Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Roles We Play ❯ Roles We Play part 1 ( Chapter 1 )

05-24-05

“The Roles We Play”

By: DarkSeductress

Summary: (AU) Temari, Hinata, and Ino have formed a trinity of friends. Each with a role to be played to support the others. Now Ino wants to bring Sakura in on this trinity and Temari isn’t sure she likes Sakura or the idea.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Naruto.

Warnings: Mentions or hints at homosexuality. Profanity. Mentions of past drug use. Alcohol usage.

Pairings: Temari/Itachi, Hinata/Neji, Sasuke/Naruto, slightly Ino/Sakura

Author’s Note: This story is primarily about friendship between friends and relying on your friends for strength and ultimately realizing everyone has a role to play in each friend’s life.Keep in mind, this story is an alternate universe fic (taking place in modern times), meaning Itachi never murdered the Uchiha clan. Therefore Sasuke has no reason to be angsty.

Author’s Note 2: And yes, I know the Temari/Itachi pairing is random but I wanted to try something different. A more lengthy explanation is posted on my livejournal: http ://www. livejournal. com/users /darkemptyheart/1046.html

This was intended to be a oneshot but because of the length, it’s been split in 2 parts.

         &n bsp;  Temari used the pitcher of beer to fill another mug for her and Hinata. Ino was busy dancing on the bar. Didn’t really matter, Ino didn’t like beer but she loved tequila. There was one half -full bottle sitting on the table to attest to that fact.

             Hinata gave Temari a silent thank you as they continued to watch Ino throw her arms around in the air and thrust her hips to Got the Life by Korn. That just proved even more, Ino could dance to just about anything with a half bottle of tequila in her gut. Temari smirked as she let her eyes outline the shape of Ino’s body and thought it was damn shame she, herself, didn’t happen to be a lesbian...She could teach Ino a few things. Temari continued to smirk as she glanced over to Hinata, who she knew was having thoughts along the same lines. Their eyes met. Temari grinned. Hinata blushed and started to giggle.

          &nbs p; “Too bad, huh...” Temari grinned with a slur.

             “Yeah...too bad...” Hinata giggled. Her stutter was noticeably absent.

          &nbs p; The song in the club had changed to Goodies by Ciara and now Ino was dancing around the pole on the bar. Hinata started full out laughing as she watched Ino grind against the pole. Ino could be such an all out freak. Temari shook her head before pouring more beer in her mug.

           & nbsp;Maybe her and Hinata should join her. Temari smirked. That would be funny. She remembered the last time that happened. It had turned into some sort of twisted contest, where a lot of clothes had ended up missing. Maybe they shouldn’t join her. Temari didn’t feel like losing any clothes and she didn’t want to have Gaara carry her home.

             As Temari continued to watch Ino with the guy that had now joined her, she mused on how all of them danced. Ino seemed to have some wild, primal energy swirling around her. She was carefree with her dancing. Hinata was more innocent and restrained but deliberate. She picked her movements carefully for sensuality, to entice someone. Temari knew her own dancing was purely sexual. Her brother Gaara had glared at her once and said she looked like she was fucking someone and to stop. So Temari guessed her dancing was kind of forceful and carnal and purely sexual. Hey, she liked sex.

           & nbsp;Ino had let her hair down and was grinning at the poor bastard trying to keep up with her grinding. Hinata had a hand up to her mouth, trying to stifle giggles. The guy didn’t have a chance of keeping up with her or even fucking her. Ino happened to be bisexual but at the moment she was partial to the female population.

             Temari started to think like an outsider: what the hell did a bitch, a part-time dyke, and a weak heiress have in common? They were so opposite.

          &n bsp; Temari knew she was a bitch. She liked to speak her mind. She didn’t care about insulting people. She wasn’t easily bristled. She loved a good fist fight with a girl or guy.

