AN: AO3 is officially caught up with FFN, so hopefully I'll update more. I do need to update my other story Body and Soul, though, so that may happen before chapter 20.

3 years prior

Izumi tried to be patient, but nothing had gone how she'd hoped. She and Itachi stared with utter revulsion at a large, amorphous bowl on display that Deidara had sculpted. Was this art? Izumi would never understand…

The first meeting she and Itachi had had with Deidara had been wildly unhelpful. As had the subsequent two. He talked about his artistic 'process' almost exclusively, and they couldn't get him to discuss anything about the Akatsuki or any of the missing-person cases.

Realistically, it made sense. The Akatsuki had been infiltrated before and were well aware of it. It made sense that their guard would be up, and it wouldn't be so easy this time around.

The previous infiltration had never been connected back to the KPD (as far as they knew), but only because of the reckless self-sacrifice of one of the infiltrating agents.

The outcome of the previous operation had shaken the entire department. It had taken them a full year to send another team back in. They'd decided to make it smaller in scale—just her and Itachi. Fewer people meant less risk.

The agent who had sacrificed her life on the job had been one of Izumi's best friends—her mentor, Rin Nohara.

There were always more men than women at the KPD, so the few women were close. When Izumi first started at the KPD, Rin, an officer several years more experienced, had offered kindness, advice, and camaraderie.

Rin had been there after the many traumatizing "firsts" Izumi experienced during her first year in the field. Her loss had inspired Izumi's passion for the Trust Fund Killer case in the first place. Now, she felt like she had to get it right. Not only for the many victims, but for Rin and her sacrifice.

For the sake of their undercover investigation, she and Itachi had been staying in a small rented apartment 30 minutes from Konoha in Rain County. It was well-known that the Akatsuki had roots there, and evidence suggested the Trust Fund Killer did as well.

They posed as a transient couple, connected to one of the TFK victims. The victim they had chosen had been poor and hadn't been local to Rain, so they hoped he'd have few connections there.

They had selected Jugo Taka for several reasons. First, he was close to their age, and they hoped that would make their claim to friendship with him more believable. Second, he didn't have much family and hadn't been particularly missed after his disappearance. His disappearance had been reported to the police, but he didn't seem to have family or friends begging authorities for updates. Another officer had interviewed the friend, Kimimaro Kaguya, who had reported him missing initially. The interview provided enough detail about his life and personality for Itachi and Izumi to fabricate a story of how they knew him.

They had divulged to Deidara at their first meeting with him that they had moved to Rain after their friend had gone missing in hopes of learning clues of his whereabouts while sorting through his personal belongings. Izumi had mentioned his name at their third meeting, but Deidara hadn't asked any further questions or mentioned anything about his connection to any of the cases.

Instead, he invited them to view his god forsaken art at a show in a one of the gentrifying but still slightly seedy neighborhood of Rain.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to feign admiration for his bizarre work. She and Itachi had both been a bit horrified by his ceramics style. All of his pieces- bowls, vases, mugs, decorative plates—had disturbingly realistic mouths jutting out of them. And not pouty, lips or happy smiles—jagged teeth deeply in need of dental work and thin lips so realistic they showed flakes of what was supposed to by dried skin.

"What the fuck am I looking at," she murmured under her breath so only Itachi could hear.

Itachi smirked, and read the label next to the bowl, "It appear's this masterpiece is called Dahmer's Kiss…"

"Jesus Fuck," Izumi groaned into her wine glass, trying to maintain a polite façade despite the insane décor surrounding her.

"If you keep up your colorful language love, he'll be sculpting your filthy mouth next," his arm snaked around to the small of her back in mock display of their fictitious relationship.

She was beginning to live for the slow drag of his fingers on her lower back. His dark tone, always full of obscure humor. It was pathetic, really— how quickly her disdain for him had turned into raw attraction.

He only touched her when he was playing his role. He was perfectly cordial otherwise. It was beginning to drive her insane, truthfully.

They had been living together for the past three weeks in Rain so that they resembled a genuine couple. He had been unduly polite—announcing himself before he entered any room, so he'd never catch her off guard. She'd never caught him shirtless or in a towel (proof her life wasn't a rom-com). Nope. Unless they were in public, he maintained constant professionalism.

His over-the-top etiquette was perhaps part of her undoing. She loved their undercover outings where he had to let go of his decorum to play the role of her boyfriend.

