A/N: For the record, I've just finished the 220 episode saga of Naruto, and have yet to start watching the second series. I'm late in the game, I know…but I just don't have the time to sit down and watch those really long anime shows, so more often than not I avoid them…this winter however, we have been stuck with some long wind-chill days, tonight for example is -35*F, and that's freakishly cold…anyway, after a week of that kind of coldness, I was able to marathon the crap out of Naruto, and so that's what I did…

That's 73 hours of anime (excluding openings and endings) that I sat through in about 6 days…suffice to say, I may start the second series soon…if we have another cold blast that keeps me house bound….or I may not…I've yet to decide. 400 episodes and counting is a lot of anime to commit too, honestly…so no idea…I did write an older fiction for the Naruto series a long time ago, but that was when I hadn't seen all of the first series…in fact, I think that was back before I even reached ep 100, and gave up after filler arcs took over…

Needless to say, I hope this will be a better attempt at this pairing, short though it is. Anyway, this is a fiction that came to mind, when I thought of Saruka and Ino in the far future…Please keep in mind, I have not seen the second series, any of the movies, and I haven't read the manga…so a lot of the lore I'm not 100% sure on…I do know some of the abilities they take on in the second series, as it's hard not to have heard of them in passing over the years.

I do not own Naruto.

This story may be expanded upon later, after I get deeper into Naruto's lore.

By Her Side

They were ninja's first and foremost, tasked with missions that were not only deadly, but supremely questionable…

It went without question that these strong, impassioned women, who just so happened to be able to throw every ounce of fury into their punches were independent by nature. They always had been, and prided themselves on their rebelliousness. It stood to reason that their love was just as explosive as their tempers, and maybe that left a few in the village confused.

Even so, they weren't children anymore…the time for that kind of rivalry was over.

Although, their arguing wasn't about the cute boys in the village, it was just as heated as it had always been…fiery, emotional, and lingering on the edge of broken glass from their past. Their shared wars and personal strife seemed to mingle when they became lovers. Lines blurred, and fractured memories were things left shrined by time. It went unspoken more often than not, but, there were some days when such fleeting emotions came to the surface.

"Ino, god damn…" An injured woman sighed as she sat on the sofa, a cold cloth pressing into her cheek. "And you tell me to watch my strength."

"It's your own fault." Ino murmured, still pressing the chilly fabric against the bruise starting to form. "I told you not to go and get yourself hurt, and what do you do?"

"Well, what else was I supposed to do, just stand there and do nothing?" Sakura shook her head. "I was on a mission, and sometimes things just happen."

"You're a medical ninja Sakura, you've got to watch your back. I mean sure you have power, but when you come home beaten to hell, you really freak me out." Ino told her heatedly, with a shake of her head. "What if you had been hurt, or even killed?"

"Shikamaru was with me." Sakura said weakly, her voice soft. "Tenten and Kiba too." She leaned into the hand cupping her cheek. "I thought I'd be fine."

"Don't you understand, you're too valuable to get reckless…" Ino rebuked, the ice in her voice unwavering. "Sometimes I think when it comes down to it, you're just as reckless as Naruto."

"So you smack me? Could have done it on the ass, would have hurt less." Sakura just grinned a little, her teeth turning pink from the blood that trickled from the side of her lip.

"Sakura, I mean it." Ino murmured, her eyes turning stony. "Don't you get it? You could have been killed."

"I'm fine…" It was an understatement, and she most certainly wasn't as okay as she made herself out to be. She'd had to be carried home, and that alone was enough to worry Ino...she couldn't keep up the tough front forever, so she let the mask slip. "Ino, I'll recover...it's you I'm more worried about right now."

"Sakura, listen, I think it would be best if you considered retiring from active duty…" Ino said after she pulled the cloth from Saruka's cheek, admiring the bruise with a shake of her head. Saruka wouldn't even lift her fingers to her face to mend such a small cut. It was enough of an answer. "You expended nearly all of your charka, I'm surprised you came home lucid. No more playing the hero, just stop, Sakura."