           & nbsp;Ino was the part-time dyke and Temari wasn’t sure if it was just a passing phase or the real thing. Ino was constantly changing, not because people wanted her to but because she liked change. She had a problem with authority. She had a problem with conformity. She was easily bristled. She didn’t love to argue but felt she always had to defend herself, so ended up in some sort of fight most of the time.

             Hinata was the weak heiress of a powerful business empire. She didn’t like to argue or fight or any sort of confrontation. She liked to pick and choose her battles because when she had to fight, she liked to win. She wasn’t ruthless. She didn’t enjoy hurting anyone’s feelings or take solace in someone else’s pain. She hated change, simply because that was what people had asked of her from the moment she was born. She was terribly shy. She blushed a lot and couldn’t control her stammer.

          &nb sp; But unlike an outsider, Temari also saw other parts of them.

             Even though she was a bitch, she still had feelings and sometimes the ice queen did cry in the arms of her two friends. Ino would always come to her defense and plot revenge in her behalf. Hinata reminded her that it was okay to cry and show emotion. Hinata had once told her it was okay to stop being a goddess for once and join the mere mortals. Ino had laughed at how uncharacteristically satirical Hinata had sounded. Temari herself couldn’t help laughing at that through tears.

            ; Even though, Ino liked change, she hated herself for constantly changing. Ino also never believed a thing she ever said in her own self-dense and wished she could be normal. Hinata always reminded Ino of how beautiful she was and how it took a strong person to understand change and truly want it and how everyone had self-doubts. Temari wasn’t too good at the comfort thing but she always tried to reassure Ino of how much power and strength she had. She once told her the power of change is so strong because it resonates through the changer to the rest of the world. Temari just hoped Ino would understand and never stop changing.

          &n bsp; Even though, Hinata was weak and hated confrontation or to cause another pain, she secretly wished she could be strong enough to spitefully hurt someone and hated her selfishness. She hated her stutter and blush because to her they were signs of weakness. She hated the fact that people walked over her. Ino would tell Hinata that strength is not gained through the pain of others but through the happiness of others and being able to sacrifice and help someone else was the most powerful asset Hinata would ever need. When Hinata would cry and berate herself, Temari always tried her best to build her back up. Temari wouldn’t hold her because that wasn’t her thing but she’d remind Hinata of all her accomplishments and once even told Hinata how sometimes she wished she were her. How she wished she had the strength to walk away from a fight once. Hinata hadn’t really believed her and Temari knew she probably never would but it was true and she knew it lurked in Hinata’s mind sometimes when she felt herself weak for not fighting.

          &n bsp; This lead Temari to wonder what sort of friend this Sakura chick would be. Temari frowned. Ino seemed pretty adamant about Sakura meeting all of them. Ino seemed convinced that they would like this changed Sakura. From what Temari knew of her, she wasn’t too fond of her and doubted she’d ever like her. And from what she had learned from Hinata after her and Ino had finished arguing, Sakura wasn’t top on Hinata’s list either.

          &nbs p; Hinata had told Temari, it wasn’t that she didn’t like Sakura, it was just that she didn’t like people who traded their friends for a guy, who didn’t like anyone and was now decidedly gay. Temari had learned that Sakura and Ino had been best friends before their little trinity. Ino had took up for Sakura and protected her from bullies. Ino had got her ass kicked many times for Sakura’s sake, from what Hinata had said. They were really close up until Sasuke Uchiha entered the picture. It seemed once Sakura found out Ino liked Sasuke just as much as her, Sakura was quick to break off the friendship. It had clearly devastated Ino, even though she tried not to show it. After the conversation, it was clear that Sakura’s actions had left a sour taste in Hinata’s mouth.

            ; It had angered Hinata so much, that she had confronted Sakura. Something Hinata was both proud and embarrassed about. The conversation had filled Temari and Ino with chuckles and smirks.

          &nbs p; “I-I never told anyone this. B-but I attacked Sakura for what she did.” Hinata had stated quietly.

