#reynwrites.naruto

KISS

SASUINO DAY 6: “Don’t pull away… not yet”

Ino doesn’t know whether to thank Naruto or not for her situation. It’s not a secret that she sorta-maybe has a crush on Sasuke, his best friend. And the ramen crazy idiot made it his life’s duty to help her out.

That’s what led them inside the closet for their 7 minutes in heaven after Naruto dared Sasuke to makeout with her.

She was torn between running away or hitting Naruto where it hurt the most. What if Sasuke drank instead of doing his dare with her?! That would’ve been so humiliating and something she couldn’t move on from.

To their surprise (minus Naruto, who grinned like a cheshire cat), Sasuke agreed after drinking his drink in one gulp.

Ino’s sure she didn’t drink, but she might as well have been drinking with how drunk Sasuke’s kisses make her feel. She would’ve fallen to the ground without his support with how fiercely he’s kissing her.

The need for air is great, so she pulls away. They’re both breathing heavily as they look at each other. Sasuke looked as drunk as she was as he closed the gap. "Don’t pull away..." Sasuke whispered hotly against her lips. "Not yet."

She’s lost in his kisses—her hand messing with his hair, his hand keeping her in place as he ravages her.

She snaps out of his kisses when she remembers the time limit.

"Wait-" Ino pulls away again. She’s sure her face is red. She fans herself. Is it her or is it hot? "That’s enough. I’m sure it's been 7 minutes already."

Sure enough, she hears hollering outside the closet where they waited for them to come out. Sasuke ignored them, however, and pulled her for another hot, passionate kiss. He placed his hand on the back of her head, keeping her in place as he kissed her more.

With his kisses, Ino is undone.

"Teme," she hears Naruto snickering. "Are you coming out or not? It’s 7 minutes in heaven, not 10 minutes in heaven."

They both ignored him this time.

Sasuke regretfully pulls away.

"Well?" She opened her eyes in a daze and found herself hypnotized by his eyes. "What do you think?"

"I want to do it again."

GLOMP

SASUINO DAY 3: Saccharine

The only warmth Sasuke felt after his family’s demise was Naruto and Sakura’s friendship, and Itachi poking his forehead one last time before he succumbed to his death.

The first one, he abandoned to become stronger. Much stronger to defeat his brother.

The second one, he lost when his brother died.

And if he were being honest, he would add that he felt warmth whenever a certain blonde kunoichi embraced him from behind. How could he not when there was no malice in them? No intention of hurting him?

But he always shrugged her glomps away, didn’t he? And he could always see the hurt on her face at his rejection.

At that time, it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered more than killing Itachi, who murdered their family. Then nothing mattered more than getting revenge on the person who made Itachi and the Uchiha clan suffer.

And now, nothing matters anymore. He has accomplished his goals. He has brought swift justice to those who hurt him and his brother. Nothing mattered now that he had finally accepted the warmth of his team’s friendship.

So why, he wonders, doesn’t Ino treat him like she used to? Why is he not the center of her affections? Why does she glomp on somebody else but him? Why does his heart hurt so much seeing her act that he doesn’t matter more than her love? Why can he feel as if he can’t breathe when he sees her with someone else?

Sasuke never knew he was a sentimental fool.

He watches as Ino hugs Gaara from behind in the same manner that she did to him before. The only difference is the reaction. Because, unlike him then, Gaara loves her glomps, adores them so much that he stops talking to Naruto altogether to smile at her, and she grins, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

"Why don’t you two lovebirds go on your way already?" Naruto teases when Gaara’s whole attention was on her. She laughed at her teasing, then stopped hugging him to let the two Kage talk, but Gaara already pulled her to his side as he smiled and apologized to Naruto.

He turns and walks away before they can see the anguished expression on his face.

That should’ve been him.

That should’ve been him receiving her love and attention.

If only she could look his way again, then he would do things differently.

FALL FROM GRACE

SASUINO DAY 4: Angel/Demon AU

Ino was taught from a young age that angels from grace all the time since the creation of the universe.

But why?

She finds herself asking and they always reply with the same thing. It’s just the way it is.

But no angel has fallen from grace for centuries, and no one will dare break that for fear of losing their beautiful wings.

"Listen, Ino. There are two ways for angels to fall from grace and lose their wings." His father said. "The first one is failing their assigned human intentionally, and the second is sleeping with our enemy."

