Sasuke
Ino One shots!
Sasuke
“Please live a long life... I’ll be watching all of you from up there with my father, Neji and the others.”
.....
“Until next time..”
--Ino’s POV--
I had a dream. A dream that showed me everything everyone needed to know. A dream that showed their future, of what they’ll become.
I saw it all at once. It was too much to handle. The blood, the screams of agony, their horrified eyes. It was unbearable.
And I was 7 when I dreamt these.
I had woken up that day, sweating so much. I cried for a good hour before preparing myself for the academy. I dared not to even look at my crush, it would just make it worse. Everyone had stared at me the whole day.
The dream I had didn’t stop flashing through my mind.
~~~~
We were having our classes, yet the stares and gossips were still there. I had enough. I stood up with my eyes burning in fury, I faced them and yelled, “STOP STARING AT ME!” I wasn’t able to hold it back. My tears flowed.
I stormed out of my classroom, ignoring all of their shouts. Iruka-sensei eventually caught up when I was slowly falling unconscious. He was the one who carried me to the hospital.
When dad had asked me what happened, I didn’t dare to answer. I kept my mouth sealed, and I regretted it.
I stayed in the hospital for two days. I was discharged afterwards.
I continued going to the academy.
Days had passed, and my classmates started becoming suspicious of me. My friends had approached me one day, and asked what was wrong. I told them to leave me alone with a cold tone.
And they did.
One by one, I was getting approached. Even my ex-bestfriend. I gave them all the same cold treatment.
They didn’t bother me after.
2 weeks later, I was suddenly approached by the Uchiha. “Why did you suddenly started avoiding me?” he asked. I didn’t dare look at him. “Nothing” I responded and was about to walk away, when he spoke again, “Don’t get any ideas. I just wanted to know why”
Another week later. It happened. My worst nightmare happened.
When I heard the news, I was instantly on my feet, sprinting towards the Uchiha compound.
I watched the place in horror. Ninjas were all scattered, investigating. Bodies were covered and carried away. But the blood remained.
My head started pounding. The nightmare flashed through my mind.
I screamed.
After the Uchiha massacre, I started blaming myself. It was all my fault.
I couldn’t stop myself from flinching when I’m near the last Uchiha. When he’s near me, I immediately stay as far away from him as possible, when we make eye contact, I’d quickly look away. When we’re partnered in a project, I would make lots of excuses on why it isn’t a good idea to partner the two of us.
Iruka-sensei would always agree. But then one day…
“Ino, I don’t know why you suddenly started not wanting to be Sasuke-kun’s partner. But this time, I won’t buy your excuse, the two of you are partners for today’s project. No objections.”
I sat as far from him as possible.
“Yamanaka, how are you supposed to help if you’re sitting from there?” he spoke. “Y-you can just give me the questions and I’ll answer them.”
He did as I said so. Thank goodness.
Even when I wanted to stay as far from the Uchiha as possible, I wanted to atleast do something, give him something maybe? So, I had picked a sunflower that day, put it in a vase and offered it to him. He didn’t accept it. It was expected.
We finally graduated. And thankfully, I’m not on the same team as him.
After successfully finishing a mission, I decided to head to a quiet place to relax my mind. The place I headed to, is a field, filled with all kinds of flowers.
I took off my sandals and laid on the grass. ‘It’s been 5 years since that day.’
“I’m sorry..” I sobbed.
“Oh” hearing a voice, I quickly wiped the tears off my cheeks and sat up. I turned to see the last person I wanted to see.
“I-I’m going” I stammered and started putting my sandals on, but he was in front of me in an instant, my wrist in his hand. “I want to talk to you”
“What about?”
He sat beside me and stared at the flowing river. “Five years ago. You suddenly started avoiding me. I was surprised at first, but then thought of the possibility that maybe it’s just a plan to grab my attention.”
“You still continued. But I didn’t care. And as it continued, I was starting to grow curious. Last year, I started paying more attention to you, and told myself to approach you and ask. You, avoiding me, just made everything feel weird.”
“So, I want to ask. Why are you avoiding me?” he wasn’t disappointed, he was just curious. It just bugged him to no end. When he finally gets the answers he needed, nothing will change. His view of me, won’t change.
“Things.. things happened.” was my response. It was short. I wanted to keep it short.
‘I had a dream..’
“Things?”
“Yes”
‘I dreamt of your clan’
“And?”
“I.. can’t tell”
‘Getting massacred’
“Be specific, Yamanaka.”
“I..”
‘By your one and only brother’
“I’m sorry!!” I broke down. I broke down in front of theUchiha.
‘And it’s my fault that your clan got massacred. My fault for not informing you, for not informing my father’
“I’m sorry…”
'He left the village. And it’s my fault.'