         &n bsp;  “You WHAT?” Ino had shrieked in shock.

         &nbs p;  Temari had merely raised an eyebrow and wondered if there was more to Hinata than anyone would ever know.

           ;  “I-I didn’t intend to. I-I just meant to ask her w-why she hurt your feelings.” Hinata blushed.

         &n bsp;  “So what happened?” Temari smirked as Ino continued to stare at Hinata with her mouth slightly agape.

         &nbs p;  “W-well...” Hinata looked down at her hands. “The day after I-I found out what happened, I-I went to Sakura’s house. I-I asked her why she stopped being f-friends with you for S-Sasuke...and she g-got angry and said ‘why not’. Th-then she called Ino a p-pig that didn’t deserve Sasuke-kun. W-when I thought about all the nice stuff y-you had done for her...I-I got so angry I-I attacked her.”

          ;   Temari smirked.

         &n bsp;  While Ino went from shock to amusement and started laughing, “So that’s why she had that black eye and you had a busted lip that day?”

          ;   Hinata looked up with a sheepish grin, “Y-yeah...”

        ;     Temari started to chuckle as Ino pulled the blushing Hinata into a hug. 

       & nbsp;    So if Sakura had angered Hinata to the point that she wanted to hurt her, Temari wasn’t sure she cared for Sakura’s character too much. Temari was broke out her thoughts by Hinata poking her arm.

           & nbsp;“What?”

         ;    “I still don’t think Sakura coming here is a good idea.” Hinata stated quietly.

          &nb sp; “No. Not if you’re going to attack her again.” Temari smirked.

          &nb sp; Hinata blushed, “I’m serious. What...if she hurts Ino again?”

         &nbs p;  Temari noticed even though Hinata’s words were just as slurred as her own, her stammer was absent.

          &nbs p; “We’ll whip her ass together this time.” Temari stated, her smirk absent.

          &nbs p; “But Ino likes her....You know like...she wants to fuck her....like her.” Hinata giggled.

          &nb sp; “Kinda of figured that. The way she always talked about her and stuff. Thought I was the only one to notice.” Temari chuckled.

          &n bsp; Hinata blushed and placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle as Ino made her way back over to the table.

            ; “Welcome back, whore.” Temari smirked.

          &nb sp; “Thank you, bitch.” Ino grinned back pouring herself a mug of beer. “I really think Naruto should quit his night job, his dee-jaying really sucks ass.”

             “I don’t know why you complain...Naurto-kun always plays everything you like....no matter how weird it is...” Hinata smiled.

          &nbs p; “Yeah, but he doesn’t mix it right!” Ino exclaimed before chugging on her beer.

             Hinata shook her head as Naruto began to mix Push It by Garbage into Tipsy by J-Kwon. Ino was right, poor Naruto was definitely lacking in mixing department.

             “You’re right.” Hinata snickered after a moment.

          &nbs p; “So, has Sakura showed up, yet?” Ino tried to sound nonchalant but Temari and Hinata could both see she was anything but that.

             “No. Maybe she’s not coming...” Temari shrugged, not even trying to sound disappointed.

         &nbs p;  Ino frowned, “But she said she was...”

         &nbs p;  “Well...” Hinata stated her face turning red. She was about to burst into laughter, “Like, Neji says, ‘it must not be fate’s will’ for you to see her.”

             Ino gave her a half-hearted glare, “That’s not funny and totally tactless.”

         & nbsp;  At that Hinata burst into giggles, “Well, it’s not like you don’t know how we feel about her.”

             “Well, you both could use a little fucking tact...Shit...” Ino muttered.

          &n bsp; “Tact?” Temari wondered with a smirk. “Do you have any idea what the fuck that is, Hinata?”

         &nb sp;  “No!” Hinata convulsed in laughter.

          &n bsp; “Fuck you both.” Ino glared.

          &nbs p; “Bet you want to, Miss Dyke of the year.” Temari grinned. She soon found herself ducking from a napkin dispenser.