At the apartment, alone together, he gave her more space than their situation called for. If she was on the couch, he chose to sit several feet away on an armchair. If she was in the kitchen, he made sure to let her finish before entering to grab a glass of water or make a piece of toast.

But when he was with her in public…

He played his part so well. She let herself enjoy the warmth of his fingers through the fabric of her dress, and she shifted her body so she faced him more.

"You're going to give me nightmares" She laughed, allowing her hand to smooth the wrinkled fabric of his shirt as she looked up at his charcoal eyes.

He looked at her with heady warmth- too much for a man who hardly spared her a glance in the privacy of their apartment.

She cursed his acting skills for the way they made her heart beat faster. Each second his eyes wandered over her, she leaned closer into him wanting to believe he felt the magnetic pull between them too.

His lips parted to respond when she heard a familiar, grating voice.

"Ian! Isabelle! You made it!" Izumi turned her body toward the unwelcome voice shouting their fabricated names.

"Deidara!" She exclaimed, allowing him to greet her with a polite hug. "Your sculptures are so amazing. We can't keep our eyes off them."

It was true. Morbid fascination did make it difficult to look away.

"Dahmer's one of my favorites. It's actually interesting. He wasn't a bad-looking man. Like, had I been at one of those bars who knows what would have happened, but I wanted to convey the unsightliness of his soul," Deidara's enthusiasm for his horrific work spilled out of him, and Izumi tried to look more fascinated than disturbed. She knew Itachi found some kind of morbid humor in the whole thing.

"Each tooth represents a victim. 17 teeth are broken or missing. You know, many of the victims were artists, actually. I've tried to honor them in my work. This tooth is for a guy named Lindsey who made plaster figures….. this guy went to art school to be a dancer…..this one is for a guy, Tuomi, who made beautiful stained glass lamps…. A lot were aspiring models. So much art the world was never able to appreciate."

Izumi allowed some of her disgust to bleed through. She supposed it was appropriate—they were discussing a serial killer. She felt her gut churn at the sheer morbidity of it all. She wanted to respect the depth of his art. He had clearly put a lot of thought into it, but the grotesque teeth and twisted lips made her nauseous.

Was that the point of art? To evoke emotion, even if it was pure repugnance? If so, she was not a fan.

"That sounds like it requires a lot of research," Itachi commented, looking a bit queasy himself.

"It's a hobby of mine. I find serial killers fascinating." He flashed a disturbing grin.

Despite her instinct to feel utterly creeped out, Izumi reminded herself that Deidara wasn't a cold-blooded killer. He was a weirdo, for sure, but his criminal record was clean (aside from some petty charges involving a lot of weed when he was 19).

"We're sort of into that ourselves, actually," Itachi said with seemingly no remorse for how strange this conversation was in this room full of artists and admirers. "A friend of ours went missing last year, and… we suspect the worst,"

"You've mentioned that before," Deidara nodded, "I actually wanted to introduce you to a friend—if he shows."

"Why's that?" Itachi asked casually, though Izumi felt her heart rate picking up. Was this a lead? Were they finally going to meet another Akatsuki member?

"I asked him about the Jugo guy you mentioned. He knows the name."

"Really?" Izumi allowed her excitement to bleed into her tone, while Itachi remained his composed self.

"Why would your friend know about Jugo? Who's your friend?" She pressed.

Deidara smiled but looked distracted as he saw a group of people huddle around one of his less grotesque works.

"Now isn't the perfect time. If he shows, I'll come find you. Until then, I should mingle. People are here to learn about my art."

Izumi and Itachi meandered through the gallery, sipping wine and feigning interest in art they didn't understand. Every few minutes, she felt Itachi's lips near her ear, making a wry comment about one of the works in front of them. The evening should have felt long, but it flew by as she anticipated each coy interaction. She allowed herself to flirt boldly because even though it was real, he'd assume she was just playing her role.

It was another 45 minutes before Deidara returned with a tall man in tow. Izumi looked up at the intimidating frame in front of her and knew immediately who he was. He had been a part of the Akatsuki for years, and though they had little true knowledge of his role or motivations, they knew his basic background information and his appearance from briefs and photos.

The man's criminal record was a bit more colorful than Deidara's. He had done time at lower security facilities for assault and battery. The assault hadn't been self defense, but the victim certainly hadn't been innocent. Like the other Akatsuki members, he believed in 'justice' and he believed it needed to be achieved through any means necessary.

A true vigilante.

The man was unsettling, particularly when he flashed them a sharp grin in greeting.

