Just A Glimpse (ItaIno Fanfiction)

Chapter 4 ~ Meeting again

Years passed yet the thoughts of her never left his mind. At times that he was not occupied with his missions as an Akatsuki member, he would think of her. Ino occupied his thoughts much more than his younger brother, with the image of teary face, the stunned look in her eyes when he kissed her. Those were the only memories that he felt kept him human. A ray of sunlight to his ever darkening world of carnage, one where "mercy" was not known. It made him feel, when everything around him had made him numb. She truly was an angel, his angel.

Itachi would wonder if he ever crossed her mind. A part of him, although uncharacteristic of the Uchiha, hoped she never forgot him. Not when she was one of the few things he held important to him. It was heart-wrenching to think so.

He would also wonder how she looked, especially her turquoise hues. Were her eyes still as magnificent as they were in his memories? Did they still shine with purity or reflected the kindness of her heart? He would think so.

Almost 5 years have passed since he had left the village, so she would be 12 now. He would imagine she had bloomed even more into a beauty, as she would continue to bloom.

He wanted to see her. So when the leader had assigned him to capture the host of the nine-tailed fox back in Konoha, hope lit his darkened heart at the thought of finally seeing her again.

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It was just another uneventful day in Konohagakure for the Yamanaka heiress. Her team had just gotten back from a mission outside the village so their time was reserved for training.

Sparring with her teammates was dull because she easily beat them at pure taijutsu with her speed and agility. As for ninjutsu training, they knew each other so well, it took too long to complete a spar. Kunai training was proven to be too easy. She was skilled enough to hit the bulls-eye every time, with Itachi teaching her at a young age so she allowed herself to go up a high tree, settling herself at a high branch to enjoy the scenery.

Huffing softly, she let her eyes take in the image of the village. A soft breeze blew pass, her long silky hair of platinum gold blown softly. Two of her fingers caught a few strands, making her gaze down thoughtfully.

He soon invaded her thoughts.

She once questioned him if he prefered long hair or short hair on a girl. He never really did answer. Simply took a few of her previously short locks between pale fingers saying I bet yours would look amazing long.

So she had grown it. It did not matter that he was not there to see her. It did not matter that he could not compliment her in his peculiar way. It just felt right following his preference.

At the thought of him, she saddened. It has been years since she had seen him.

She had heard of the Uchiha massacre from a conversation between his dad and his previous teammates. It was horrible. How could Itachi, a boy who had just turn 13, kill all of his clan? It was not his ability to be questioned, but his intentions.

It had bought so much pain to Sasuke, who was left as the sole Uchiha left in Konoha. Long gone was the young boy she shared her blissful innocence with. His aura was no longer one of joy and excitement. A dull aura of unhappiness surrounded him and usually it was hatred and sorrow that overcame him. It made the Yamanaka cringe at times and at those rare moments that he was happy or calm relieved her.

Though he no longer looked at her as a friend and kept his distance, she could sense calmness and even a small hint of happiness whenever she approached him, threw herself over him for the sole purpose to ignite a fire within her pink-haired friend so she would break out of her shell. Ino was simply happy enough that there were still hints of the old Sasuke in him as much as he wanted to hide it.