AN: It's pretty short, but think about how quickly (relatively speaking :)) I updated! Plus, this is where the natural chapter break is. So I have plotted out this story up until the turning point (in about four more chapters) and then I'll go from there. I think there will be a few more chapters of about this length too. But the story is moving onwards. Let me know what you think!
Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! I was glad to see some of you are still around! (You know who you are).
Finally, I am posting some of my ideas on my profile for my next fics, so let me know what you want.
~Shelves~
Sasuke was not happy. He was, in fact, very, very, unhappy. Ino, it appeared, had not been kidding about flirting with Hyuuga Neji. And part of him could not help but wonder if it was his fault for bringing it up in the first place- which did not help his current emotional state at all.
"So," Ino said with a grin as she absent-mindedly played with her long, blonde hair and leaned in ever closer to the Hyuuga. "What else have you been up to lately?"
To make matters even worse, Neji actually seemed to be enjoying her attention. He leaned over conspiringly and answered her in a low voice. Ino flashed a brilliant grin as she giggled flirtatiously at him, gently swatting his arm in a teasing gesture.
"Hey, Neji," she said suddenly. Sasuke's eyes narrowed further and he stood up and began slowly making his way towards her. Enough was enough. "The White Devil is playing at The Treehouse this month, have you seen it yet?"
"Yes, it was very good," Neji said with a small smile, not missing her suggestion. "I wish I could invite you to accompany me – a show of that calibre is definitely worth watching more than once – but I leave in two days on an extended mission."
Ino pouted. Sasuke's heart leaped up. She wanted to see The White Devil? He could take her to see The White Devil.
"Oi, Ino," Kiba suddenly spoke up from a few chairs away from the blonde where he had been talking to Naruto and Hinata. "You want to see The White Devil? Let me take you next Saturday, I already have two tickets."
Sasuke froze, confused. Why would Ino go with Kiba? She was supposed to go with him!
"Seriously?" Ino squealed. "I'd love to go with you, thanks!"
"It's a date then," Kiba said with a grin and a wink, before turning back to his conversation.
Sasuke could feel his anger building up inside him, and found himself hard pressed to even want to do something about the killer intent he was releasing. The others in the room all noticed, he assumed, as they were more than competent ninja. But they elected to ignore him as if nothing was happening. Kiba continued his conversation with Naruto and Hinata while Ino sat down right next to Neji and chatted away. How could they all be so casual about this?
His anger was interrupted by the gentle and yet ominous sound of a throat clearing. He knew that chakra. Turning slowly Sasuke saw that Tsunade had entered, along with Shizune. The look the Hokage was giving him was more than enough to help him reign in his temper. Sasuke shuddered. He couldn't afford to mess up – they would try to make him leave Ino.
The evening progressed into the night, and eventually Ino began to kick people out of her apartment so she could get some sleep, darn it. The shinobi slowly trickled out as they said their goodbyes. Tsunade approached Ino's post at the door and pulled her aside.
"How goes things?" she asked Ino, and then laughed at the grimace that made its way across the younger blonde's face. "That bad, huh?"
Ino nodded.
"Well, you seem to be keeping him in line, at least, so good job," Tsunade continued. "Has there been any further development with regard to his feelings for you?"
"Tsunade-sama," Ino said with a sigh. "We've been through this already. He really doesn't feel anything for me. And honestly? Even if he did it wouldn't matter. I'll never think of him like that again."
"That's your prerogative, Ino," Tsunade said gently, raising her hand up to rest on Ino's shoulder as she looked her steadily in the eye. "But be careful. He's very powerful. And if it's not you it's going to be someone. We do need to re-introduce the sharingan into the village – it's why we took him back."
"What?" Ino asked, blue eyes wide.
"The sharingan – we couldn't let that fall into the hands of another village. You don't like him, then that's fine. But keep a look out for someone who does and make it work Ino, we need to give him a reason to start a family here."
With that Tsunade removed her hand and left, while Ino stood there, shocked.