(… 6 years ago)
This was a first. Shisui had been uncharacteristically tenacious about Itachi meeting the girl he was dating, and this made Itachi feel concerned. He had never met any of Shisui's conquests before, nor had his cousin ever made this request of him prior to now. Then again, Ino Yamanaka wasn't a conquest per say. No, Shisui had rambled on long enough about her to make that much clear, and despite knowing his cousin well enough to guess that Ino might be something more to him than the previous women had been, it didn't prevent Itachi from confirming his supposition.
"You never asked me to meet any of your dates before, so why now?" he gently inquired, and waited with bated breath to hear how this was the girl who would claim his best friend's time and attention from here on out with the all-too-common phrase 'She's special'. However, the clichéd phrase never came, "I want you to get to know her." was the simple response that had followed in its stead.
"I know her well enough, surely. She has been the most frequented topic of discussion as of late." Itachi jabbed at his cousin, with a second attempt at dragging out the phrase he knew he'd eventually hear. "Hah! When did you develop a sense of humour?" Shisui grinned widely causing his eyes to beam just as intensely, as he lightly clapped the back of Itachi's shoulder. 'Humour?' Itachi mused, as he realised he was getting better at hiding his true thoughts and feelings from his best friend. "You were bound to rub off on me." He played along with his stoic expression still intact and giving up on bating his friend.
Shisui's expressions softened. He looked like he had more to say, and Itachi waited for him to utter what was on his mind, perhaps his previous efforts weren't in vain. "She pointed out that I talk a lot about you too, and she decided it was time to meet you. Honestly, it would be awesome if my best friend and my girlfriend became good friends." Shisui relented, then locked his gaze with Itachi and a soft smile appeared on his face as he asked, "What do you say?"
No, was the winning thought in his mind. Ino's reaction to Shisui's ramblings were definitely contrasting to his own, which meant to him that they already differed with one aspect. While he was glad that Shisui was happy, he wasn't particularly fond of his best friend ditching him often in favour of the blonde heiress. However, he could see how much Shisui wanted this meeting to happen, and it seemed to him that his cousin wasn't going to write him off for her if he wanted them to get along, so he acquiesced, "Sure."
The beam on both Shisui's eyes and lips made what was sure to be an excruciating encounter, a worthy one. "Awesome, we'll do something simple like dinner at my place so you both get to talk. Don't make plans for Friday." Shisui cheerfully expressed. Talking, it was to be excruciating indeed, "We're supposed to have dinner with my parents this Friday." Itachi reminded him. Ever since Shisui moved out, his parents insisted that they have dinner once a week to preserve familial ties, and so Mikoto can keep some form of a leash on him. "Oh, right! I forgot. Saturday then." Shisui suggested and Itachi nodded in agreement.
Saturday came around but the original plan of dinner at Shisui's had changed to attending the fireworks festival. Apparently Ino never missed it and insisted they attend it all together, "It would be a lot of fun!" were her exact words, followed by "Didn't you say Itachi was the competitive type? Well, there's a lot of attractions at which we could all compete."
Shisui thought that was actually a better idea than dinner at his place; after all his cousin wasn't the chatty type. Ino and Itachi might actually bond over some of the games, and so he readily agreed. He definitely did not expect any part of this plan to go up in smoke, but it seems Itachi was harder to get through to than either Shisui or Ino anticipated.
They met up at the village centre by the first food stall, both men dressed in their yukatas; Shisui wore a deep navy blue while Itachi wore a black yukata, and they both had their clan's crest on the back. It was a while before Ino had showed up, but when she had, Shisui's demeanour morphed into a starry-eyed love-sick puppy's as soon as he saw her.
She wore a lavender coloured kimono with various flower patterns in yellow, white, and pink, and had a shimmering light blue obi with similar floral patterns wrapped around her waist. Her makeup was a combination of natural colours, black eyeliner to bring out the piercing blue of her eyes, and red lipstick to accentuate the plump of her lips. Her hair was half raised into an updo and pinned in place with a stick that had a cherry blossom pendant dangling from it. The bottom half of her long blonde hair was left loose and flowing. She looked radiant, and the expression on Shisui's face made it evident that he was awe struck by her beauty.