“Dad…”
The war finally ended. Everyone’s getting back up once again.
I was on my way to visit dad’s grave when a ninja appeared beside me. “The hokage called for you” I nodded and changed directions. ‘I’ll visit you later, Dad’
~~~~
I opened the door and was surprised to see Naruto and Sasuke-kun. “You called for me, Hokage-sama?”
“Oh yes” he replied.
“I’m actually sending you three in a mission” after hearing this, I immediately spoke.
“Why not Sakura?”
“Actually, your clan’s technique is needed in this mission” I nodded in response.
“You’re going to look for a man named Fuji. This guy holds important information, which isn’t written in a scroll. That’s why you’re needed Ino. Fuji has companions, they all hold great power, don’t underestimate them. Sasuke and Naruto, protect Ino at all costs. Sasuke, you’re the captain. You’re going to depart in an hour. Dismiss”
“Hai”
~~~~
“Woah, isn’t this your first time going on a mission with Sasuke, right Ino?” Naruto asked as we exited the building.
“Yeah..”
“And we rarely go on a mission together too. This is going to be awesome! I can’t wait to kick some butts!” he exclaimed.
I only nodded to let him know that I was listening.
I created a huge space between me and the two as they started talking to each other in a low voice.
“I’ll see you guys later” I told them and immediately left.
~~~~
After preparing my backpack, I headed straight to the graveyard.
“Dad, I’ll be gone for a few days. I’m on a mission with Naruto and Sasuke-kun. I promise I’ll come back as soon as possible. Love you Dad”
~~
“Let’s goo!!!” the journey started.
The sun started setting, so we decided to camp. After setting the tents and putting a fire, we started eating our packed dinner. Sasuke-kun and I ate silently, while the other blonde wanted to hold a conversation as soon as possible.
“Oh! Um… Ino, I’ve been wanting to ask you something for so long”
“What is it?”
“Uhh… you.. you just changed, and I want to know why, dattebayo”
I slightly choked, but continued finishing my food as if nothing happened.
I stood up, “I’m finished. I’m on watch after Sasuke-kun right? Goodnight you two”
~~
“Ino.. it’s been years.. just tell them” I murmured as I closed my eyes. A tear slowly escaped.
~~
“I just want to know what happened..”
“Ask her after the mission. You’re going to distract her”
“Right… But Sasuke, aren’t you curious as well?”
“..I actually approached her a few years ago, when we were 12.”
“Really!?”
“Hn. I just wanted to know why she had avoided me, “Things happened” was her reply. That was all the answer I got from her.. she also cried that day, I didn’t know why. I didn’t bother her afterwards.”
“Something must’ve happened… Ne, why do I feel like she’s hiding something from us?”
“Isn’t that already obvious?”
“W-what do you mean!?”
“Naruto, everyone noticed. Everyone believes that she’s hiding something”
“T-then, why aren’t they doing anything?”
“She’s not doing something wrong, is she? They’re giving her time.”
“Oh…”
“Go to sleep now, dobe”
"W-wait, what did you do when she cried!? Did you comfort her!?" Naruto's question was left unanswered.
“So that’s him?”
“Yes…”
“Yamanaka, I want you to stay hidden, Naruto and I will handle them. I’ll give you a signal for your entrance, got it?”
“…hai” The two leapt out from the bushes. I stayed hidden as instructed, but as I watched them fighting, I can’t help but feel useless.
It's been 30 minutes. The two took down 10 of Fuji’s companions, there are 11 of them left, Fuji included.
They took down five more, but they were starting to show some weakness. ‘They can’t go on like this.. the enemies are truly powerful. I need to help them’
I waited for an opportunity to control one of them. I was about to release the jutsu when a scream echoed, I looked for the source and was horrified.
Sasuke-kun was stabbed in the back with two big swords. ‘What should I do!?’
Fuji, who watched the fight with a poker face, caught my attention. ‘I need to do it now..’
I formed the hand seals, and released the jutsu. I successfully invaded his mind.
I broke the jutsu when I heard Naruto’s scream. ‘I need to hurry’.
I tore my eyes away from the battlefield. I grabbed a scroll and ink, and started writing down every information I collected. I was done in 10 minutes.
I jumped out of my hiding spot, expecting to help the two, but it was all over. All enemies laid on the ground, unmoving. I quickly approached the two.
“INO! Sasuke’s bleeding!” Naruto cried. I crouched beside the Uchiha and started performing medical jutsu. I avoided his gaze as much as possible.
I was slowly losing hope. Sasuke-kun lost a huge amount of blood and he was also running out of chakra.
I sealed the wound, successfully stopping the blood flow, but he needs chakra. He’s really pale.