"Ian and Isabelle—it's nice to meet you both. I'm Kisame."

Ino had never really cared for the symbolism of starting fresh for the New Year. January 1st was just another day, and December 31st was a good excuse for a party. At least, that's usually how she felt.

This year was different. She was ready to leave the shit show of the past six months behind. The last year had sucked beyond belief, but this new one would be better. She would make sure of it.

Unfortunately, her dad was testing her desperate optimism by forcing her to spend most of New Year's Eve with him and Ashley at their stupid party. Her dad insisted she be home to attend and was more resistant to Ino's manipulations than usual. The good news was that she had managed to convince him to let her go to Kiba's party at 11 as long as she spent the first part of the night at home.

Another fortunate thing was that Shikamaru and Chouji's parents had made them attend the party at the Yamanaka household as well, so she wasn't alone with her dad and Ashley and their friends. Chouji had even brought Sasha, so they weren't having the worst time ever. She refused to let her father know that, though. Every time he or Ashley looked her way, she pouted so that they'd know they were ruining her night, and she'd rather be anywhere else.

The four teens were sitting on one side of the Yamanaka's enormous living room, while their parents sat at the other end of the room. The partygoers were all drinking some form of 'champagne.' Ashley had brought enough alcohol-free champagne for her and everyone under 21, though Ino, Chouji, and Sasha had been sneaking real champagne into their glasses. Shikamaru was too afraid to do something so audacious right under his mom's nose. To be fair, Mrs. Nara was a fearsome woman.

His frustratingly sober state was probably why Shikamaru was being such a poor sport about his friends good-natured probing into his budding relationship.

Ino had watched Shikamaru text Temari constantly for the past month, but he would never tell her anything substantive, calling her nosy. She found this wildly unfair because she told him basically everything about her life (to which he responded that he wished she wouldn't).

Ino was typically persistent enough to get her way, but she found herself lacking enthusiasm for gossip about Temari and Shikamaru. Some part of her didn't want to know.

She had begun to realize she was a bit territorial about Shikamaru in a way she wasn't about Chouji. She would acknowledge that she might have been just a teeny tiny bit jealous. Not because she was into him or anything like that. It was more about the fact that he was paying attention to another girl, and he had less time for her. Shikamaru had always been hers, and now he was constantly distracted. She had to share his attention.

At first, she wondered why she didn't have the same feelings about Chouji when he started dating Sasha, but she was able to identify enough differences to justify her emotions.

Chouji was sweet. He would be friends with anyone that would be friends with him. Shikamaru was more discerning with his friendships. He was too lazy to put effort into many relationships, so Ino supposed she had always been honored that he valued their friendship enough to maintain it. Ino did realize that she was a bit high-maintenance, and it was a testament to their deep-rooted friendship that he tolerated her for all these years.

With Temari in his life, she felt less special. She hated watching the way he checked his phone incessantly to see if he had a new text. She tried to get some details out of him because at least then she would feel like he trusted her enough to confide in her. But he was Shikamaru, and he rarely indulged her in this way. It was probably for the best, because every time she did hear something about their time in Aspen or their 'situationship' since then, she felt a twinge of bitterness.

And now, after a month of remaining relatively ignorant about the romantic details of Aspen and their month of texts, Ino was finally getting all the dirt from Sasha. Sasha knew because Tenten knew. After all, Tenten was Temari's best friend.

She found herself drinking her champagne a little too fast as she pretended to enjoy the gossip as much as usual. Just the fact that she wasn't enjoying it was putting her on edge (more than she was to begin with).

Even so, with a slight buzz from the champagne, she was able to play her typical role as the invasive, voluble friend.

"Shikamaru, who would have known," she teased. "Actually, both of you. Little Chouji dating a sophomore and Shikamaru dating a junior. Who would have thought you two would go after a bunch of cradle-robbing cougars," she winked at Sasha, who snorted in amusement.

"Technically, I'm only eight months older than him," Sasha supplied, squeezing Chouji's arm.

"What about you, Shikamaru? Anything you'd like to say for yourself? Is Temari a full two years older than you?"

"I don't know. I don't even know when her birthday is." He said in a low, uncaring tone.

"What?!" Both girls gasped, sloshing champagne.

"I mean, we're not officially even dating; we're just talking." He justified, looking longingly at the tiny drops of champagne that had rolled over the edge of her glass in her dramatic display.

"Shikamaru what if you miss her birthday?"