He pulled her in for a deep kiss that they only broke after hearing the third member of their party feign a cough, "Ahem" to indicate his discomfort at their shameless display of affection. "Sorry. Ino, this is Itachi, and Itachi this is Ino." Shisui introduced them to each other. Itachi knew the Yamanaka heiress, of course. Being one himself, it was part of his duties to learn about the other clan heads and their would-be successors. However, he had only been acquainted with a few other heirs, and mostly interacted with current clan heads. Ino wasn't one of the heirs he had been acquainted with, and this was their first conversation with each other. "It's a pleasure." He greeted her civilly. "Finally, we meet. Shisui talks a lot about you, and I knew we both just had to become the best of friends too. Hope you brought enough money, because we are about to get swindled, and our asses handed to us here!" Ino returned, grabbing Shisui and Itachi's hands and dragging them towards one of the games.
The greetings went well enough, with Itachi being polite as he usually was, and Ino a bit overly excited and friendlier than one ought to be. It made Itachi wonder whether she was genuine. She was too familiar with him, when they had only just been made acquainted a moment ago and it put him on his guard.
"Let's go!" she chimed when they weren't moving fast enough, and Shisui called back to her, "Slow down" his voice trailing as she dragged them into the crowd to get to the stall she had in mind. They landed on a game stall that had stuffed animals of assorted kinds and sizes hanging as prizes, and four targets that Itachi assumed were the game they had to play to win them. "You know most of these games are rigged, right?" Shisui said to her as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "Yeah, but that doesn't make it any less fun." She returned, planting a kiss on his cheek as he rested his chin on her left shoulder.
Itachi had never seen Shisui behaving so intimately with anyone before, and the discomfort it made him feel was only growing. "Let's make it a competition, and that is the prize" Ino declared as she pointed at the largest stuffed animal hanging at the stall, which was a large orange coloured frog with yellow spots on its back and two red blush marks on its cheeks. Her challenging gaze met both their eyes, and Shisui accepted her challenge stating, "You're on Yamanaka. Come on, Itachi. I think one of us can beat these scammers at their game."
The stall master placed three kunai for each of them and stated the rules, "No using chakra, and keep those eyes tucked away." he asserted at Itachi and Shisui. Shisui and Ino began throwing their kunai at the targets, while Itachi analysed the kunai he was handed. He noticed the handle was heavier than a proper kunai would be, and the blade itself was quite blunt. The game was without a doubt rigged so that no shinobi could meet their targets, but Itachi wasn't your average shinobi.
Ino and Shisui were already done with throwing their weapons. Ino's kunai landed on the outer most rims of the target, and Shisui's landed on the second and third rim just outside of the bull's eye. The stall master handed him the stuffed panda bear he had chosen which he had given away to Ino, "One panda for the lady who made me the luckiest man in Konoha." he sappily declared, and Ino accepted it stating playfully, "And don't you forget it". Itachi wondered when it was that his cousin turned to be so cheesy. He returned his focus to the game, feeling ready to take on the rigged challenge and confident that he could beat it. He threw the first kunai, adjusting the force and trajectory to match the weapon's weight, the bluntness of the blade, and the direction of the wind to ensure he meets his target. Sure enough, Itachi's first kunai met the bull's eye. The stall master's eyes turned wide, and he reiterated angrily, "I said no using chakra!". This caught Ino and Shisui's attention, so they turned their heads towards Itachi, who politely stated, "I heard your rules, and I assure you I am playing by them."
Shisui walked over to Itachi, wrapping an arm around his neck as he defended him to the stall master, "Itachi's the best weapons thrower in the village, don't take it so hard old man. You can blindfold him and he'd still hit his target." This seemed to appease the stall master who was smiling with a sinister expression on his face. "Very well, if that is what you claim, then go ahead and put this blindfold on, and prove that you aren't cheating." The stall master challenged, placing a cloth in Itachi's palms. "No way! That's cheating from you, old man!" Ino chimed in, but Shisui placed an arm on her saying, "It's fine." with a sinister look of his own.