"We have an enemy?" She asked, confused. They’re angels! Why do they have one?

"Yes, sweetheart. Demons are the opposite of existence, our enemies, and the ones we should avoid or kill at all cost."

"Why?"

"Because just the way it is. They tempt humans away from the path of God and cause our kind to fall from grace. They’re simply evil. That’s just the way it has always been and will continue to be."

"But they’re created by God, are they not?" She still doesn’t understand.

GUESS

SASUINO DAY 4: “Barely two words in and you already look like you want me dead.”

"Guess wh-"

Ino finds herself against the wall with the blade of a sword against the delicate part of her throat.

"Wow." she says, totally relaxed even when the mangekyo sharingan is on and the blade of his sword is against her throat. One wrong move and she could die. However, she doubts that Sasuke would accept that. "Barely two words in and you already look like you want me dead."

Sasuke relaxed his hold on his sword when he saw it was her, but didn’t step away from her.

"You should know, Ino, that sneaking up on someone while concealing your chakra is dangerous." He sheaths his sword.

She pouts. "I just wanted you to guess..."

Sasuke rolls his eyes, taking her hand to pull her to his side. As if he’s just going to let anyone aside from her touch him so comfortably.

LAUGH

SASUINO DAY 5: “I’ve never heard you laugh before.”

Ino blames her sensitivity for making her uneasy at a time like this.

She has always been a social butterfly, an extrovert capable of befriending anyone and everyone. She even became acquainted with Neji, the aloof cousin of Hinata, and Gaara, Naruto’s other best friend from another country.

So it bothers her that there’s someone she can’t befriend, and that person just happens to be her lab partner. Why did their lab teacher, Deidera, pair her, a chatterbox, with the least talkative guy in their class?!

She feels as if she did something wrong to him. With his gaze fixed on her face and his eyes following her every move, it's as if he's waiting for her to make a wrong move. He doesn’t even speak unless she talks to him, and she’d be lucky to hear more than a one-word reply.

Ino lightly pushes the microscope towards his direction. "Your turn."

She’s sure she got the answer right, but Sasuke might have had a different answer. She looks back as she waits for his verdict and catches Sakura’s gaze. Sakura pointed towards Sasuke with her lips and smiled at her to cheer her up.

Sakura knows that she feels like Sasuke dislikes her. Or worse, he hates her! But Sakura and Naruto have told her a bunch of times that he doesn’t, and didn’t the conversation just make everything confusing?

"I don’t think Sasuke hates you. He would’ve told you upfront if he did."

Which she quickly countered with, "But he hasn’t warmed up to me like he did with you guys."

"It takes years before he warms up to someone. Remember Karin?" Naruto chuckled. "She was close to tears most of the time ‘cause he just ignored her!"

"If you ask me, I’d say that Sasuke has a soft spot for you, right Naruto?" Sakura wiggles her brows at her.

"Yes! I can’t explain it, but it’s just in his actions, ye know? He doesn’t tolerate your presence like he does with other people. It’s like he’s okay with having you around!"

So he doesn't hate her, but why is he-why is he like this?!

"Next question." Her train of thought was interrupted when he gently pushed the microscope towards her and then proceeded to jot down their answer on the worksheet.

Sasuke inches closer to her to take a look at what she’s doing.

He’s too close!

She tries her best to ignore his proximity. She needs to start getting her shit together and stop acting so flustered around him!

Her eyes snapped up immediately when she heard a rich laugh come from the guy beside her. Her eyes widened in shock.

Sasuke’s lips quirk at the sight of her adorably doing her best.

"Did you just laugh?"

He shrugged, playing it cool. "I guess."

"I’ve never heard laughed before." she says, amazed. "Ever. I didn’t even know you were capable of laughing.’

He rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t look annoyed; he only looks amused. "I can, I just don’t find a lot of things funny like that idiot." He gestures towards his best friend in a carefree manner.

Her jaw dropped. Does that mean he found something funny while looking at her earlier? Did she look stupid? "Then why did you laugh just now?"

"Why don’t you find out?" he says with a lopsided smile, enjoying her reaction.

The bell rang before she could answer. Their teacher told them they’d continue the worksheet another day. Ino hurries off to go to Sakura and practically drags her to their table in the cafeteria. Once seated, she quickly relays what happened.