Before he could respond, the resounding clinging of silverware on Baccarat crystal interrupted their conversation.

The group of teens looked up to see Inoichi poised to make a toast. He stood with a glass in hand, trying to get everyone's attention.

Everyone quieted and turned their eyes to her father, dressed immaculately in a suit she didn't recognize but suspected was Armani.

"Thank you—thank you all for coming tonight. I know many of you, particularly some very popular teenagers, have much cooler places to be than celebrating the New Year with their parents." He gave Ino a look and grinned at Chouji and Shikamaru.

Ino rolled her eyes and took another sip of her champagne as he continued.

"I know it's only ten, but some of us aren't as young as we used to be and might not make it to midnight," the adults laughed and Ino almost vomited in her mouth when he gave Ashley a grossly flirtatious smirk and said, "I'm looking at you, Ash,"

The resulting giggle was fantastically insufferable.

"I have had some early nights since getting pregnant," she laughed, putting a hand to her sequin-clad belly.

"Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone for their support. This year was different. As you all know, parts of it were difficult. Still, despite its hardships, it was one of the best years of my life," Ino's stomach dropped.

The year he tore apart her family was one of the best of his life??

"Ashley, you are smart, gorgeous, funny—you're going to be an amazing mom. I can't wait to see what this New Year has in store for us." He paused, and Ino stiffened as she watched him walk toward Ashley and drop to one knee in front of her.

"I was hoping you would give me the honor of going into the new year as your fiance." The resounding gasps, aws, and squeals were so loud that Ino couldn't even hear him say the final words- 'Will you marry me.' Or maybe it was the roaring in her ears.

Unable to look at her dad or Ashley's repulsive public display of affection, Ino stumbled out of her chair and raced toward her room.

What the hell was Inoichi thinking? Anyone could have predicted Ino's reaction to that. Shikamaru's chest tightened as he watched Ino's pained expression. Her lips parted in surprise; her expression became blank. She left as soon as humanly possible.

Shikamaru and Chouji gave each other knowing looks.

"Do you want to—"

"Should I—"

Chouji was an implicitly more comforting human being. He just was. Still, Shikamaru itched to follow her and hesitated to defer the task to Chouji. He glanced over to Inoichi, who, up until this point, hadn't noticed Ino leave. He had been too lost in the moment with Ashley. Shikamaru watched as he looked toward them and realized she was gone. His face fell, and Ashley noticed, too. He watched their excitement disappear, and as sorry as he felt for Ino, Shikamaru also felt a twinge of frustration.

Did she have to make this moment about her? Couldn't she see that her dad was happy? Couldn't she just pretend to be happy for him for half a second?

Shikamaru loved Ino, but he loved Inoichi, too. He and Chouza were like second fathers to him, and he hated to see how his joy was instantly extinguished, and his expression turned to one of guilt.

He should have known, though. How could he not realize this would blindsight and devastate Ino? He should have told her beforehand so she wasn't sitting in a room full of people.

He watched Inoichi move to leave the room, presumably to follow Ino, but Ashley grabbed his arm and said something to him quietly.

Oh, God, Ashley was going to try to talk to her instead. There was a zero percent chance this would go well. He and Chouji shared a look of horror, but both hesitated to move.

His mother and father had intercepted Inoichi and appeared to be congratulating and comforting him (though Shikamaru knew his mother would have plenty to say about the situation when she got home).

Shikamaru wondered if it was too late to stop Ashley from intervening. Nothing good could come from their interaction when Ino's emotions were so volatile. Their relationship remained relatively ambiguous, but Shikamaru knew how Ino got when she was hurt.

Giving Chouji one last hesitant look, he rose from his chair and moved toward the foyer where he'd seen Ashley disappear.

He watched Ashley try to intercept Ino as she rushed down the staircase with her overnight bag slung over her shoulder.

"Ino, honey, do you mind if we talk?"

Ino let out an indignant laugh as she made her way to the bottom of the stairs, where Ashley was lightly holding the banister.

"Look, Ashley, I wouldn't get too excited. Marriage doesn't mean much to him." Shikamaru rubbed a hand over his face in dismay and started to back away from the room. Now that it had begun, he did not want to get in the middle of this altercation.

"Ino, I'm really sorry. I know this is painful for you. I wish we had gone about all of this differently." Ashley said, sounding genuinely remorseful.