Itachi accepted the challenge and Shisui upped the stakes by making Itachi stand farther back. This seemed to only please the stall master more. "Watch this" he whispered into Ino's ear. "I have one request, sir." Itachi directed at the stall master, "I will throw all three kunai at once; however, all three targets would be in play." This seemed to improve the odds for the old man, so he happily accepted, jeering, "If you manage to get all three target's bull's eyes, then I'll throw in two more stuffed animals."
Itachi stepped back to position, and Ino and Shisui managed crowd control, as many bystanders stopped to watch the commotion happening at the game stall. He took in a steady breath and held it in, and the next moment he released all three kunai with one hand. Everything happened so fast, and all that could be heard was the clinking of metal then…
The crowd gasped in awe before breaking out into loud cheers, many chiming that Itachi had been incredible, and the stall master stared at the kunai wedged into the bull's eye of all three targets, mouth agape. "H-how? Th-that's impossible!" he mumbled, and Shisui boasted, "Itachi here is the Uchiha heir, my man. He perfected his shuriken jutsu at 5 years old. This is nothing for him." Itachi's cheeks turned a light shade of pink at being praised by his cousin. He didn't enjoy being placed on a pedestal; however, it did warm his heart to hear how Shisui admired him. "That was AWESOME! Well done, Itachi!" Ino chirped. The stall master was true to his word, he handed Itachi the giant stuffed frog and two bears. However, he didn't feel too bad about losing this bet as many more people now crowded around his stall wanting to attempt their try at the targets.
The Uchiha heir felt ridiculous carrying all those stuffed toys in his arms, that covered most of his body from view, and Shisui's snickering at the sight of him didn't help. "Wow, sir those are so cool!" a little girl awed at the toys, and her brother next to her asked, "I hope to be cool like you, Uchiha-san!"
It was quite endearing, and it reminded him very much of how Sasuke used to dote on him when he was that age. Itachi knelt down to their eye level and handed them the stuffed animals, saying, "You may have these." with a kind smile. "Are you sure, Uchiha-san?" the boy asked with glistening eyes and his sister looked a little worried at having the toy taken back. Itachi nodded and ruffled the boy's hair, "I am. You see I have no room for them, but I plan to reclaim them one day. You can keep them safe until you are ready to challenge me at weapon's throw." The boy's eyes lit up again, and he accepted the challenge readily. "One day, Uchiha-san, I will become the best weapons' thrower, even better than you!" it warmed Itachi's heart to see such determination. The boy was indeed very much like Sasuke at this age.
"That was really nice of you." Ino stated. "I have no need for toys." Itachi replied nonchalantly. The gentleness in his voice that he had when addressing the little ones all but disappeared, and Ino wondered if this meant that Itachi didn't like her. "Alright on to the next stall!" Shisui announced, oblivious to what was on either one of their minds.
Ino attempted small talk with Itachi at every chance she got, and each time he returned a monosyllabic response that made it difficult for her to hold any semblance of a conversation. It had become crystal clear to her that forming a friendship with her boyfriend's best friend would be incredibly difficult. Shisui tried explaining to Ino that it wasn't easy for Itachi to let people in or to form friendships, but he appreciated her tenacity nonetheless in continuing to try her luck with him.
For Itachi, however, he was getting fed up with the constant display of emotion between the two. It made him feel incredibly uncomfortable, and therefore when he saw the chance to part ways with them, he jumped at it with teeth and claws.
