More Than Friends
Warning: This story is slash. It's also InoxSakura, and NarutoxSasuke, so read at your own discretion. Takes place right after the Sasuke retrieval arc. If you don't like happy endings, you may also want to avoid this one.
It was strange. For much longer than Sakura like Sasuke or Ino pretended to like Sasuke, Ino had always loved Sakura. She had been attracted to her when they were younger by her remarkable pink (which had and will always be Ino's favorite color) tresses and her astoundingly emerald eyes.
What made her want to protect and comfort her was the pain her classmates made Sakura go through from an early age. She was amazed that the other (stupid) girls couldn't see how truly perfect Sakura was—true, she was far too shy, but that added a lot to her charm.
Ever since Sasuke left Konoha, Ino noticed a gigantic change in the other girl—her rival. She noticed how she seemed to be more hardworking and yet, more… depressed. Ino was pondering this as she sat on the rooftop of the now-closed flower shop her family owned. She stared at the full moon with a sigh and whispered, "You… really did love him, huh, Sakura?"
"Sakura?" a brash voice sounded from behind her. Ino jumped and, with a look as fierce as a lion's, glared at the person behind her. It was none other than Uzumaki Naruto, who offered her a sheepish grin as way of apology. Without even bothering to ask permission, he sat beside her—a good foot away for comfort for both of the young Genin—and sighed. "You've noticed too, right?" he asked, staring ahead.
"If you mean how different Sakura is, then yeah… I have…" Ino whispered, the feeling of resentment and hatred fading away rapidly.
"You don't sound like just a worried friend," Naruto pointed out, staring straight ahead. Ino made no sound or to respond, so Naruto continued. "I… know how you feel. I think… I feel a little more for my best friend than I should, too," Naruto said with a sigh.
"Yeah, everyone knows you like Sakura," Ino said with a shrug, trying to direct the conversation from the discomfort of her and Sakura.
"No, that's not it. Sasuke," Naruto said, correcting Ino easily.
"So, you were pretending to like Sakura…?" Ino asked, trailing off in amazement.
"Well, I had to keep Sasuke from finding out. You did the same thing with Sasuke, too, right?"
Ino stared at the boy before they both chuckled, which turned into uncontrollable laughter. "I underestimated you," Ino said with a smirk, staring at the boy in a new light for the first time in years.
"Eh, actually, it was the dumbest thing I've ever pulled over. I'll… probably never see Sasuke again. But…" Naruto took in a sharp breath and continued, "You can still stop yourself form losing Sakura. I'm not sure about her 'preferences', but I'm pretty sure she'd give you a chance."
Ino stared ahead at the moon and sighed. "You're right—which is really, really strange. But I don't think I'm brave enough to do that…"
"You're a kunoichi, right?" Naruto asked, staring at her with an intense look.
Ino was taken aback, but managed to get a "Y-yeah…" out.
"Then you shouldn't be a coward," Naruto concluded.
"Hey, you were a coward, too!" Ino shrieked back defensively.
"I'm not a kunoichi!" he shouted back.
Ino stared at him for the briefest of moments, "But you're a male shinobi, which makes it worse!" Ino countered.
Naruto gaped at her with his mouth slightly open. He sighed and said, "I know… But I can't really change it at this point, unless I become a missing-nin and chase after Sasuke. And, frankly—I can't leave Konoha for that. I'm stuck here, even though I truly do want to chase after him. I wish I had been the one to try to stop him from leaving Konoha, rather than Sakura. But… I guess it wasn't meant to be. But you still have a choice. Do you want to be stuck with the inevitability of never having Sakura, without knowing what could have happened between you two?"
Ino stared at him and sighed. "How does a guy who has no girl appeal be so… so… smart about them?" Ino said with a sigh. "You're right. I should tell her. In fact, I'll tell Sakura tomorrow," Ino said with a soft smile and sighed.
"Why don't you tell her now?" came a familiar voice from behind the two shinobi. Naruto turned with a smirk, already knowing who it was. Ino turned and, her mouth open wide in shock, spotted the girl they had just been talking about. Ino smirked and stood up and quickly walked over to the girl.
"I…"
"I know," Sakura said, before pulling the blond kunoichi into a deep, passionate kiss. Naruto promptly stuck his tongue out and hopped off the roof.
The two girls stood on the roof like that for a long time. They pulled apart and stared at each other in the eyes. "We'll need to talk," Sakura said.
"Yeah, but that can wait," Ino whispered before pulling the other girl into a kiss.
----
Naruto landed on the ground with a soft thud before promptly falling back at the sight in front of him. Sasuke was standing there, the ghost of a smile present on his face. In terms of greeting, Sasuke said, "How's it been, dobe?"
"T-teme! What're you doing here?" Naruto cried out in shock.
"I got what I wanted from Orochimaru and left," Sasuke said with a shrug.
"How long have you been there?" Naruto asked, still sitting on the ground.
"Long enough to know that Ino and Sakura are making out on the roof and you're in love with me," Sasuke said, attempting to keep from smiling.
"I…"
"Did you mean it?" Sasuke asked, cutting him off.
"Y-yeah…" Naruto muttered.
"You look cute when you're nervous, dobe," Sasuke said with a smirk as he pulled the blond shinobi up from the ground and wrapped his arms around his neck.
"If… if you're playing with me or this is a genjutsu…" Naruto whispered.
"Don't worry. It's not," Sasuke said before kissing Naruto roughly and pulling back. "You have your own apartment, right?"
"Yes. But... before anything like that... what did you want from Orochimaru?" Naruto asked sheepishly.
Sasuke smirked and rubbed his neck. "I had to get rid of that damn curse seal somehow, didn't I?"
A/N: Really random fic. It is also probably really, really strange. Heh, oh well.
And, yes. My mind works in strange ways.