‘Naruto’s low on chakra too… it’s all on you now, Ino’
I smiled as the thought of saving him is possible. I started transferring chakra.
‘Atleast I’m going to die a hero…’
“Naruto, do me a favor please”
“W-what can I do!?”
“Hold Sasuke-kun down to stop him from squirming. But don’t go too hard” he nodded and did as I told.
The color on his face started coming back.
“Yamanaka stop!” Sasuke-kun protested. He knew what I was doing. He was about to grab my wrist, but I quickly ordered Naruto to stop him.
“OI! Are you crazy!?” I ignored him.
“Naruto! What are you doing!? Stop her, she’s going to kill herself!”
I can feel it. I’m weakening. Just a little more and you’ll be fine, Sasuke-kun. I have a debt, and I’m paying it, this isn't enough, but it will do.
“Naruto, Sasuke-kun. I want you to listen.” The two went silent.
“The reason I changed.. It all started with a dream I had. I was seven when I dreamt of the Uchiha clan getting massacred by your brother.. that dream happened before the massacre, so I ignored it. But I still couldn’t help but look away as soon as possible when our eyes make contact.”
“I started blaming myself when it truly happened. I quickly ran towards the compound when I heard the news… I was devastated, depressed, guilty. If I had warned my father about it, maybe it could’ve been avoided.”
“I only got the courage to say it today.. on my dying moment. I’ll gladly accept your resentment and hatred. It was all my fault anyway…” I coughed.
“Ino! Y-you need to stop now!” Naruto was in tears, he finally let go of Sasuke-kun, I was now the one he's stopping from continuing the jutsu. ‘But I finally did it anyway. Sasuke-kun’s okay now.’ I smiled bitterly.
Sasuke-kun is still silent as he sat up and stared at me. I cried as I saw no signs of hatred in his eyes, instead, they showed worry. Naruto made it all worse by hugging me.
“Don’t leave us! Please don’t!”
‘I’m very sorry Naruto’
I felt him pulling away. No, that’s a mistake. Someone pulled him away. The next thing I knew, I was wrapped in my long-time crush's embrace.
“W-why?”
“It wasn’t your fault, so don’t blame yourself. Ino.. I’m really mad.” His voice croaked. This is the first time, I’ve ever seen this side of him.
“I know, and you have all the right to-“
“No. I’m not mad because of that. I’m mad because you’re very selfish and selfless.” I cried even harder as I finally wrapped my arms around his torso.
Naruto joined us in our embrace.
The moment was broken by my violent coughs. Blood started coming out of my mouth. In a matter of seconds, I was carried, bridal-style.
I instantly bit Sasuke-kun’s arm and managed to stop him from continuing his run. “Yamanaka!”
“There’s no hope for me… don’t waste your time..”
“STOP BEING STUBBORN!”
“NO! YOU STOP BEING STUBBORN! I’M DYING SASUKE-KUN! I DON’T WANT TO DIE IN A HOSPITAL! AND I HAVE SOME THINGS LEFT TO SAY-“ I coughed, “So please, do me a favor and put me down”
He reluctantly complied. He held my back to keep me sitting.
I grabbed the scroll that contains information and handed it to them. “You can’t go home failing your mission, right?” I chuckled as they stared at me in shock.
‘Everything’s.. starting to blur..’
“Sasuke-kun, Naruto.. please live a long life.. tell everyone that, especially my mother and teammates.. and Forehead. I’ll be watching all of you from up there with my father, Neji and others.”
I was about to close my eyes when I remembered something. I grabbed another scroll and handed it to the Uchiha. “My gift for you” he took the scroll with a smile I’ve never seen in my entire life. Sasuke Uchiha just smiled, genuinely.
‘I guess I’m literally going to visit you, dad’
“Happy birthday, Sasuke-kun” I smiled.
‘Live a long life’
--Sasuke’s POV--
‘She’s gone…’
I stared at her unmoving body with sorrow. I can’t believe that those are her last words.
'A greeting as your last words..'
' Naruto cried for a few minutes while hugging her body.
~~
“Let’s go. We need to give her a proper burial”
“Hn”
News spread about the Yamanaka’s death. Everyone became more depressed. A special kunoichi just passed away. Everyone was informed of the cause of her death. I made sure they knew.
~~
I stared at the picture placed above her coffin. A lot of people are here, attending her funeral. The Kazekage and his siblings, and the Raikage and his brother and other ninjas that came from other villages are here. My eyes landed on her teammates who are in front, placing flowers. 'Those two.. have gone through so much'
After the funeral, I went straight to the compound to check what the gift was.
It was a sunflower and the same vase she tried to give me years ago.
“Ino… thank you.” A tear slowly escaped my eye.
“Until next time..”