Ino wanted to ride the Ferris wheel and watch the fireworks display from the top. It appeared that many couples had similar ideas, and Itachi seized this opportunity to depart from them, under the pretence that he was assisting Shisui with having a romantic moment with his partner atop the Ferris wheel. The appeal had caused Shisui to relent to Itachi's suggestion, and he told him they would meet up with him once the display was over. However, Itachi told him he'd just meet him back home and he should enjoy the rest of the night with his girlfriend. While he came off as the ever-supportive wingman to his best friend, Itachi was just grateful he no longer had to endure their vomit inducing behaviour any longer.
(… A little over 2 years ago)
When Itachi first met Ino, he had refused to form any type of friendship that surpassed the boundaries of formal politeness and cordial sentiment. Dressed in his black yukata that sported his clan's crest on his back, and standing in the village centre waiting for her so they may attend this year's fireworks festival together, Itachi couldn't help but think back to the last time he attended the event. How foolish he had been, but his feelings towards Ino have all but changed now. He couldn't fathom a world in which he and Ino weren't friends, and this time he was going to make the most of this day with her.
"'Tachi!" Ino waved amidst a crowed, making her way over to Itachi, who, regardless of his stoic facial expression, was very excited to see her. When she finally reached him, another feeling had taken over him when he had taken in her appearance. Ino was adorned in a black kimono featuring long, flowing sleeves that draped off her shoulders, expanding gracefully at the ends. The kimono showcased a delicate pattern of nude pink lilies, complemented by a soft pink Oba cinched around her waist. Her hair cascaded down freely, with one side elegantly pinned up using a kanzashi that matched the floral motif on her kimono. Her lips were painted with a delicate pink hue of lipstick, and her light makeup accentuated her eyes with black winged eyeliner and mascara, enhancing their allure.
Itachi was entranced by her beauty, and the shimmering sparkle in his eyes as he greeted her was the only indication of how mesmerised he was by her exquisite appearance. "You look hot! That's incredibly unfair you know!" she chastised him playfully, but he disagreed with her, because next to her he would be nothing but an eyesore. He didn't tell her how taken aback by her appearance he was, instead, Itachi placed a palm delicately on Ino's cheek and let his eyes tell the tale of how much he admired her.
The close proximity which his reaction had put them in, the resulting silence that hung in the air between them, drowning the noise of the bustling crowd surrounding them, and the touch of his hand on her skin had all sent a powerful jolt coursing through every corner of her being. Ino's cheeks flushed red, and it gave Itachi more cause to admire her. He liked the response which his touch had instigated, but his conscience interfered with his momentary elation, filling him with a tinge of guilt once more, and so he let his hand fall back to his side and he turned away from her.
His sudden change in behaviour had disappointed her to some degree, but she understood what caused his restraint. The thrilling silence still clung to the air, but this time it was suffocating, and Ino needed to be rid of it. She would not allow this guilt he was feeling to fester, for her sake and his. "Shikamaru is back in Konoha, I hope you don't mind but he's going to join us at the festival. Lady Temari had accompanied him back as well, so I assume she'll tag along too. Honestly, that Shikamaru, he can be really daft sometimes." She jeered. Itachi was curious about her last statement, "I don't mind, but why do you say that about him?" he asked. "Huh? Oh, well because he's in denial about his feelings for Temari, and he thinks she doesn't feel that way about him either. I mean, what more does a girl have to do, when she already keeps following him back to our village every time he leaves Suna." Ino shook her head, "She could spell it out for him, and he would still need more proof!"
Itachi was just confused that there was anything happening at all between the two, "Shikamaru and the Kazekage's sister?" he asked in disbelief. "Yup!" Ino reaffirmed, "Just wait until they show up, it's actually really entertaining to watch Temari put the moves on him while he's completely clueless about it all." She chuckled. Itachi knew there was more to Temari's visit though. She had accompanied Shikamaru to Konoha as Suna's representative to witness the interrogation, well second interrogation if you count Itachi's Tsukuyomi, of Hiraoka, Kana. He also knew that Inoichi had requested that Ino take command of the interrogation, and Obito had intended to accept his request, so she will learn all about this soon enough. Inoichi planned to retire soon, and he will be grooming Ino in the meantime to take over his position at the T&I division.
