe...except when he was getting dirty with her.

I mean, what's more unsanitary than dining on a chick onto of a kitchen counter.

And yes, she recalled being quite messy.

"Nice to meet you." Sakura greets cheerily, looking him over before her eyes slip mockingly toward Ino.

Ino dodged the look, rolling her eyes.

Her stomach felt like it was trying to fly out of her mouth as she stood back on her heels, feeling trapped between two boulders.

"Likewise." Sai replies, stepping back—a rustle of bags.

Awkwardness pervaded the air, almost like it was pulling all of the oxygen from the lobby.

"Sai's a friend." Ino blurted out, scratching at the itch behind her ear. Technically it wasn't a lie, there wasn't anything romantically going on between them—Sai had made that abundantly clear (but also abundantly unclear per his confession a few nights ago).

They still hadn't ironed out exactly, what the hell that was but in her opinion, she was just a glorified whore with health benefits.

Sakura's suspicion was evident, her eyes never leaving Ino's face. Ino could practically see the wheels in her head turning.

"How far along are you?" Sai asks, to Ino's immediate surprise and relief. "If you don't mind me asking?"

Sakura perks up at the question and Ino finds her mommy behavior quite disgusting.

Who the hell is this chick?

"Only five months but it feels a hell of a lot longer. I'm just ready to evict her." Sakura answered, visibly looking exhausted. She swept her pink bangs behind her ears.

"Her?!" Ino exclaimed.

Sakura's face broke into a smile Ino had never witnessed before. She was beaming like she'd cry.

"Oh yeah, my dad let it slip awhile ago. Man can't keep a secret to save his life. A little babygirl, yes."

"How's that bastard Sasuke taking it?" Ino snorted sardonically, "I bet he'll try to lure you to a flight of stairs any day now."

"Oh my god, no. He's actually been quite…" Sakura paused in thought, shifting all of her weight from one side to the other, "mmmmh...ecstatic about it, in a scary way. I didn't even want to tell him but my parents are dead-set on keeping him in the know. They couldn't even stand him when we were married but now they wanna warm up to him, go figure."

"And you're goin for it, after everything he's done?"

Sakura rolls her eyes, folding her arms over her chest.

"I don't have much of a choice. At the end of the day, it's about what's best for her. I can't just—keep him from having any involvement with her, she's, his daughter."

Ino twists her lips, disliking how defeated Sakura looked.

"Remind me to never have children like ugh, you have to play nice with that cheating asshole. The baby is manipulative and it isn't even here yet."

Sakura sighs exhaustively, cocking her head to the side.

"Tell me about it but sometimes you've got to put some shit aside to see the bigger picture. She deserves a loving mother and a father, you know? A whole village to look after her."

Something panged her painfully in that moment, a type of bitter clarity. As much as she didn't trust Sasuke to not fuck up a kid—at least he'd be there, to fuck up. She could definitely understand where Sakura was coming from.

She simply nods, "Yeah, I guess."

"Now, don't keep me guessing. How did you two meet exactly?"

Sakura asks her emerald eyes looking between Ino and Sai. Ino hated that stupid ass grin tacked to her lips but decided to play nice.

"The mall-"

"Tattoo sho…op."

They both replied in uncoordinated union.

Sakura made a 'humph' noise. Clearly not buying their bullshit. She and Sai looked at one another, trying to mentally communicate with one another on the lie. Sai took the reigns smoothly. It should be a sin for someone to lie this suavely, in that velvety way of his. Shocks of dark shiny hairs falling over his forehead as he looked down to address Sakura.

"I first came across her in the mall, she had been with a-an acquaintance…mousey...you may know h-"

"Tenten!" Ino blurted, embarrassingly pleased to contribute to this ridiculous lie.

Sai nods, "…who saw my tattoos and the questions started. I own a tattoo shop downtown with a few friends of mine. The two came to…check it out and the rest is history."

Sakura's eyes widened, clearly entranced by Sai's storytelling abilities.

"Tenten is interested in tattoos…that's a mistake waiting to happen. Never pegged her as the type."

Sai shakes his head pointing at Ino, "Not at all. Miss Yamanaka is more of the guilty party."

Ino swallowed hard, staring daggers at Sai.

She could practically see that smug look on his face, even though it hadn't taken up residence visually.

Oh, he thinks he's so funny...

"Ook, now that makes way more sense. Remember you use to ask Kiba to draw a tramp stamp on you when we were younger, walking through the halls with your shirt up so everyone could see. The principal thought you were affiliated with some local gang—you almost got expelled and everything."

Ino couldn't get over the pointed look Sai gave her at hearing this. He couldn't even keep his lips from turning up, his tongue slipping briefly over his bottom lip. The insight was likely delicious to him since she had trashed tattoo culture all around.

"Is that so?"

She wanted to beat him unconscious with the slushie cup but simply tightened her lips into a hard line.