          & nbsp; “I expect this shit from you, Queen Bitch, but from Hinata...” Ino feigned hurt and disgust as Hinata continued to giggled.

          &nb sp; Ino poured another mug of beer as the laughter died down. 

             “I don’t remember you paying for that beer.” Hinata stated pulling the pitcher to her side of the table.

            ; “No. But I don’t have anyone to do body shots with....unless you want to volunteer?” Ino grinned with satisfaction as Hinata blushed and gave her a glare.

            ; Temari rolled her eyes, “Damn drunks...”

         & nbsp;  Silence reigned with an occasional chuckle or giggle from Ino and Hinata.

          &nbs p; “So...” Ino wondered suddenly, “You guys will be nice to her when she arrives?”

         &n bsp;  “Don’t you mean if she arrives? And it’s not me, you’ll have to worry about.” Temari shot a pointed smirk at Hinata.

          &nbs p; “Hinata? You can let the past rest, right? Sakura really means a lot to me and I really want her to feel welcome. You can be nice, right?” Ino pleaded.

          &nb sp; At Ino’s last comment Temari started cackling. Hinata not being nice? Hinata could probably be pleasant to Satan if ever given the chance.

          &nbs p; Hinata gave an indignant huff, “You act as if you don’t know me at all, Ino....”

         &nb sp;  “Hinata, we all know how sweet you can be but we also all know how bitchy you can get after you’ve had a few drinks....and as I can see, you and Temari have drained two pitchers and are working on a third.” Ino smiled.

          &nbs p; Temari grinned, “She’s right. You do turn to a real bitch when you get drunk.”

         &nbs p;  “I am not a bitch! I’m an angel!” Hinata raised her voice a little and tried her best to look innocent.

          &n bsp; “Save it for someone who doesn’t know....” Ino laughed as Hinata pouted. “But you guys will be nice, right? Temari, you promise not to instigate anything or help Hinata and Sakura into a bitch fest?”

           ;  Temari sighed, “Fine, whatever. Rob me of all my damn fun.”

             Ino smiled at them with relief, “Thanks.”

        &n bsp;   “Save your thanks for when this charade is over and you have proof that no one has been hurt....” Temari muttered darkly.

          &nbs p; Ino glared, “Temari..”

        & nbsp;   “I promised I’d try. Ask for more and you’ll be so-s.....Damn it...I can’t talk...What’s the word, Hinata?”

         &nb sp;  “Sorely disappointed?” Hinata finished.

          &n bsp; “Yes! That! You’ll be that.” Temari smiled triumphantly.

         &nbs p;  Ino rolled her eyes. If Sakura had come earlier there could have been hope, hope that Hinata and Temari would try to be nice but now...Hinata was so blasted all the precious decorum she learned from her family had banished....and Temari was beyond censoring the words that came out of her mouth.

            ; Ino’s settling melancholy was interrupted by one sober-looking Sasuke Uchiha looming over their table.

            ; “Hi, Sasuke-chan!” Hinata smiled cheerfully.

             Sasuke rolled his eyes as he pushed her over and slide into the booth. Then he drawled, “Are you purposely trying to piss me off by calling me that? Or are you just so fucking drunk, you don’t care?”

           ;  “I just love the way he drawls...” Hinata blushed aloud, “Oops...You heard that, didn’t you?”

             Sasuke raised an eyebrow, “I’ll be sure to tell Neji that.”

           ;  “Yeah, anyway....You need to get your husband some courses on how to properly mix music.” Ino smirked.

          &nb sp; “It’s life-partner...” Sasuke ground out between his teeth, wondering why in the hell he even ventured over into the 7th ring of hell.

             “Same difference to me.” Temari smirked. “Hey, Ino, don’t you remember that sham of a commitment-ceremony he and Naruto had last year?”

           ;  Ino immediately started cackling, “Who would ever forget? I think it still pops up in the press every now and then.”

