White Horse

So-So-So Fun

Title: White Horse

Pairing: Kiba/Ino

Rating:T

Disclaimer: I do not own these Naruto characters and stand to make no profit from posting this story.

Summary: This is actually a Kiba/Ino break-up story - so sorry - no romance here but hopefully a little humor.

White Horse

Author: lovesrainscent

Ino steeled herself with a firm resolve. It was unfortunate but inevitable. The two of them would just never work out. Although their relationship had been intensely physical (intensely she thought breathlessly to herself, biting her bottom lip) it was nonetheless nothing but physical. There was no deep connection there, no spiritual bond, no promise of something eternal, everlasting, undying.

Yes, she was just going to have to break it off with Kiba. And the sooner the better, it would only be cruel to the poor boy to draw it out any longer than necessary. (But she was wondering if it would be too cruel to have just one more romp...nope never mind, she squelched that thought. Too cruel indeed, she admitted, more's the pity.)

Ino sighed and reaffirmed to herself that it was true that sometimes you just had to be cruel to be kind. It would really be better this way.

Because she had found someone with whom she shared that deep-spiritual-eternal-everlasting bond. Sai, she sighed. She'd realized it as soon as he'd asked her if she'd model for him. He studied her so earnestly, seeking to portray every nuance, every curve, every expression of her perfectly. One day as he had posed her, positioning her hands 'just so' for his portrait, his own hands had strayed and they had wound up embracing each other and tumbling into bed together.

Sai was a tender lover, a gentle lover, a patient lover. Unlike the sweaty-breathless-I-can't-wait-to-get-you-all-the-way-naked-so-I-won't-bother sex she had with Kiba. That was sweaty. And breathless. Really, really breathless. Ino chewed her bottom lip again, wondering if maybe she really should give the poor boy one more chance to leave her breathless, err... one more chance to love her. And leave her breathless.

She thought again of her new love, her soul mate. Sai was such a gentle lover she could easily fall asleep in his arms, sometimes even drifting off in the middle of his tender lovemaking. (Tender was better than sweaty wasn't it?)

But Sai made art of her, for her, with her. He made beautiful, enduring portraits that would last just as surely as their love would last (and certainly a lot longer than his relationship with Sakura had lasted - he'd already painted more pictures of her than he ever had painted of Forehead!) His art was as enduring as it was beautiful just as their love was as eternal as she was beautiful. Yes. She was meant to be with Sai. She'd just have to make Kiba understand.

Earlier she had tried explaining the whole thing to her teammates but Shikamaru fell asleep and Chouji looked...hurt...for some reason. Stupid boys. They should just make all-kunoichi teams then she'd have some teammates who understood her, who would listen to her and confirm that she was indeed making the best decision.

She inhaled sharply. There Kiba stood, across the street in front of her. It was now or never.

He flashed that crooked little smile at her that revealed the sharp tips of his teeth that felt so good when he nipped just right... Her knees went a little weak as she remembered his husky voice teasing her, promising to make her howl at the moon all night long. A promise he had most definitely kept.

'Now or never' she chided herself as she crossed the street to speak with him.

"Hey, Ino," he said reaching to take her hand.

"Kiba, we need to talk," she interrupted, determined not to let him get a kiss in because she knew it would be kinder this way and she was afraid of her wobbly knees from a moment ago.

"Okay, shoot," he replied, waiting for her to say whatever was on her mind.

She could hardly bring herself to look at him, so trusting, so loyal, so devoted to her. It was cruel but it had to be done.

"Kiba we...we can't go on...now don't stop me let me finish...it's really better this way... I know you must feel it too just like I do I mean the sex is great and all and you're really a great guy and I've really enjoyed our time together but sometimes it's time to move on and you know unfortunately sometimes one person just realizes that before the other person does and that hurts the other person but they'll get over it because there's something more waiting for them because there just has to be and I know you know what I'm talking about and oh I'm so sorry to have to do this but well you know that's just he way that it is no maybe you don't know so it's like you know there's a princess in the castle and she's waiting to be rescued and the prince comes along and it's not just any old prince but it's got to be THE prince the right one the one just for her and it's usually the one on the white horse like in the movies you do see what I'm saying don't you?"

Bewildered, Kiba just looked at her with his head cocked to one side and said, "Umm...yeah...I think so?"

At this Ino nearly cried because it was just too sad and too poignant and too heartbreaking. The poor boy was so devastated that he couldn't even begin to comprehend what she meant. It was denial, she knew it, he was refusing to accept the inevitable. She'd just have to try harder to explain it to him.

"It's the prince on the white horse, Kiba, it has to be don't you see? It can't just be the prince on the brown horse or the black horse or the tan horse but only the white horse. Because that's the prince that's meant to be, not that the others are any less princes because they are just like you are a really great guy honest I mean that but just you know not with the white horse like the fairy tale and then The End but this isn't The End because this is over well of course that means 'this' is at an end as in us but not 'The End' as in the end of the story where the prince rides off with the princess on the white horse, don't you see? And there was a time when I would have thought that Sasuke was the one with the white horse but he's not you know obviously he's like the dark wizard in the tower now but of course that's beside the point but still not because he's not riding in on a white horse either. "

"Ino? Do you want to break up? Is that what this is about?"

There it was again, that look of confusion in his eyes as if he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge the truth of the matter. Ino nearly sobbed out loud to think how much his heart must be breaking over what he was hearing. And the poor boy was masking his pain with feigned confusion and bewilderment.

"Yes," she did sob this time as she said it, "Yes, Kiba, I do."

"Well, okay, then Ino. If that's what you want."

"Really," she looked up at him through tear stained lashes. She'd cried just enough so that her eyes were sparkling wet with tears but not so much to let her face get blotchy. "Really, you mean, you...understand?"

"Look, Ino, it was fun while it lasted. You're a great girl. But you know, if you want to move on I understand. If it doesn't work out, give me a call, okay?"

"Oh, Kiba," she threw herself into his arms and for a moment she'd forgotten how strong they were, how broad his shoulders and chest were, how good he smelled, how he held her so tight...

Kiba was patting her on the back now as she reluctantly disentangled herself from him. "Okay, well, see ya around, Ino." He waved as he turned to walk up the street.

Ino watched him walk off into the sunset, so tall and strong, bearing his grief so stoically that anyone who didn't know the truth of the situation might not be able to see just how devastated he really was.

Ino went back home and cried for the rest of the evening going through one whole box of chocolates and one box of tissues as she tried to process just how much grief she had caused Kiba.

Meanwhile, Kiba went out to dinner with Shino and Hinata.

A couple of weeks later, Kiba happened to draw a mission assignment out of town with Shikamaru. While they were traveling, Kiba asked, "Hey, Shikamaru, you've known Ino a long time. Did she like, ever have a white pony or something?"

"Not to my knowledge. Why?"

"Ehh," Kiba shrugged. "Just wondering."