"I was young and dumb." She replied before Sakura could embarrass her further.

"Ever since your favorite singer got a tattoo you wanted one too. You even tried to make us ditch a period to go get one. We were kiddin' ourselves."

Sai just flat out started laughing without shame, confusing Sakura. It really grated her nerves. Her face started itching fiercely.

For fuckssakes…

"Sakura! It was a phase, you know—shut up!"

Sakura laughs, "What's there to be embarrassed about. At least you're free to actually get it done now without sneaking around-"

"I'm not getting one!"

Unknown caller…

Once they were safely in the parking garage of the mall, Ino slipped into the hot leather seat of the passenger side—slamming the empty warped plastic cup of slushie in the holder. The heat was a comforting welcome, the mall was practically arctic. Sai was disrobing his arms free of the bags, placing them carefully in the spacious truck.

Car tires milled, lights sliced at the concrete walls and voices echoed the cavernous lot. Ino leaned across the middle compartment to push the 'start'. The engine leapt to life with a soothing rumble that shook her legs. She had to hand it to Sai, the man really had a knack for choosing the right car on the right day. The Acura was becoming her favorite.

It was like falling down a slope of butter, hardly felt like they were moving at times. She spent the ride to the mall trying to not doze off.

Sai gave the trunk a slam, he slid into the drivers' seat bringing that spicy cologne with him. Before he could even search for it, Ino poked open the glove compartment and offered him the pocket sanitizer.

One leg still outside of the car, he took it, "Thanks. It was nice—meeting another one of your friends."

"If you meet two more, they'll throw us an engagement party."

He shook the solution into his hands and gave it back to Ino. She could feel him scrubbing it in vigorously as she placed it back in the glove compartment.

"I'm sure you're overexaggerating. I think our cover story stuck, you're welcome."

The ethanol in the sanitizer was all she could smell, it burned away at her nostrils.

Sai seemed unaffected.

"Yeah, until big mouth Tenten debunks it," Ino assures him, "Tattoo shop pff."

Sai slammed his door shut.

"Well," he mused. "I had to say something, you looked like a deer caught in the headlights. It all worked out for the best…even got to learn something new about you."

Ino rolls her eyes so far behind her head she doesn't bother to open them, "Don't even start."

"I think that sort of placement, gracing your lower back…would suit you."

"So, you're implying that I'm a tramp and I should be branded as such, because it suits me."

Her eyes snap open and she squints her eyes peering through the pristine windshield.

Sai only laughs, "For the record just because most people commonly refer to that as a tramp stamp—it doesn't mean that's law. Back in the day it was seen as tasteless by a group of very prudish—very simpleminded people. Tattoos in Japan are still stigmatized and most people already think they have you pegged if you have any. Everyone here likes to present themselves as vanilla—very cookie cutter but that's simply far from the truth."

Her collar feels ticklish, listening to him articulate this pointless stuff patiently. Always explaining things to her like some sort of knowledgeable professor. She couldn't help but look at his face, especially when he bumped his index knuckle to the tip of his nose. What even the fuck was that? His rings were glistening—reflecting on the ceiling. He flexed his hand tendons and she could see the intricate veins visible on the back.

Gods… I want to lick them…

She squirmed with horny discomfort in her seat.

"Ya well…" She replied dismissively.

"What were you thinking of getting?" He asks.

"I'm not getting anything." She replied briskly.

"Humor me."

She stared at the cellphone in her lap.

UNKNOWN CALL…

She quickly turned it over.

"I never really thought long enough about it to narrow it down. I knew my mom would pop a molar if I just happened to have one…wasn't really thinking about what it would be, anything would be enough."

Sai put the rest of himself in the drivers' seat and closed the door.

Everything outside the car seemed to cut off, like a switch had turned off the noise.

"Rebellious…"

"She deserved it."

"You should look through our catalogue."

"Seriously, you're trying to advertise at this mome-"

KNOCK KNOCK!

Her head nearly crashed into the cars ceiling. Heart caught in an abrupt stammer but none of those feelings were far more alarming than the blood draining from her face, the moment she twisted her head to look out the window.

And she saw him.

Her demon.

Oh my god..

Before she could say anything, Sai had rolled down the passenger window.

He smelled of ash.

His eyes just as void as ever.

Stooping low to peer into the depths of the car—his eyes locked onto Sai first before holding her captive.

"Hey there, I think I'm a bit lost…I think, I could use your help." he began, addressing Sai in some type of syrupy voice.

Every muscle in her body felt locked, every organ forgot how to function and she couldn't stop staring at him. She couldn't fucking believe it.

How had he even-how long had he known where she was.

Fuck...

Stunned.

Her eyes so dry it began hurting but she refused to blink.

Her mind went racing and she felt her breath hitching.

Calm down...calm down.

"I'll see what I can do. Where's the destination?" Sai asks smoothly.