"It wasn't exactly unexpected," Tenten murmured softly. Everyone agreed with her silently. After all, they all knew the dark haired boy was never one to stay.
"But to leave without an explanation, that's just cruel." Sakura snapped. Eyes remained on the ground as no one would dare test her patience now, or the lack of it, rather. "Were we not his friends?"
"He considered us acquaintances, sure. But, you you can't confidently say we were worth more to him." Kiba spoke, slicing through the pregnant silence that hung above their heads.
The air was now filled with unsaid thoughts and unanswered questions as they tested the situation. Of course, they couldn't completely disagree with Kiba; he had a point. Ever since they started talking to the boy, they hadn't really felt welcome the whole time.
Sasuke had only socialized with the group when his older brother had left. He didn't speak of the incident, nor did he tolerate it's mentioning from anyone. But, rumors couldn't be stopped, no matter how hard he tried. And now, it's as if they were living the past except with altered roles.
But they all knew who was taking the news badly. Naruto.
What started out as childish rivalry seemed to ignite a flame within the two. It seemed as if Sasuke was the one to completely burn out first, and that wasn't exactly a good or bad thing.
Slowly, the skies above the group of teenagers began to darken. Kiba raised his eyes to sky and took a breath. "It's going to rain."
With trembling fists, Naruto was the first to stand up and leave without a word. In a few minutes, the hill was deserted except for Ino, Shikamaru, and Sakura.
After battling with her thoughts for the past hour, Ino stood up and made her way to Sakura. She gingerly sat down next to the short haired girl who seemed almost catatonic at this point. She reached out to grasp Sakura's hand, but before she could the latter turned and locked Ino in a surprising embrace.
Silently, Sakura began to sob as Ino held onto her, rubbing her back. No words needed to be spoken, they knew apologies were set for another day. Today, Sakura needed a shoulder to cry on.
After a while, the Sakura stood up and smiled weakly before muttering a faint, "Thank you."
Ino smiled at the girl and watched as she retreated down the hill. She sighed softly. She walked back to Shikamaru, who was surprisingly still there and sat down next to his stretched out figure.
He opened an eye to look at her before closing it again and sighing. "Are you okay?"
She started at his words, they clearly weren't what she'd expected. She expected him to teasingly ask if it was his turn to throw her a pity party or just ignore her completely. Nevertheless, she was grateful for his, albeit slight, concern.
"I'm okay." He seemed dissatisfied by her response but left it.
He didn't need to pry. She said she was okay, and despite knowing the possibility of falseness, he let it slip. After all, Ino would end up telling her what she wanted to even if he didn't want to hear it. Prying never really was a problem.
But, this time was different. Even after counting in his head, she hadn't spoken again after he'd reached 30. He looked up at her quietly. She was looking at something far away, and if he'd sat up to trace her gaze, he knew she was simply looking at the horizon. She seemed lost in thought and Shikamaru furrowed his brows in question.
Since when has she been able to reflect such a look?
As if noticing his stare, she looked back down at him. Shikamaru frowned as she broke into her usual glare at him. "When do you plan on getting up, mister? It's going to rain and I can't walk home alone."
Confused by her behavior, he slowly sat up. After a few moments of trying to rack his brain for an answer, he gave up with a soft and almost endearing, "Troublesome."
