A/N

I really liked how this one turned out! Not a fan of SasuIno anymore, but this is especially dedicated to "Fan" who said they wanted a Sasuke II!

More drabbles coming your way in the future! (:

[Ino x Sasuke] – Super Junior | Devil

He knew he hated her when he first got to know that there were two number one's in the class at the end year exams.

Being number one for an Uchiha was obvious; clear cut and plain to see.

Sharing the number one spot was unheard of; that had got Sasuke motivated to beat the Yamanaka in every subject she took.

When news got around that she bore a crush on him, the boy was sure that his life would be a little bit simpler now. But simplicity never came and the girl never confessed; and he got to know that it was because the Yamanaka girl treasured her friendship with a certain pink haired girl more than she liked him.

Sasuke admitted that he was impressed and the name Yamanaka Ino would forever be etched onto his mind.

When they were first assigned teams, the boy had been severely disappointed. Ino was in another team; two troublemakers he remembered. Not that it mattered much for he too was put into a team consisting of troublemakers. He dreaded it, but maybe it was for the best.

There was only one thing on his mind after all; to avenge the Uchiha clan.

A few years passed by and Taka was officialised. He noted that Karin reminded him of Sakura and Sasuke loomed in loneliness sometimes at night. The young man missed his team and he wondered what they were doing now. Both Sakura and Naruto must have been desperately trying to find ways to bring him back; but it proved futile.

There was only one thing on his mind right now; killing Itachi.

But when morning comes, his loneliness fades away for this was the first time he ever had a good night sleep. He thinks it has to do with a certain girl that appeared in his dream.

Sasuke wonders how Yamanaka Ino is faring right now.

He finally met her on the battlefield during the war, and he felt his heart stopped. She looked older than she was in his dreams and much, much paler.

In fact, the girl looked like hell.

For someone who shared the number one spot with an Uchiha, Ino looked like she was falling apart. No longer was she bright and optimistic, for she looked like a walking corpse. Her appearance mimicked his and he wondered if they were actually still sharing the same spot after all.

Sasuke heard later that it was because her father had been sacrificed. His eyes looked towards Obito, the one man behind this mess and he vowed to take the necessary actions.

For Itachi, for his friends and for a certain Yamanaka girl.

When the war was finally over, he had shared a slight hug with Naruto. They weren't ever going to talk about this again, that he was sure. He had bowed in front of Tsunade for a long time, with Sakura urging the Hokage to forgive him. Hashirama joined in as well, noting that Tsunade should be lenient with the last surviving member of the infamous Uchiha clan. Tsunade dismissed them of course, for she needed time to think things through.

Maybe it's best to let his own sensei think of an appropriate punishment for him.

When all was done and over with, his eyes had met her blue ones and she had greeted him happily. Ino smiled widely, and congratulated him on his return. He saw how her troublemaker teammates were wary of him at first, but it seemed they didn't care much for they too congratulated him as well.

His eyes never once left hers. He would soon learn that that was something Ino had mastered, from reading all the books that the new guy Sai had loaned her. But for now, he knew well enough that it was all a façade.

Ino was happy for him, but she wasn't happy herself.

Sasuke would then take everyone by surprise, when he finally took the blonde girl into his arms. He patted her head softly, nuzzling his face into her neck as he allows his past to catch up to his present. He noted she tensed and her arms hang awkwardly by her sides, but Sasuke didn't care for that. He only cared to let her know of his true feelings.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Ino." He mumbled only for her ears to hear. "Please, don't force yourself to smile anymore for my sake."

And when her body had started shaking uncontrollably, he hugged her tighter; vowing to protect the Yamanaka at all costs.

For only a Yamanaka can share a spot with an Uchiha.