A/N: Less dialogue compared to the other chapters. More description (which means longer paragraphs... SORRY!). I assure you that you will like it though. I had a really amusing time writing this chapter.

Enjoy! :)

Dates, dates, and even more dates filled up the lives of Itachi and Ino. Without the sex, of course. They were taking it slow, and both seemed to enjoy the relationship that was strengthening. It seemed the more time they spent together, the more they would open up to eachother. Ino even got to meet the group of people Itachi considered as his family; the Akatsuki. She was informed that a few of the members were not present in Konoha, but most of the members she got a chance to meet and spend some time with.

The first time the whole group went out with Ino they went to play laser tag, divided up into two teams. Ino's team was losing, therefore she received many insults from the very young and religious member of the group, Hidan. Like many girls, she claimed he was very attractive, until he opened his mouth. His exact words were, "You call this a fucking game, you dumb blondie?" A punch was thrown at his face from the mentioned blonde after hearing these words but he saw it coming and ducked, allowing the punch to hit the person who was standing behind Hidan. Tobi was rolling around on the ground, holding onto one side of his orange mask that had developed a deep crack, yelling, "Tobi is a good boy! Tobi is a good boy! Please don't hurt Tobi!" Upon seeing this, the Jashin follower gripped onto his bare stomach, since he always left his shirt open, laughing at the sight infront of him. Ino then kneed Hidan in the crotch, who joined Tobi on the ground, but his cries of pain were more definite than the masked man's.

A few hours later, Ino decided to make up for the pain she had caused Tobi, even though it was an accident, and took him out for ice cream. He was very hesitant about her proposal, staying approximately three metres away from her as they walked to a local dessert shop. Sometimes she would glance at him and he would hide behind a tree, as if trying to avoid being in her view. However, once he received the three scoops of varied ice cream in a waffle cone, he forgot about the incident from earlier and thanked Ino for treating Tobi, who was a good boy.

Kakuzu, a pecuniary man who covered his lower part of his face with a mask, was very intrigued with Ino's style of receiving money. His neon green eyes frightened her at first, but clearly he had found out about Ino's not-so-secret job that had gotten Itachi and her together, and was very open with asking her questions on her success, leaving Ino speechless in his forwardness. Before she could open her mouth in response, Itachi had dragged her away, leaving Kakuzu to himself with no answers he could use for guidance to obtaining a pleasurable amount of money.

Ino got a chance to see the workshop of Deidara, a young blonde artist who's hairstyle resembled Ino's and who focused on clay sculptures, and Sasori, a red headed artist who focused on puppets. They argued a lot, even in her presence, debating on whether true art was something that blossomed for one moment before withering away forever or something that endured a great length of time to prove its beauty is eternal. "Do you think I can make a sculpture of you, un?" Deidara had asked Ino during her visit. She said that would be a fun experience as she had never been anyone's muse before. Sasori randomly stated that Deidara also did nude sculptures. Ino asked how he knew this and Sasori merely smirked as Deidara's face blushed even in the dark light. When she left the room to grab a snack, she assumed both males thought she had left for good, for when she stuck her head into the door of the workshop, they were found with their arms entwined around eachother, making out ferociously against the wall. They must have sensed someone was there because they both halted to see Ino at the door, both giving her identical smirks before returning to their previous state as if she wasn't even there. To her own surprise, she found that watching the two fairly attractive men hooking up like that was very amusing and even kind of hot. Ino stayed by the door and was very pleased with what she was watching until Itachi came by, interrupting her private show.

A few days after the artists' incident, Ino ran into Zetsu, a rather odd member of the Akatsuki, while on her daily walks through the park. Half of his face and body was black, while the other was white. He seemed to bear two different personalities as well, one for his black side and one for his white, which led to him basically having conversations with himself, as he had two different sides to represent two different opinions. They shared a passion for plants and flowers, so it wasn't surprising that they spent a good hour picking the named objects. Ino was very comfortable around Zetsu and appreciate having someone to share her greatest adoration with. It was when he began talking to himself about Ino that made her just a tad uncomfortable. His white side said, "You are very pretty, Ino.", which made Ino smile as she accepted his compliment. Not too long later, his black side had added, "I think you would taste very nice for dinner." Ino then excused herself, claiming she had to get to work, and ran out of the park as fast as her long legs would allow her to.