"Do you?? Because all of this was your choice. You chose to sleep with a married man. You chose to break up a family. Hell, you probably chose to put a hole in the fucking condom!" Ohhh boy…. Shikamaru grimaced as Ashley's face fell in horror. Ashley might have been shocked, but Shikamaru wasn't. Ino always went for shock value. Saying outrageous things for attention was her signature move.

"Ino, I know it seems like those were simple, easy choices, but really, it's so much more complicated than that."

"No, it's not! Sleeping with people is a choice!" Ino's voice was dangerous, and her eyes were full of virulence.

"I just—" Ashley sighed, struggling with the right words, "I think some of this might be too complicated to understand at fifteen. You'll understand one day."

Ino gaped at the woman in front of her, and Shikamaru could see the way she fumed at Ashley's unwitting yet sickly condescension.

"Actually, Ashley, I understand plenty. Maybe I'll go gain a little more 'understanding' right now." She tossed her hair over her shoulder, and for a millisecond, Shikamaru couldn't help but be enraptured by her ardent gaze, her flowing blonde hair as she shocked her future stepmother with her derisive declaration.

Ashley was speechless as Ino pivoted on her heels and walked toward the door. Hearing the commotion, Inoichi entered the room, calling Ino's name to delay her from walking out the doors. With one hand on the doorknob, Ino looked over her shoulder at her dad, "Enjoy your midlife crisis."

The door slammed behind her, and Ashley, Inoichi, and Shikamaru stood in silence. Shikamaru was trying to disappear into the dark hallway, hands stuffed in his pocket uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry, Ashley," Inoichi lamented, "I should go after her,"

"No, Baby, I'm so sorry. I should have just let you talk to her in the first place," Ashley murmured.

Despite his best attempts at becoming invisible, Shikamaru must have still been apparent to the eye because Inoichi looked up to him with a sigh. "Where do you think she's headed? That party?"

Shikamaru shrugged apprehensively and looked up at the troubled couple. "Maybe I should go— I can try to calm her down and try to bring her back to talk to you."

Perhaps realizing any altercation he had with her on the street would be unproductive, Inoichi nodded with a sigh.

"You guys should celebrate," Shikamaru forced a smile to his lips. "Ino will be fine. You know how she gets…"

Ino was furious—so angry that her vision blurred and her heart pounded—as she put distance between herself and the place that was feeling less and less like home.

She was livid with her dad. Incensed with Ashley and her patronizing words. The way she assumed Ino was too immature to understand sex.

Ino and her dad had always been close. He'd always doted on her and spoiled her. Until recently, she had kind of thought he could do no wrong. She hated that she knew better now.

She wondered if her dad would follow her. Part of her hoped he would. It was painful to think he'd choose to celebrate with Ashley while she was so upset.

Though, surely she had ruined his plans for celebrating. A small part of her gut twinged with guilt, but she hardly cared.

She was freezing, and her feet were killing her. Her Alice and Olivia dress and heels were inappropriate for December 31st in Konoha. Sure, she had grabbed a jacket, but her legs were completely bare. It would have been fine, but she had never actually intended to walk to Kiba's.

"Yo, Ino!" She heard Shikamaru's voice panting behind her. "Slow down!" He huffed as he finally caught up to her and was able to slow his pace.

She slowed modestly, not sure if she was glad he had caught up to her or not.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back and talk to your dad? It's kind of a big moment for him." Obviously, It was the wrong thing to say—very on-brand for Shikamaru. Ino glared at him with icy blue eyes.

"If you're just going to make me feel bad for being upset, then you can leave." She kept her voice monotone despite the pit in her stomach and her oppressive anger.

"No, Ino, sorry- I uh, I don't mean it like that. I just wonder if maybe Kiba's isn't the best idea right now?"

It probably wasn't. Ino knew that whatever partying she was hoping to do wouldn't be the gold standard for her mental health, but she really needed the distraction. AND it was New Years. She wouldn't back down on her plans just because she was upset.

She looked up at Shikamaru, allowing rare vulnerability to show. "If I go back now, I'm going to say awful things. I'm going to piss off my dad and make Ashley hate me. It's gonna mess everything up more than it already is. So either come with me or don't."

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, and Ino prayed he wasn't about to argue with her. Relief rushed through her when he simply nodded and pulled her against him, letting his arms wrap around her shoulders.

"Are you trying to get frostbite?" He muttered as she buried her face, soothed by his familiarity—his scent, his soft side he tried to hide with snarky comments.