           ;  Hinata giggled before trying to turn serious and mock Naruto’s loud rambunctious voice, “To my dearest Sasuke-bastard-chan, I promise to try not to murder you in a fit of rage, to never obey, to leave you if you ever lose all your inheritance to Itachi, and to fuck you senseless every chance I get! Oh yeah...and till death do us part...and all that shit...Hey, you’re not gonna make me sign a pre-nup, are you?”

             Ino continued to cackle as Sasuke glared at them.

             “Don’t forget what our beloved Sasuke-chan said,” Temari smirked before clearing her voice and making her face devoid of emotion. “Dead-last, I promise not to murder you, until after the honey-moon. I promise to hide your body somewhere no one will ever be able to find it.” Smirk. “And the lawyer has already drawn up the papers. Oh and until death do us part because that is the only thing that will ever do us part.”

        &nbs p;   Sasuke glared, a flush creeping up his neck, “Dobe and I took those vows very seriously. So fuck you....” Then he muttered, “Drunken bitches...”

             There was a chorus of, “Do you promise, Sasuke-chan?”, followed by laughter.

          &n bsp; Sasuke’s lips quirked upward for a moment, “Whatever...Still nursing childhood crushes, huh?”

             “Need to have something to fantasize about....” Hinata murmured above the rim of her mug with a leer in his direction.

          & nbsp; Sasuke stared at her, “The shit that comes out of your mouth.....”

             Hinata shrugged with a blush.

            ; “So, what did you come over here for?” Temari wondered.

          &n bsp; Suddenly Sasuke turned to her with a predatory grin, “I thought you’d never ask. Itachi’s looking for you.”

             “What?” Temari sobered up for a moment, while Hinata and Ino shared a grin. “No he’s not.”

             “Yes. He is.” Sasuke continued to grin.

             “You remember the time, you whored out to get us some beer?” Ino nudged Temari with her arm. “Looks like ole creepy but sexy didn’t get enough.”

         &nb sp;  “Whored out for beer? This sounds interesting.” Sasuke smiled innocently.

             “I didn’t whore myself out for beer!” Temari exclaimed, while shooting Ino a glare. Then she fell silent and started to brood.

            ; “Anyone going to explain?” Sasuke was becoming impatient.

          & nbsp; “Well,”Ino started in a ridiculously low voice, “when we were in highschool, I think it was Temari’s senior year, we wanted to celebrate. We wanted beer but we couldn’t buy it, so we waited outside of the convenience store looking for someone to buy us beer. Then up comes this shiny black Mercedes, right? And out of that comes a dark and mysterious figure called Itachi. He had on-”

          & nbsp; Sasuke growled impatiently, “Quit with the theatrics. And talk louder.”

         &nb sp;  Temari continued to brood.

            ; “Well, Temari called him over because the rest of us were beyond inti-inti, Hinata what’s that word?” Ino frowned, the tequila was catching up with her.

           & nbsp;“In-tim-I-dated....” Hinata offered.

          &nb sp; “Yeah that. So he came over and Temari asked him would he buy us some beer, right? So he just stood there and like stared at us for a moment. Then he asked what would he get out of breaking the law for us. Temari made the mistake of asking him what did he want. And well he pointed his finger at Temari and said he’d discuss the stip-u-”

         &nb sp;  “Stipulations, you moron...” Sasuke muttered.

          &n bsp; “Yeah that, in the store. And well when they came out, Temari said he wanted to go on a date with her. And well...”

         &nb sp;  “Ino, if you value your life, you’ll shut the fuck up...” Temari threatened with slight annoyance.

          & nbsp; “Temari fucked him after the date.” Hinata finished with a grin.

             Sasuke smirked, “So you whored yourself out to my creepy brother for some beer? That’s how you two got together?”

         & nbsp;  Temari’s face turned red, “I did NOT whore myself out! I had no intention of fucking Itachi! It just happened....and it happened to be the best sex of my life.”

