Did I kill her?! Sasuke's mind imploded with anxiety. He made an abrupt turn and rushed to the site of the 'thud'. Ino's face was covered in a mix of caked blood, powdery brown dirt from the ground, and sheen of human perspiration. Wow, she's hideous. Sasuke's scathing thoughts blurted to him. The left half of Naruto's body sandwiched Ino's frail frame against the filthy ground. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what kind of thoughts drove Ino into following his command and lugging this deadweight this far. His mouth twisted with disdain at the thought of no choice but to carry them both for the rest of the journey, but he quickly dismissed the thought with another option. He dragged Naruto heartlessly and dumped him against the highly perched rock a few yards off the road. During the course of that time he worried if any humble passerby or any slave hunters were going to steal Ino away. "As if I'm concerned," he muttered. She was just an important asset to his plan, or so he tells himself.

Dashing back to the road side, Sasuke transported Ino to the same "campsite" where he left Naruto, except he was a tad gentler with her. She has probably fainted from the lack of nutrition rather than just sheer exhaustion from torture. He grimaced at the feel, or rather no feel, of her weight. Stupid girls and their weight loss. However, despite her severe condition Ino still had her muscular crevices that meandered down her back, her fine womanly curves that flowed over her body, and her smooth long limbs that dangled delicately. Sasuke noticed it too as he battled his conscience against Ino's mighty pheromones.

Grinding his teeths at the disbelief of the type of threshold his thoughts were heading, Sasuke felt sudden relief knowing that they had reached the damn rock where Naruto was propped up. Nonetheless, he missed the soft, warm feel of Ino's skin instead of the cold, harsh wind that was starting to blow from the West.

Not quite content yet, Sasuke took a rope from the small pouch hung from his belt and tied Naruto tightly. He knew that Ino was too wary, not to mention physically incompetent, to escape. He also knew that Naruto's own fervent curiosity was too strong to make him run away, but Sasuke refused to take the chance.

As the sun descended, Sasuke gazed contently at the moon. Maybe he was always to busy being tackled with those treacherous fan girls, but he has just then noticed how the soft, tender glow from the moon is a kin to Ino's peaceful sleeping face. He was amused at the thought that he and Ino might have been great friends if she was just a bit quieter and had a bit more maturity than a ten year old. A subtle thought entered to his head: how do I know that she never had that side? Huh, I never knew her at all. He marveled at how, for nearly half a decade, he knew nothing of someone who seemed to think he was the world to her.

Then he glanced at Naruto.

One, strange little word leaped up between him and Naruto: bond.

Naruto grumbled and had wakened.

"Err…my ribs hurt. Oh, my neck, my spine…Heh?! Sasuke you bastard! Why the heck did you tie me up? Arg! What is this insane knot? Is that a new jutsu from your new, funny little friends?"

Sasuke sighed with an odd pinch of humor, "Huh, you bet. The Pain-in-the-Ass-Crazy-Finger-Knot Jutsu. Really, dobe, have you never heard of that one?"

Naruto started kicking and flailing his arms like an upset, baby Konohamaru. "Ahhhhhhhh! Cut it out! Grow up Sasuke!"

"Wow, what a day. The Naruto Uzumaki telling the Sasuke Uchiha to grow up?" Ino laughed as she leaned against Naruto for support.

"Ino-chan! You're alive! Dattebayo! Hey, wait a second! How come you're not tied up?" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke smirked at the odd atmosphere around him and said, "She doesn't need to be. I can sense how weak her chakra levels are so far. The muscles of her upper body are dying of exhaustion, and he lower body is too weak to support her for long. Besides, if it can shake you up this much, then by all means I will leave Miss Yamanaka untied."

Ino was a bit taken back by the epithet of "Miss Yamanaka", but she gave a hearty little laugh and retorted, "Oh yeah, Mr. Genius, way to go on making me sound like a vegetable.

A genuine smile almost appeared on Sasuke's face as he observed the more easy-going and softer side of Ino. "But really, must you tie Naruto like that? I mean, what are the chances that we would just run back to Konoha. What are the chances that we would want to?" Ino asked.

Naruto took up his serious mode again as he said, "Sasuke. We chased you for too long to run away now. Even if you have hurt our friends, even if you will hurt us, we will still try to bring you back to Konoha. Dammit Sasuke, I won't let you run away again."

Sasuke was surprised at how much emotional growth Naruto had. He was so numbed by Naruto's words that all he could say at the moment was, "What if…what if I just don't want to go?"

The howling of the wind waltzed through the silence. Naruto was quivering on the ground with anger and disappointment. Ino sighed and closed her eyes. Sasuke resumed to staring at the moon.

A moment not too long after, Ino whispered, "Orochimaru is dead. Itachi is dead. The heart of Konoha is dying since you killed so many people who were loved," her voice broke a little, "What else do you want?"

The simplicity of the question stunned him. What exactly did he want?