AN: This fic is dedicated to darksoulwolf. Without him this would not exist. -She grins and then walks off to go work on the next fic to be dedicated to him.-
The Smile
By: Karasu Kyra
Sakura Haruno sighed and stared out the window at the passing scenery as Ino Yamanaka drove the car silently down the road. The green blurred together in her eyes as they rushed by. It was nearing dusk as the two drove towards thier home. They'd been driving to just get away. Sakura's eyes softened and she tilted her head as she heard the clear cries of a wolf pack.
"Ino-love, it would be amazing to be an actual wolf, don't you think?"
Ino looked from the road to her pink-haired lover and gave an odd smile. Sakura didn't particularly like that smile. It was the same one that quirked the blonde's lips in an odd way. It was the same on that she had received when she talked about Werewolves before she knew Ino was one. Sakura wondered what it meant.
:Perhaps,: was the Mind-reply she received.
Suddenly Ino turned off another onto another road, gravel crunching under the tires of the silver Volvo. They continued in silence, the trees still rushing in Sakura's green eyes. She stared hard into the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of the creatures she'd heard earlier. She thought she saw a glimpse of bounding grey fur, but played it off as her imagination.
Ino suddenly cut the ignition. Sakura hadn't even realized the car had slowed. "What are we doing?"
"We are," Ino said, opening the door, "running."
The pink-haired girl mentally cheered. "Why?"
"Oh, just because."
There was that smile again. Sakura scowled. It was really starting to irratate her. On the same issue, those pink lips looked oh-so-inviting.
Sakura shook her head. She shifted her body to her Werewolf form. Her body grew taller, slimmer. Her eyesight became better, her scent and balance following. Her eyes faded to a yellow color, and her nails grew to small, deadly claws. She jumped into the trees after her life-bonded, leaping from branch to branch.
She loved the feel of gravity trying to pull her back to the ground as she soared through the air, being able to defy it, if just for a moment. She loved the feel of the wind against her cheeks, her face, her bare arms. She loved the way the world around her blurred, just like in the car, only more so. How the only thing she could see clearly was the immediate expanse before her.
The pink-haired girl followed Ino, who had suddenly dropped to the ground, but was still running.She leapt from side-to-side, slowing at some moments, sniffing and continuing forward. Sakura wondered at her odd behavior, but passed it off on the same issue of The Smile.
Sakura gasped as she ran into her the blonde's back. Ino had stopped. When the pink-haired girl looked around her alpha, she gasped. Wolves! The wolves from earlier!
"Ino?" Sakura asked.
Ino just smiled the Smile and put a finger to her lips in a silent gesture to be silent. The blonde slowly walked towards one of the wolves, a large grey one, with somber blue eyes. The alpha? Where was his beta?
Then Ino's fingertips laid upon his brow. They seemed to be communicating. Everything was tense until Ino nodded. The grey wolf turned his back to the blonde. The rest of the pack relaxed at the sign of trust.
That was when Ino's yellow eyes turned to Sakura's."So, do you still wonder what it would be like to be a wolf?"
Sakura nodded hesitantly. "Yes."
"Come here, then."
Sakura did as she was told, coming to stand before her lover. Ino twined both thier hands together, leaning forward and pressing thier lips together. Sakura's eyes fell closed as she savored the feeling of Ino's lips and tongue.
When Ino pulled away, Sakura stood dazed for a moment.When her eyes reopened, she was staring at a black wolf, with the most familiar amber eyes. Her eyes widened as she heard a voice in her head. :Well?:
She tried speaking back, but it didn't happen. The pink-haired girl looked down to see she had paws. She assessed her body. Furry body, ears, four legs, a muzzle, a tail. She was a wolf! A white wolf!
:Amazing.: Sakura's Mind-voice 'breathed'.
She experimentally flicked her tail, her lips pulling back into an equivelant of a grin. To a human, it probably looked like she was baring her teeth. Then she moved her ears.
:Haha, Ino, I love it!:
:I'm glad.:
:So, what did you say to the alpha?:
As they spoke, the two drifted away from the pack at a trot. They came to rest a ways away.
:I asked him if I could model off of his pack.:
:Oh, why'd you kiss me just then?:
:I have to have a reason to kiss my lover, now? What's this world coming to? No, seriously, I had to use some of you magic and it's easier to share it if you touch the person you're sharing with intimately.:
:Oh, I remember something about that from Iruka-sensei.:
The formerly pink-haired girl came to stand beside her lover, nuzzling the side of her cheek and her neck, pressing her nose into her fur. Ino in turn gave a lick to Sakura's cheek.
:Wanna run?:
:Definitely.:
The ebony-furred wolf loped off first, Sakura following. They kept speeding up and speeding up. Sakura could feel her muscles moving with her movements. The scenery blurred together again.
Again, Ino stopped without any warning, causing Sakura's muzzle to collied with her lover's leg. She just lay down, crossing her paws before her and laying her head on them. Sakura cocked her head and laid down, curling against Ino's side.
She just lay there, feeling Ino's sides rise and fall with her breaths. She could faintly hear the blonde's heartbeat if she moved her ears just right.She heard the soft breaths coming out in huffs from running.
The nature around them began to buzz to life. She could hear the lope of deer, the beating of rabbits feet against the ground and the scurrying of squirrels. She could hear mosquitos and other insects buzz by.
:I love this, Ino.: Sakura mentally sighed.
:I thought you would.:
They laid there, not speaking, long into the night. At some point it began raining, coming down lightly, to mat their fur to their to their lithe bodies. They just cuddled closer.
Sakura jolted awake as Ino suddenly leapt up. :Sakura, come here now.:
The white wolf listened, going to her lover. :Close your eyes.:
Sakura listened, when she was ordered to open them, she was human again. She almost sighed. Ino began running at the fastest pace she knew Sakura could keep up with. :What's going on?:
:Itachi's gotten a new lead on Orochimaru's whereabouts.:
Sakura nodded, all thoughts of her dreamland gone. She was happy, though, for the moment in peace as the animal she loved and portrayed.