"I can’t believe he laughed!" Naruto, who tagged along with them, exclaimed while winding his arms around her. "I can’t believe you made him laugh!"

"Weren’t you listening?" She hisses. "He was making fun of me! I bet I look stupid. That’s why he laughed."

"I don’t think so." Sakura says, smiling as if she had figured something out.

"Ino," Naruto says her name in a sing-song manner. "The point is, he never laughs around people he doesn’t like or just other people in general."

Against her will, she blushed. Does that mean he doesn’t hate her as she thought? Maybe he sees her as his friend?

"Isn’t that a good thing, Pig?" Sakura nudges her side. "That just means Sasuke likes you."

CAKE

SASUINO DAY 3: BAKERY AU

Sasuke is exhausted. His bones are aching as he makes the walk to the busy street of Konoha. He looks at his phone and finds no text back from the person he’s been thinking about all week.

He and Naruto discovered the humble bakery on the busy street when he was running late to his mom’s birthday party. He had forgotten to buy her a present, and although he knew his mother would forgive him, he didn’t want to disappoint her, so he did his best to find the perfect gift.

It was purely by chance that Itachi sent him a text saying that the cake they ordered was not coming and so asked him if he could buy one on his way.

That’s when he saw the Yamanaka Bakery on the busy street of their town.

The cashier, a blonde woman who looked the same age as them, listened to his back and forth with Naruto on what was the best cake for his mother.

"I got the perfect one." the blonde winked. She went inside the store for awhile and returned with a box containing a chocolate cake engraved with elegant and simple decorations. "Tell your mother happy birthday for me."

His mother loved his gift and asked him where he got it. It led him to buy baked goods from the shop more often and led to a friendship with Ino, the owner and creator of the baked goods his family and him adore so much.

And weren’t they starting to teeter into a different territory when he asked Ino to be his plus one to a wedding and when Ino casually invited him to her birthday party four days ago?

Of course he would come, but alas, he was dragged against his will by his father to some faraway place to help with his campaign.

Maybe he was arrogant. He was sure that he would be back before her birthday, but campaigning took longer than he thought, and he didn’t get to send her a message because there was no signal at all.

He missed her already, and Itachi was quick to notice his worsening mood. When Itachi found out what was bothering him, he quickly arranged to have him sent home with the excuse of their mother missing him.

Which led to his quest to go to Ino. He dodges people as he walks faster. He pursues his lip when he found no reply from her still. He tried calling her, but she wasn’t answering.

He feels like he blew his chance of being with her, which added to his exhaustion. He feels so tired that he feels like he’s going to faint. He wants to sleep, and he will do just that.

His phone beeps with a message from Ino.

It’s okay, don’t worry about it. I’m still at the bakery. Are you coming or not?

But certainly not before spending time with Ino.

SWORD

SASUINO DAY 2: “Will we ever meet again? “Maybe in another life.” PROMPT

PAIRING: Orpheus! Sasuke x Eurydice! Ino

Sasuke found her while he was out on a mission with his friends to slay the sirens who lured sailors to their deaths.

He knew of the beauty of nymphs, but he was caught off guard when he came face-to-face with the loveliest of them all.

But it wasn’t her beauty that drew him to her.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, looking down at him from her perch on the tree. "Were you not going to slay those sirens?"

He followed her gaze and saw two sirens hiding from intruders. He scoffed. "I do not need you to tell me how to do my mission."

Instead of being put out by his attitude, she was challenged.

It started there. She loves challenges, and so does he, and they challenge each other in ways other people cannot.

Sasuke married Ino on their second summer together, even though the prophecy said that the marriage would not last. He scoffed because he had been forging his own destiny since he was little. He has no need for prophecies and neither do you believe in them.

Sasuke feels the happiest he’s been since the demise of his family.

Ino hands him a canteen of water after his sword practice, and he lightly places a kiss on her lips.

"Hmm..." she hums and opens her eyes. "How long is your mission this time?"

"3 days." He watches her face carefully for any signs of sadness.

His beloved never tried to stop him from doing anything, even at the cost of her sanity, and he tries not to upset her with his missions.

She breathes, standing up to embrace him. "Good. Teach me how to wield a sword when you come back."

He hugs her back. "You would not need to learn because I would be here to protect you, always."