Ino didn't answer. She was absolutely freezing but didn't want to admit storming out of the house was stupid.

"Come on," he said, tugging her in the opposite direction of the way she had been headed. "Let's get Chouji and Sasha and have one of the drivers take us. I'll convince your dad you need some space."

The moment Ino walked into the Inuzuka household thirty minutes later, she went to the kitchen to pour herself a drink. Bottles of alcohol various people brought were messily arranged on the counter, and she sifted through them for something more potent than the peach schnapps and Fireball in front.

She could feel Shikamaru's judgmental stare as she assessed her options. She knew he was about to lecture her and tell her that drinking wasn't going to help. Hooking up with someone random wasn't going to help.

"Please don't," she muttered, catching his eye as he looked like he was about to speak.

"Don't what?"

"Please just…. Let me have fun for the rest of the night. I don't want to think about any of it. I don't need you to babysit me."

She caught Shikamaru's scowl from the corner of her eye as she inspected a nearly empty bottle.

"Come on, Ino, don't do something stupid just to piss your parents off."

"I'm just trying to have fun. I wouldn't expect you to be familiar with the concept." Her words were icy, but she nudged his side with her elbow as she grabbed a bottle of tequila so he'd know there was no real venom behind them. "Go call your not-girlfriend and leave me alone." She bossed, walking out of the kitchen and swallowing as big a sip as possible. She was going to get good and drunk.

It didn't take long for the alcohol to do the trick. Her brain became delightfully fuzzy, and she was determined not to think about her dad or Ashley. She just needed to forget. To have fun. She was not going into the New Year feeling miserable.

One thing she had always liked about Kiba's parties was that there was a lot of space to spread out. A lot of people smoked and hung out on the sprawling patio behind his house. A more energized crowd could be found dancing to loud music in a sitting room with strobe lights. There was a basement with billiards and a ping pong table used mainly for beer pong or flip cup. There were guest bedrooms people could sneak off to hook up in, and there was plenty of space to lounge on sofas, get drunk and talk.

That was how she found her main group of friends. Naruto and Sasuke were sitting on a massive leather couch with two of her fellow cheerleaders, Karin and Madison. Another cheerleader, Sierra, lounged in an armchair, and Sakura was perched on the armrest. She was relieved to see Sakura and her other friends, but she made no move to mention her shitty night. She was resolved not to bring it up.

She could feel Chouji, Shikamaru, and Sasha eying her warily as they approached the same group of mutual friends, but she did her best to avoid their gazes.

Instead, Ino devoted herself to the familiar cause of becoming the center of attention and inciting drama.

They were talking about some show on Prime, and she would die of boredom if someone tried to explain the premise of a show to her. She chose to change the subject shortly after arrival.

"Sakura, who are you gonna kiss at midnight?" She asked suggestively, intentionally putting Sakura on the spot in front of all their friends.

To Ino's devastation, Sakura didn't even so much as blush. She just rolled her eyes at Ino's antics.

"No one."

"Oh, come on, forehead. You have to. You'll have a bad year if you don't."

"I've never kissed someone on New Year's before, and I'm doing just fine."

"Are you, though?" Ino asked, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of her friend. Unfortunately, it seemed like Sakura knew what she was up to and was purposely not reacting.

Ino looked at Sasuke deviously, "What about you, Sasuke? Who are you kissing?" He had seemed slightly less sullen than usual that night. She'd even heard him make a few snide jokes, which by Sasuke's standards was downright chipper.

He glanced at her as if her question was too stupid to warrant a response.

"Don't put Sasuke on the spot; he's probably never kissed a girl before," Kiba snorted, walking into their conversation and throwing one arm around Ino's shoulder and another around Sakura's.

Sasuke shrugged lazily, sipping his beer, "Guess you'll never know."

Naruto laughed obnoxiously and smirked at his best friend. "I know your first kiss." He wiggled his eyebrows in a manner so annoying it was like he was begging Sasuke to punch him.

Instead, Sasuke just rolled his eyes. Karin and another cheerleader gasped, pushing their way closer to Naruto. "Now you have to tell us," one of them whined. Ino's interest was piqued, given she had never heard anything about Sasuke hooking up with anyone.

"Why don't you ask Naruto who his first kiss was," Sasuke smirked. Naruto's face went blank briefly, and then he scowled.

"You're a bastard for bringing that up," Naruto pouted.