"Is that so?" he smiled and entertained her enthusiasm, "I'm quite terrible at noticing these things myself. You'll have to point it out to me when it happens.". "I'm sure even your socially inept skills will be able to see what's going on between those two. I mean it's so obvious, I'm sure Temari is going crazy at how daft Shikamaru is being!" Ino retorted.
Itachi noticed the subject of their conversation approaching them, and he signalled to Ino their arrival as he said, "Perhaps it's best we put the topic of Shikamaru's emotional ineptitude to rest for now, they are currently approaching us."
"Oh, what's this? I didn't realise we'll be joined by the heir to the Uchiha clan tonight. It's good to see you again, Itachi-Sama. Ino, it's been a minute!" Temari greeted them both but pulled Ino in for a hug. "Please, there is no need for the formalities. We are gathered tonight as friends- Itachi would suffice." Itachi responded, "Sure, if you agree to drop the formalities too and settle for calling me Temari." She returned, and he nodded in agreement then turned to the Nara, "Shikamaru" he greeted, "Hey Itachi" he returned. "Alright, now that you both settled on what to call each other and everyone's said hello, let's go grab some yakitori!" Ino chimed dragging Temari along, knowing that the men would follow.
Temari seized the opportunity to question Ino about Itachi accompanying her, "I didn't realise this was a double date" she said playfully, the last time Temari was in Konoha, Ino was droning on about how she lost her friendship with Itachi to Shikamaru, but it seems that was not the case after all. "It's not. At least not with Itachi and I. Don't tell me you finally got Shikamaru to realise his feelings or something." Ino remarked. Temari shrugged and expressed, "He's denser than a rock, it's actually quite concerning for someone who's supposedly as smart as he is." Ino looked back at Shikamaru then turned her gaze to Itachi, hoping he would understand the message in her eyes, 'Say something to him! Nudge him about Temari!' but the confused look Itachi returned, told her he didn't get it at all. "Anyway, what I want to know is what happened between you and the Uchiha. Last I saw you, you were pitifully moping over a supposedly lost friendship? Which doesn't appear to be the case here." Temari recalled her attention, whispering quietly enough only for Ino to hear. "Long story short, turns out he loves me too, but he can't be with me because of Shisui." Ino filled her in. "Oh, well didn't we get lucky with our choice of aloof men." Temari joked. Ino turned to look at Itachi again and noticed how silent he and Shikamaru were.
She'll have to use telepathy. Ino waved a single-handed sign to connect her mind to Itachi's 'Itachi, say something to Shikamaru about Temari' end of telepathic conversation. Ino gave him no chance to respond, knowing he would have probably declined in fear of overstepping. Itachi kept his expression neutral, but in his mind, he was flustered. What was he supposed to say? He was certain that he did not have this sort of relationship with Shikamaru. Even if he did, he would never meddle like this. What was Ino thinking asking him to pry like that! He wished he had her telepathic ability to tell her as much.
She wanted him to start up a conversation about Temari. What possible topic could he start out of the blue, with a man he wasn't closely acquainted with, and about a woman who he had only conversed with in a professional setting? Itachi isn't one to initiate small talk, in fact, he is quite skilled at avoiding it when he wished to. Furthermore, he was direct when he wished to know information, and beating around the bush was a practice he detested. Just thinking about this felt like an ordeal that had already exhausted him.
"So, looks like things are alright with you and Ino." Shikamaru voiced his observation, and freeing Itachi from the challenge of initiating small talk. The Nara heir didn't wait for a confirmation from Itachi and went on expressing his observations, "I thought she was overreacting when she thought she ruined your friendship. Glad to see I was right. It's a shame though that you both love each other but can't be together." Ino had filled him in on what happened between them, which wasn't unusual to Itachi, because he understood the depth of her friendship with Shikamaru from the memories she shared of Shisui with him. Shikamaru was like a brother and best friend to Ino, and their relationship had been developing since their infancy. He was to her, what Shisui had been to him.
