Summary: Sakura doesn't and never did remember her dreams- only her nightmares. InoSaku.


Dreams

Once, when Ino and Sakura had both still been children, and had still been friends, Sakura decided to sleep at her friend's house and had a nightmare. It was something ordinary- the girls in school picking on her, except taking it one-step too far and Sakura had ended up dead (in the dream, of course). She had woken up screaming, and Ino had too, minus the screaming. She remembers, vaguely, that Ino comforted her and rubbed her back- even at age seven she had amazing empathy. After she calmed down, Ino asked her what she had dreamed about. She told her best friend she had a nightmare about the kids in school and, trying to calm her distraught friend, Ino told her that she would beat up those girls before they could lay a finger on her.

This made the now calmer girl giggle, and become more comfortable. Looking back, Sakura vaguely recalls Ino telling her about the dream she had been having- a happy one about flowers and candy and the like. Sakura, feeling officially cheered up enough to be curious, asked Ino if she always remembered her dreams. Her friend had answered yes, and returned her question. She, after pausing in thought, replied that no, she doesn't and never did remember her dreams. At least not the good ones- only her nightmares. Ino had given her a weird, almost sympathetic look, before replying that they should go to sleep before her mom found out they were up.

It was seven years since that day, and Sakura was surprised she remembered it- but then figured it wasn't so strange since it was the first time she had entered Ino's room since that day. Now fourteen years old, both girls lay in bed, the night sky pitch black and no stars showing through the thick clouds. Sakura found that, just like last time, she had a dream. This one more pleasant, and didn't require her to wake up screaming like last time. It was a nice dream- with flowers and candy and the like, and, of course, her best friend Ino.

They were sitting on top of a mountain- for what reason though, Sakura was unsure. A camp was set up, and both girls looked down from the peak of their (probably secret) mountain, and watched the people move about below them. Sakura thought she recognized Naruto and Sasuke, her teacher Kakashi, and among them, though farther below, the girls that used to beat her up- the same ones she had dreamt about seven years ago. Then, in the dream of course, she had turned to Ino and smiled, and Ino had smiled back, and then they were lying down in a sleeping bag in their tent set up atop a mountain- the same sleeping bag, with both their heads sharing a pillow and Ino wrapping her arms around her body. And then Ino kissed the corner of her mouth as if it was perfectly normal and rubbed her back in soothing, calming circles, until dream Sakura fell asleep and real Sakura woke up to the sound of Ino's voice.

"You were giggling in your sleep," Ino said to her, letting out a warm laugh of her own.

"Was I?" Sakura asked, still in a half-asleep daze.

"What were you dreaming about?" And Sakura looked at Ino for a second- studying the way her hair fell over one of her eyes, the childish purple pajamas with pink flowers, and the blue eyes that seemed to demand a response without looking aggressive at all- and she simply shrugged.

"I don't remember."