"Who was it?" Chouji pressed. Naruto grimaced, and everyone aside from Sasuke and Sakura looked puzzled. They had all gone to the same school before KPA, so Ino assumed it must have been someone from back then. Someone Naruto was not proud to admit, based on the look on his face.

"How am I a bastard for bringing up your first kiss when you brought up mine first?" Sasuke mumbled, taking a sip of his drink.

"Yours was a good person! I would have killed for mine to be Sakura!" Naruto gestured to Sakura wildly, allowing beer to slosh out of his cup. Everyone close enough to hear the conversation gasped.

"Sakura?!" "What?! "When?" Karin, Kiba, and Sierra were squawking, but Ino had already realized what story Naruto was talking about. Almost simultaneously, she and Sakura both yelled, "That doesn't count!"

Sakura blushed furiously but looked relaxed and laughed good-naturedly after glaring at Naruto.

"What do you mean it doesn't count? What happened?" Kiba pressed, as eager for more gossip as Karin and Sierra.

"We were little," Sakura explained, "and it was like half a second."

"And It was completely non-consensual," Sasuke smirked, nudging Sakura, who was covering her pink face with her hands in embarrassment

"Okay, I wasn't the only one that tried to kiss you," Sakura pitifully tried to defend her younger self.

"But you were the only one to get me sent home." Sasuke countered.

"You deserved it! You pushed me!" Sakura pouted.

"I barely touched you. I was literally just trying to get you off; you were just a crybaby."

"I was not!" Sakura shoved his shoulder in a way that was probably meant to be playful, but Ino knew Sakura was often stronger than she realized.

"That was literally harder than I pushed you, and you don't see me crying,"

"Okay, I'm confused… what actually happened?" Kiba asked, glancing between the bickering friends.

"All the girls were obsessed with Sasuke in elementary school. They'd chase him around and try to kiss him. Sakura succeeded once. He pushed her and ended up getting suspended for the rest of the day," Naruto explained while Sakura and Sasuke pretended to be mad at each other.

It was obvious to Ino that Sakura was eating up Sasuke's attention, and even Sasuke seemed more playful than genuinely annoyed.

"Ino definitely pulled something similar when we were little." Chouji laughed, giving Shikamaru a baleful look.

Shikamaru grimaced, "Yeah, I guess if we're counting non-consensual elementary school nightmares, Ino was technically mine."

Ino grinned and met Sasha's curious look, "I forced them to play wedding with me. I made Chouji walk me down the aisle. They tolerated it until I kissed Shikamaru, and then he cried."

Several people snickered, and Ino puckered her lips at Shikamaru teasingly.

"Troublesome," he mumbled under his breath

"Okay, it sounds like the moral of the story is that we need to ask before we kiss you guys," Sasha giggled, looking at Chouji.

"You all have my unconditional consent," Kiba winked, glancing pointedly at the girls around the circle, sipping his drink.

Ino brought her plastic cup to her lips, assessing her current level of intoxication. She could use one more drink. Then maybe she'd go after Kiba. He was an easy target. She'd kiss him at midnight, maybe get laid, and fall asleep with no thoughts about her dad and his slutty, knocked-up fiancée.

Kiba was aware his declaration was a bit hollow. He probably would kiss any of those girls, but he was coming to terms with a familiar prickle of fear every time he hooked up with a beautiful cheerleader.

He wasn't actually afraid of kissing them. He was afraid of the realizations that dawned on him every time he did.

He felt the unwanted pit in his stomach as Ino drew closer and closer to him the rest of the night. She brushed against him one too many times to be an accident. She giggled at his dumbest jokes and made comments that only he could hear.

He knew what she wanted, and he wanted to want it, too, because Ino was gorgeous. Undeniably stunning. Most guys wouldn't shut up about her, and here she was, offering herself to him.

It was the fact that she was so beautiful that scared Kiba the most. When he felt his attraction vacillate with another girl, he fixated on her flaws. Two weeks ago, when he made out with Chantel Michaels, he stared judgmentally at the skin tags clustered together on her neck. Those must have been why he wasn't into it. Who would want to feel up to a girl with those things all over her?

The time he'd made out with Ino, he'd felt mild relief when she ended up running away to puke up his father's finest liquor. He assured himself it was because he didn't want to have sex with someone so drunk and sloppy.

He had standards.

But here Ino was, practically glowing and emanating feminine appeal. It was just the two of them talking now. They were in a corner, and her manicured hand rested on his chest. Her blue eyes were sparkling at him, and she murmured at him with a sultry smile.