Itachi gave a slight nod, and Shikamaru had gone on with his observation again, "To be honest, I understand your position quite well, and I think you made the right choice." Itachi remained silent and his expression stoic, he knew that conversations with Shikamaru are usually one sided. He suspects it's because the Nara wouldn't put in the effort to speak, until he had analysed and simulated every possible angle of the conversation. Which is why he does most of the talking until he arrives to the questions which he needs answers to. "Ino understands that too, but it's not in her nature to give up on the people she loves, so she's going to keep trying until the both of you can be together. However, something tells me you already knew that much." Shikamaru turned to meet Itachi's gaze, and he nodded in confirmation. "Itachi, I know something about your personal life, so I think it's only fair that you learn something about mine. I know Ino probably asked you to talk to me about Temari…" Shikamaru does know her quite well, "… To be honest, I'm not so great when it comes to these things, and Ino has this view that love can conquer anything, which isn't really all that realistic to me. But I have to agree with her that I do need to talk about it with someone, and seeing how you handled things with Ino, I think you would be the right person for that. So, how does it sound to you if we guys get together over a drink? You can refuse if you want to, of course." Shikamaru met Itachi's gaze and waited for his response.
The Uchiha heir didn't expect him to extend a branch of friendship. Very little could take him by surprise, and Shikamaru certainly had. Still, he was pleased that Shikamaru had considered him a friend which he sought advice from. It wasn't easy for Itachi to get close to people. "I accept." Came his answer and Shikamaru gave him a smirk filled with gratitude.
Soon came the time for the fireworks to set off, and Ino began to rush them, "The queue to the Ferris wheel is already growing, let's hurry!" she chimed. However, Itachi had planned a surprise for her, "We won't be watching the fireworks from atop the Ferris wheel this time. I have another location that you would find more appealing." He announced and led the party towards the Hokage monument.
Perched on the edge of the cliff, right above the imposing Sandaime's stone visage, Itachi had prepared a cosy campfire and arranged blankets for comfort. The campsite was adorned with bamboo torches, enhancing the ambiance of the surroundings, while the mesmerising view of the village below seemed almost otherworldly. Ino's eyes widened with excitement as she exclaimed, "You did all this?!" and Itachi felt a warmth surge through him as he was happy that she was pleased by his surprise. Luckily, he had prepared additional cushions and blankets, in case they ran into anyone that Ino would rope in to joining them.
"Well done, Uchiha." Temari praised as she wrapped herself with a blanket and sat on one of the cushions dragging Shikamaru along with her. It was more romantic than riding the Ferris wheel, and it gave her the perfect excuse to cuddle with the Nara later under the pretence that she was feeling a little cold.
Itachi was oblivious to the romantic connotations of the setting, having only considered logistics for viewing the fireworks. It didn't escape Ino that this was an accident on his part, which is why she was teasingly smirking in his direction. "You have no idea what your little surprise just did." She stated, grabbing his arm and seating them both down onto the cushions. Itachi raised an eyebrow at her in askance, and she explained, "This is really romantic. If this doesn't get Shikamaru to realise his feelings, then he is denser than I thought he was." She explained. Itachi considered telling her that be believes Shikamaru is more aware than she believes him to be, however, he would keep this information to himself out of respect to his new budding friendship.
The sound of a piercing whistle sliced the air and vibrant bursts of shimmering gold illuminated their surroundings, signalling the commencement of the fireworks display. Their attention immediately shifted upward, captivated by the kaleidoscope of colours painting the sky, and inviting them to bask in its breathtaking splendour. Ino's smile widened with glee. She turned to Itachi meeting his gaze with her shimmering eyes as she said, "Thank you, Itachi, this is perfect."
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined someone bestowing upon him a smile so radiant as the one she wore in that moment. It filled his heart with pure bliss, realising that he held the power to bring such happiness to her. Yet, amidst his joy, a pang of guilt seeped in. How could he find solace for finally finding the one who smiled at him that way, when the cost had been losing Shisui?