Ino rolls her eyes, laughing, before sending him off with a smile and a wave.

Sasuke has a lot of regrets in his life. He wishes he could’ve shown his family that he mastered their signature sword style; he wishes he could have shown his brother his appreciation; and now he wishes he taught Ino how to wield a sword.

FIRST BURN

SASUINO DAY 2: ROYAL AU

Queen Tsunade has no biological children of her own, but she has two girls she treated and raised as her children.

From a young age, they were taught their duties to the Konoha. Ino's duty is to strengthen and support the kingdom and the queen. Sakura was taught about her responsibilities as Crown Princess and, eventually, Queen.

And Sakura knew from a young age that Sasuke, the son of one of their kingdom's most powerful families, would be her husband and King. His family's influence, status, and power are an asset to the royal family and befit the future queen.

When she sees her betrothed, Sasuke, for the first time, she falls in love, but Sasuke doesn’t like her despite their engagement. In fact, he doesn’t like a lot of people. He likes only his brother and, to some extent, Naruto.

But no matter, he will grow to love her too.

However, despite her attempts to make him fall, he never did, and she knows why.

From the start, she already knows that the one who captured Sasuke’s heart is not her, the Crown Princess, but Ino. The Second Princess.

She sees the way Sasuke looks at Ino like she's his lifeline, as if he's a ship lost in the sea and she's the light house.

And she sees the way Ino looks at her betrothed, too.

On her order, the attendant wordlessly handed over the letters Sasuke had sent to Ino.

Dearest Ino,

I have thought of you as annoying and unworthy, but despite this, I’ve grown to love you. I love you and chose you despite my status, my duty, my responsibilities.

If you choose me too, meet me by the flower field you love so much.

Always yours,

Sasuke

She burns the letter along with all the others, and when Ino wakes up to find her wiping her tears, she doesn’t tell her about the letters.

Sasuke must be part of a scheme to sow tension between her and Ino. Sakura thinks as dark thoughts about Ino threaten to overcome her.

Sakura knows of the whispers, of touches against skin, of promises.

But Sakura knows that Ino would never betray her, would never break her heart, so she watches as Ino breaks theirs.

Her wedding is the biggest celebration of the year. Her to-be husband is the most handsome groom of all, and she is the most beautiful bride.

But Sasuke may just be blind, for his eyes only see Ino.

Ino, always Ino. His Ino.

"I am your husband, but make no mistake. I only see her and I only love her." he says when she suggests that they consummate their marriage.

As if she would think otherwise.

Ino's betrothal to Konoha's long-standing ally, the Sand, is one of the largest celebrations in their Kingdom.

Sasuke avoided her like the plague when the news broke. She knows he will never forgive her for this betrayal. For sealing away his beloved's fate, for sending Ino away to the Sand, and for not being Ino.

Sakura takes a deep breath. Sasuke betrayed her first by not loving her, by choosing Ino despite their marriage, and by still pining after Ino even when she bore him a child.

Everyone's eyes are on Ino when Sasuke asks for her hand to dance, and she sees the slight panic in Ino's eyes when she looks at Gaara and sends her a look of pleading.

Sakura didn't heed her look of help.

She can give this to her husband. This small moment of reprieve.

Even so, she grips the wine glass tightly when Ino agrees to Sasuke's request out of duty and, if Sakura squints, out of love.

It was an open secret that Sasuke never wanted her. It was no secret that Ino avoided Sasuke like her life depended on it after their marriage a year ago. Nobody said it out loud; they could only whisper about how great the two looked and how they could have been happy without her interference.

Sasuke’s arms are around Ino’s waist as he guides her through the dance floor. He looks at Ino in the eyes, never shying away. While Ino tries to be casual despite the intensity of Sasuke's gaze. Ino's betrothed, Gaara of the Sabaku Kingdom, watches Ino intently, and Sakura knows jealousy and possessiveness when she sees it. That’s what she sees in her eyes every day when she looks at the mirror, and that’s what she sees whenever Sasuke sees Ino and Gaara together.

Sakura feels sick, and she’s thankful when the attendant gives her Sarada, who feels restless because of the crowd.

She lets the whispers and her child’s cries drown her.

She’ll let them have this moment because tomorrow, tomorrow, Ino will finally be gone and Sasuke will finally be hers.