"Ino, we can live a very comfortable life because of those missions…" Sakura murmured on the defensive. "Besides, we both know we're dysfunctional as hell. I need those missions, we need them, for the money as much as sanity."

"And what would I tell our son?" Ino shot back. "That his blockhead of a mother didn't have enough sense to look after her own skin once in a while? You're supposed to be the smart one, so get a clue!" She tossed her blond hair away from her face with a sigh. "He's young, too young to turn into another tragedy…we've seen it happen before, you know."

As if to further drive that point home, their diaper clad youngster came toddling in from his bedroom, blanket in hand as he dragged it across the floor. He was never really a loud boy, nor much of a talker. Some even suspected him mute. What could they say for a boy brought in from a village that had been decimated? Still, as he crawled up into his mother's lap, cuddling into her, Sakura had gotten the distinct impression that she'd been greatly missed.

She held him close, running her fingers through his dark brown hair, watching as sleepy green eyes closed. "Ino, if I quit doing missions, we're going to lose a lot of income. You know just as well as I do that the flower shop doesn't pull in all that much. Not to mention, the care facilities around here just don't offer the same kind of wages…"

"I don't care if we have to live in a one bed dormitory!" Ino barked at her, watching as the little more flinched, opened his eyes to look at her before closing them once again. sighing, she forced herself to lower her voice for his sake. "You're quitting...unless you have a damn good reason not to, you're going to resign."

Sakura smiled weakly. "Would you believe me if I told you that I'm not ready to settle down just yet?" She looked down to the small boy who took such great comfort in her…the self-same child they'd found located near a dilapidated house, he was a strong boy she was sure, because he carried a bloodline-limit. They could see it in the marking tattooed across his hands. "Everything happened so fast, you know? I mean, we're still fairly young ourselves. This is the prime of our lives." No average family would be able to raise him safely. Why they'd let him live remained a mystery. Why they felt compelled to keep an eye over him themselves was even more so. "Besides, we have to keep on our toes…who knows when danger will break out in our village too?"

That old edginess was there, a long standing resentment, personal grudges set aside for something even more irksome. It was painfully old, the mental scar still oozing at the core of the matter. Ino knew it was something Sakura herself would be loathe to admit...it's what bound them so disparately as friends, as rivals, and as lovers.

That old pain sat stagnate between them.

"You're not going to be considered weak for staying behind." Ino swallowed hard as she sat down beside Sakura, taking a hand in hers. "In fact, one day it's going to be inevitable. He's going to go to school like we did, graduate, begin training, go on missions himself." Ino shook her head, maybe she was becoming soft…or maybe, she was just becoming the woman she always knew she wanted to be. "We're going to be the ones watching his back as he leaves for those missions…but you're not going to see that day unless you stop trying to kill yourself."

"I'm not dead yet." Sakura said, cutting to the core of the matter.

"No, but you will be if you keep taking A ranks." Ino shot back. "You've been such a damn idiot recently that I…" She sighed and shook her head. "Damn you, for making me even worry in the first place." Her free hand lifted to her face, covering one side as she nipped at her lower lip to keep her expression from breaking…she hated to show anything other than fury, especially when her wife was the cause of the unsteady emotion.

"Damn you for worrying so much." Sakura just shook her head. "Have a lil faith, huh?" She could feel the stickiness of crimson, the metal taste lingered in her mouth. She had been well acquainted with such a taste in her life. With as often as she had been smacked around by this woman…and as often as she fought back, it was no question that Ino was likely equally acquainted with the crimson flavor.

There was no winning some battles, and even as they sat so close, emotionally they were too far away from each other to make ends meet. "I'll retire." Sakura said then as she felt something hot and wet hit their joined hands. She turned to Ino, tilting her head to the side, giving the woman a soft kiss, the trickle of crimson marking the both of them, etching the promise in blood.