           ;  Sasuke chuckled.

          &n bsp; “It is so not funny....” Temari muttered having another mug of beer.

             “Then, they started dating.” Ino grinned.

          &nb sp; “Oh I remember that....” Sasuke grinned. Temari and Itachi were very loud and made lots of strange noises.

          &nbs p; “Mindlessly fucking every time you see someone isn’t my idea of dating.” Hinata muttered with a leer.

             “Speak for yourself.” Temari shrugged with a smirk.

            ; Ino started laughing.

          &n bsp; Sasuke shook his head, “You three.... So what happened?”

         & nbsp;  “Your parents tried to marry him off to bride-zilla and I didn’t have the patience to see if he was actually gonna marry the bitch or not.” Temari shrugged.

          &n bsp; “OhmyGod, do you remember that engagement party?” Ino continued laughing.

          &n bsp; “Please do not remind me....” Sasuke muttered.

          &n bsp; “I’ve never seen Sasuke-chan look so hot in a dress...” Hinata grinned.

          &nb sp; “I still have those pictures Gaara took.” Temari smirked. “I wish Gaara had recorded that tango he and Naruto did.”

             “Remember how when bride-zilla tried to stop you, you started flashing everyone what wasn’t under that wedding dress?” Ino leered. “Your dad looked like he was having an aneurysm on the brain.” 

        &nbs p;   “I had a nose-bleed.” Hinata chimed.

          &nbs p; “Let’s not talk about bride-zilla or that party.” Sasuke glared darkly, “Some things are better left forgotten.”

             “Like how pissed Itachi got when he found out you took us joyriding after we all got high?” Ino grinned.

          &nb sp; “Yeah, I remember that.” Sasuke tried not to smirk. “You three had this wonderful idea of calling me to dye your hair, after passing around a blunt.”

         &nbs p;  “We tried to tint my hair blue like yours and it turned out green...” Ino cringed with a laugh. “Temari’s hair ended up as red as Gaara’s and Hinata’s was blonde. And just for the hell of it you put orange streaks in Naruto’s hair.”

           ;  “Those were not good looks for any us.” Temari smiled at the memory.

          &nbs p; Hinata nodded with agreement.

          & nbsp; “Oh,” Sasuke smirked evilly, “that wasn’t even the worst part. I seem to remember Ino convincing everyone to let her teach them how to perform shot-guns. She almost tongued everyone.”

         & nbsp;  Ino blushed as everyone laughed, “Not my finer moment.”

         &nb sp;  “That wasn’t any worst than when Hinata tried to give Naruto a shot-gun and ended up coughing fumes in his face. Remember how jealous Sasuke got?” Temari smirked.

          &nb sp; “I wasn’t jealous.” Sasuke snorted. “I don’t get jealous.”

         &n bsp;  “Oh yes you did. You accidentally knocked me off the bed.” Hinata corrected.

          & nbsp; “Whatever...” Sasuke shrugged.

          &n bsp; “Oh you knocked her off the bed.” Temari smirked. “Hinata had a crush on Naruto and since you were still in denial about how you felt about Naruto, you were violent and irritable to anyone who tried to get close to him. I’d call that jealous.”

         &n bsp;  “Drunken whore....” Sasuke glared with no real malice behind it.

           &n bsp;Temari laughed and flipped him off.

           & nbsp;“Then remember how Naruto and Gaara got the munchies, which happened to spread, and we all piled into that black sports Bug Itachi had at the time. Drove around all night looking for a fast food joint and ended up looting a convenience store.” Ino grinned.

          &nb sp; “Yeah...I remember. Gaara threatened death if I didn’t take him and Naruto whined like a damn bitch.” Sasuke muttered.

          &n bsp; “We’ve done some crazy shit.” Ino smiled.

          &nbs p; “Some shit as I’ve said before should be forgotten.” Sasuke grumbled. “Why are we reminiscing anyway?”