By far, Ino's favourite Akatsuki member, other than Itachi of course, was Kisame, an indescribably tall man who resembled a shark. It was not only because he was Itachi's partner in crimes and his closest friend out of the whole group of Akatsuki that she liked him, but his possession of confidence rivaled Ino's which made him fun to be around. Despite the somewhat frightening appearance of his, which included being way over six feet tall and a sneer drawn of his face, Ino knew that deep down he was very loyal to his friends. She wasn't sure if it was because she was the girlfriend of his partner in the Akatsuki, but Kisame seemed to be very fond of Ino and liked being around her. One day, Ino made the impulsive mistake of taking Kisame out to her favourite sushi restaurant where they happened to be having a special on shark fin soup, resulting in the large man running out of the restaurant barely containing his tears. He sat on the sidewalk with his face buried in his hands as Ino apologized repeatedly and made an attempt to comfort him for almost a half hour, until she finally decided to call Itachi for some help. Itachi got Kisame back up on his feet and into a cab within thirty seconds, leaving Ino to stand alone on the street, her stomach growling.

It was a hectic few days for Ino, trying to discover and keep track of the personalities of each member she had met so far. There was no doubt that she had to admit, those boys were definitely fun to be around, despite their flaws or moments of annoyance once in a while. Now she was spending a relaxing day with Itachi, her most adored member of the criminal group called the Akatsuki.

They had spent the day at Konoha's amusement park where they discovered that Itachi was not a fan of spinning around when they went on the ride with the spinning teacups. Ino could not refrain from laughing at Itachi's unexpected weakness, even though she did feel bad for him just a little bit.

In a small picnic area within the amusement park, they were resting, mostly due to Itachi's conditions from the teacup ride. He was sitting on the ground with his back leaning against a large tree, his legs bent so his knees were sticking up. Between his legs was Ino, unlike Itachi, her legs sprawled straight infront of her with her body leaning back against Itachi's chest. Her elbows rested on top of his knees while his arms encircled her waist, hugging her tightly.

"Do you miss my brother?"

"Well that's random." Ino didn't expect the mention of Sasuke, especially right then. When Itachi didn't say anything back, she thought about her answer, but decided to pose a question instead.

"Do you?"

"Ladies first."

"Jerk."

Itachi laughed and kissed the back of Ino's neck. "Please?"

"Fine. No, I don't."

"At all?"

Ino turned her body around to face Itachi and decided to tell him the whole truth. "He was just a phase back in my adolescent past. It was because of him Sakura and I were enemies for a few years. I began to realize that what I felt was infatuation, unlike Sakura who actually loved him so I stopped. Then he broke her heart when he left, and since then he hasn't been a part of my life. Or Sakura's."

"Hn." Itachi closed his eyes as he leaned back against the tree.

Ino stared longingly at his peaceful face. She didn't bother asking him again if he missed his own little brother. It was quite obvious that he did. She was already well aware of the tragic past of the Uchiha family, which included the family making plans to overturn the Konoha government which resulted in Itachi, who worked for the government, having to kill his family with the exception of his little brother, leaving himself and Sasuke to be the last known members of the Uchiha family. She knew Itachi had given up on Sasuke ever believing the truth and forgiving his old brother for his actions that had led to Sasuke growing up with no real family.

Itachi opened his eyes and smirked as he saw Ino's eyes watching him. "Do you wish it was his arms you were in right now?"

She lightly slapped his face with a laugh. "Don't joke around like that."

Itachi chuckled and brought his face to Ino's and kissed her.

"Come on." Ino stood up and grabbed Itachi's hands, using all her strength to pull him up to join her. "We're going back to the spinning cups!"

Before he could object, Ino had dragged him into one of those cups he hated oh so much, and saw Ino's beautiful blonde head tilt back into a monstrous laugh at the sight of him feeling sick to his stomach. Again.

A/N: Gah the Akatsuki part just came out so easily, but once I reached the Sasuke part it was such a drag...

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! (as a Christmas gift to me?)

Speaking of... I won't be able to update before Christmas (because I'm working on a oneshot with a Christmas theme! MAKE SURE TO READ IT ONCE IT IS UPLOADED :D).

So I will wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS right now! :D I hope you guys have an amazing holiday!