Another Accidental Kiss

Deny, Deny, Deny

The next day, after the incident with Naruto, Sasuke had barely gotten any sleep. His eyes were tired, and his back was slumped over as he got ready for training that day.

Should I even put in the effort to apologize, or is this exactly what I wanted? He thought to himself as he started to make his breakfast. Sasuke thought of what Naruto's reaction would be once he showed up to practice.

Maybe he's already forgotten, that idiot. He huffed, lost in his thoughts. After he finished his quick meal he left his small, almost barren home. His apartment had the remnants from the night before. Naruto had seemed to make a mess for the little time he was there, cluttering everything in sight.

He walked through the village, taking slow steps. Sasuke kept his eyes forward, still deep in thought. As he was about to go through the front entrance, he heard a familiar voice shouting at him. His head turned, seeing that it was Ino. She ran up to him, a bit out of breath. It looked as if she had been chasing him for a while.

"Sasuke! Geez, you're a hard guy to catch, you know that?" Ino panted, giving him an innocent smile. Sasuke was confused, Ino usually didn't call him out like this.

"..Ino? What?" He lowered his brow, not wanting to chat with her for long. She scoffed.

"Well, hello to you too, Sasuke. If you're going to be so rude I shouldn't even tell you this juicy information." She giggled, adjusting her hair on her shoulder and sticking her tongue out. Sasuke rolled his eyes. He knew that anything Ino had to say wouldn't interest him.

But what if it was about Naruto?

"Uh, sorry. What did you have to tell me?" He tilted his head slightly, his hands now out of his pockets and folded before his chest. Ino took a step closer, giving him a smug look.

"Wow, you're actually interested in this sweet gossip I have to share? Hah! You should be. I know your secret." She pointed her finger in his face, her expression changing from smug and snarky to a little annoyed, and almost frustrated. Sasuke became tense.

My secret? What even are my secrets? Does she know about what happened by the sakura blossoms..? The thoughts ran through his head. He took a defensive position and raised his voice.

"Ino, you don't know anything. I don't have any secrets, okay? What you're trying to do is disgusting." He said to her as he began to turn around and walk away. Ino wasn't going to give up, so she started to walk with him.

Deny. Deny. Deny.

"Are you sure you don't want to know what I know? I think you do. You don't want this to get out, right?" She sweetly said. Sasuke looked at the road ahead. All he had to do was ignore her and walk to practice. She wouldn't actually tell anyone what she knew, right? What if she doesn't actually know anything?

"Well, since I know you're stubborn, I'm going to tell you anyway." She persisted, both of them now out of the village. She took a few steps closer as she walked and talked to him, now in a hushed and soft whisper.

"When I was out last night getting some medicine for my mother, I managed to see Naruto. Walking alone. I knew something was wrong because that's usually the time that he goes to the ramen stand." She explained. Sasuke started to panic.

So it is about Naruto. She knows. There's absolutely no way she doesn't know. If she knows, I'll just deny. I'll deny everything she says. He thought, huffing at her and keeping eye contact away.

Deny. Deny. Deny.

"Why are you telling me this, Ino? I really thought you were smarter than this. You should know I don't care about that idiot. Whatever information you have is quickly becoming boring." He said, smart-ass-like. Ino scoffed once more.

"Can ya let me finish, Sasuke? Geez. Anyways, I heard him muttering things like, 'Stupid Sasuke, why'd he have to go and kick me out like that,' and some other things like his shoulder hurt from you slamming him to the ground." She smirked as Sasuke came to a halt.

"What could you two have been doing, hmm?" She giggled, now walking in front of Sasuke and putting her hands on her hips, sassy-like. Sasuke's face went pale a bit.

As long as she doesn't find out about that kiss, I'm fine. He thought, quickly thinking of some kind of lie he could say to her.

Deny. Deny. Deny.

"You're gross. Naruto and I were told to study our jutsu forms together. He's weak." He put in a cold tone, denying everything he could. Ino bit the inside of her cheek, now looking doubtful and insecure.

"Oh. Hmm... Well, if you say so." She shrugged, now turning around to get to her own training. Sasuke sighed in relief as Ino turned around. She stopped for a moment, though.

"You know, Sasuke, I pay attention to the way you look at him. It's not with the same coldness as you look at everyone else. It's... warmer!" She giggled, walking on her way once more. Sasuke took the words to heart. Has he subconsciously always felt this way about his teammate? He was exhausted. His head hurt from thinking so much. He kept walking towards the training grounds, as that's where they sometimes met, and he picked up the pace a bit. He was almost going to be late if he kept getting distracted.

Deny. Deny. Deny.