         &nb sp;  “The end of a beautiful era is upon us.” Hinata stated with a sigh.

             “Era? What the hell is she talking about?” Sasuke wondered as Hinata simply shrugged.

          &n bsp; “Hinata, it’s not that serious.” Ino frowned. “You promised to behave.”

         &nb sp;  “She’s not here. So I don’t have to behave.” Hinata smiled sweetly, while Ino glared.

          &nbs p; “She? She who?” Sasuke glanced around the table.

            ; “Sakura. That’s who.” Temari spat her name.

             Sasuke looked thoughtful for a moment. He could never forget Sakura, even if he tried. The girl had the biggest crush on from middle school to high school. A crush that had ended a deep friendship between her and Ino. He didn’t like being the problem that split them up, especially when he had been gay the whole time. He had always felt sorry for Sakura. Chasing after him all the damn time. He had tried ignoring her and then being rude to her until he had found her crying once. That was when he decided it was best if he just told her why he would never be interested her. She had went from tears to anger to understanding in an hour and swore to never tell anyone but even after she knew she still persisted in chasing after him. He never understood Sakura or Ino. Both of them had known he was gay but both still tried to use him to hurt the other. Stupid women...

          &nb sp; “We had lunch last week.” Sasuke stated off-handedly.

         &nbs p;  Everyone shot him a look of varying degrees of shock.

            ; “Lunch?” Temari was the first to find her voice. “I didn’t know you two were friends.”

         &n bsp;  “Yeah, well,” Sasuke waved the importance of the subject off, “I felt sorry for her being isolated from Ino. We’ve talked a lot. She didn’t tell me she was coming here tonight.”

         &n bsp;  Ino looked betrayed, “Why didn’t you tell me? How long?”

           ;  Sasuke glared defensively, “Because it wasn’t any of your business. And we’ve been associates for a few years now.” 

             “That doesn’t make sense. I thought she had a crush on you.” Hinata wondered.

          &n bsp; “She did. But she got over it quick. Let’s just leave it at that.” Sasuke glanced at their faces. Temari had an eyebrow raised, she must feel there’s more to this than he was saying. Hinata’s face was blank for the moment but he could see irritation playing in her milky eyes. Ino looked angry and betrayed. When would these stupid girls get over this shit. “Ino...” Sasuke paused. He should apologize but he really didn’t like to and lacked the skills to do so. Uchihas usually never apologized but this one would try. “Maybe I should have told you. But when Sakura and I became associates, you still hated her and she still hated you. It would have been pointless to put myself in the middle of you two again. So I didn’t say anything. Okay?”

           ;  Ino propped her head up on a hand, “I guess this is the closest you’ll ever come to apologizing, huh?”

             Sasuke grinned, “You know that.”

           ;  “Okay. I guess your half-assed apology will have to do.” Ino shrugged.

          &n bsp; He could see she was still irked at not knowing. Subconsciously, he shrugged. She’d get over it, “So why is Sakura coming here tonight?”

         &n bsp;  “Ino invited her. They reconciled.” Temari took a sip of beer.

             “And she wants us to meet her for whatever reason.” Hinata added.

            ; “Because you’re my friends. That’s why.” Ino was blushing and Sasuke was beginning to confirm what he had suspected for years about Ino’s feelings for Sakura.

          &nbs p; “Well, I’m glad the two of you have put that petty fan-girl shit behind you. It was annoying and made you both look stupid.” Sasuke stated flatly.

          &nbs p; Ino stuck her tongue at him.

           & nbsp;Suddenly Sasuke stood and grabbed Ino’s hand, “Let’s dance, dyke.”

           ;  “Okay, fag.” Ino gave Temari and Hinata a goofy smile before sauntering off with Sasuke.

          &nbs p; Temari guessed all of them still held some piece of that stupid-ass crush that made them gush just a little bit when Sasuke showed his face and mused that Sakura had probably known all along Sasuke was gay.

End of part 1.