It was 11:53, and he knew they'd be hooking up soon.

He could do it. He always had.

It wasn't like he was completely unresponsive, but it bothered him that he was lukewarm when he should have been burning.

With someone as hot as Ino, he should have been on fire.

His body's half-hearted response was a betrayal he could rarely bring himself to acknowledge. It was a voice at the back of his head that threatened his identity and the future he'd always envisioned.

Growing up, Kiba had spent a lot of time alone or just with his sister. His parents went to ridiculous places for dog shows, leaving him and his sister at home. His parent treated their dogs like children and children like dogs.

Kiba did enjoy the freedom they gave him. They rarely harped on him about assignments. They didn't care if he had friends over or girls in his room. They turned a blind eye to all the parties he and his sister threw awhile they were gone. It was nice…. most of the time. The loneliness came less and less now that he boarded at KPA. Not seeing his parents often seemed normal.

Still, on the nights when his house felt entirely empty, he dreamed about having his own family one day. He imagined getting married to someone fiery and fun. Someone whose energy would fill the house. He didn't want a ton of kids, but more than his parents. Maybe 3 or 4. Enough to keep the house bustling.

Of course, they'd have dogs, too, but only one or two. He didn't need a whole pack like his parents. He wanted to give his future family more of his attention.

He'd envisioned his life like this for a long time. He'd meet a gorgeous girl—maybe in college. She'd be relaxed and sexy; maybe if he were lucky, she'd know how to play Call of Duty.

The slowly dawning realization that his future might not look how he'd always thought it would made Kiba feel sick. He tried to suppress the intrusive thoughts.

He tried to go after wild girls with long legs and short skirts. The girls he imagined himself with. The problem was, the more he kissed, the more he slept with, the more he realized he wanted something different.

There he was with the most gorgeous girl in the grade, and he didn't want her. He knew that meant something.

Normally, he'd sleep with her anyway, hoping to prove that little voice wrong. Sometimes, just the fact that he could reassured him. Tonight, though, he felt kind of sick because, if anything, sleeping with the hottest girl in the grade and not enjoying it would prove the voices right.

When Kiba made up some shitty excuse to check the music in order to extract himself, Ino felt his gentle rejection like a punch to the gut.

Kiba was rejecting her?

Kiba was rejecting her?

Had she ever seen him reject anyone's advances before? She didn't think so. Certainly, no one had ever rejected her before.

What was wrong with her??? She knew she looked hot; she checked her reflection constantly. Was it because of last time?

She was kind of loud and annoying sometimes? Was it her personality? Insecurity enveloped her like smoke, clouding her judgment and making it hard to think. Or maybe that was the alcohol.

It was 11:57, and she was alone.

Maybe another year, she could have adopted Sakura's careless attitude about the whole thing, but tonight, she needed luck on her side.

She couldn't go into the new year feeling desperate and broken and rejected and humiliated and depressed.

Ino poured herself a shot—she didn't even care what it was and looked around the room at viable candidates.

11:59.

Chouji was with Sasha. She couldn't even kiss him platonically if she wanted to.

Her heart clenched when she looked at Shikamaru. He was with Temari now.

It was unreasonable, but the sense of betrayal she had been fighting off since Thanksgiving assaulted her at full force. He was supposed to be there for her when she needed him. He was supposed to belong to her. It was just another rejection.

She couldn't spare more time to reflect on her bitterness and jealousy. People were counting down.

There was a moment when she saw Sasuke that she considered Sakura. Sakura liked him even if she wouldn't admit it.

If she hadn't been so drunk, maybe she would have thought about the repercussions.

If she hadn't felt so hurt, maybe she would have thought about her best friend's feelings.

If she had more than four seconds to decide, maybe she would have considered how Sasuke would react.

But she was drunk and hurt, and she had no time to think, so Ino didn't second guess herself. Instead, she approached Sasuke with one second to spare. He was caught off guard when she caught his arm to tug him closer. Her hand cupped his bicep, and her opposite arm wrapped around his neck so she could pull him down until his lips reached hers.

The look of surprise he gave her hardly mattered. The only thing that mattered was having someone to kiss at midnight

AN:

Oh Ino...

I'm honestly not sure how obvious Kiba's story is coming across? It's supposed to be a smidge ambiguous (I don't want it to come out of left field), but I can't tell if it's totally confusing or not.

Likes/ comments are always appreciated. If you've made it this far into the story, THANK YOU SO MUCH.