Fanfiction Commission for rmcpizza of deviantArt

Sakura Haruno/Ino Yamanaka from Naruto; Rated K

At Least I Have You

It was December, and it was cold in Konoha. A typical winter, with snow covering the streets, and roofs. People were either inside their houses, drinking hot tea or eating noodles and soup, or playing outside, throwing snowballs at one another.

It was cold, yes, but did that ever stop anyone from going out? That was what winter clothes are for, right? Sakura Haruno knew this, and she wasn't going to let an entire season push her regular training regime back. Today, she asked her long-time rival and somewhat-friend, Ino Yamanaka, to accompany her. Sparring with her is one of her pastimes, as she always liked to prove to Ino that she's stronger every chance she gets.

After taking a bath, she dressed up with a jacket and brought kunais, and shurikens with her for training. She ate her lunch and set out.

Sakura was dead set on getting stronger. If she wasn't training with Lady Tsunade, she would be training on her own. She knows she's not helpless enough to stop training just because her mentor wasn't there. It doesn't matter how she does it, as long as it helps her get stronger. Warm-ups, exercise, jogging, sparring, meditation, target shooting... you name it, she's got it. Dead set determined.

She arrived in the forest an hour later, having jogged her way there. It was around an hour or two past noon, and not a single person can be seen anywhere. Well, it was to be expected – a lot of ninjas do not usually bother training in the woods during the winter season. She walked around, casually checking out the surroundings. After a while, her companion's lateness started to bother her.

"Tch, what's taking her so long?" Leaning against a tree, Sakura grumbled to herself. It's been ten – no, fifteen – minutes past the time they agreed to meet up here, and she still hasn't shown up. So much for common courtesy. Sakura took the liberty of sitting down on the snow, back against a tree's trunk. After a while longer of waiting, footsteps crunching against snow can be heard nearby. She turned, and saw Ino running towards her, panting.

"Sorry, sorry. I was asked to help out for a bit before I left the house." She waved it off like it didn't cause Sakura trouble at all. Typical Ino.

"Heh, whatever, I'm pumped for some training! Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be!" She replied with a smirk, lunging forward to make the first move. Caught by surprise, Sakura hastily jumped back to avoid the attack, dodging it successfully.

Sakura launched the next attack towards Ino, and after a while, they were having a steady fight. Blocking, parrying, dodging... The clashing sound of kunais, and the impact of muscles on muscles, kicks and punches... They both were stubborn, and they both didn't want to back down so easily. They already sported nicks and cuts, bruises and aching limbs, but it wasn't a factor for them to want to give up; it's something they're used to, something every ninja should be used to.

Hours later, they were still going at it, even if the sun was already setting and darkness was falling. Neither one of them would back down, but they could already feel their energies dropping low, and in a unanimous decision between them, they came to a stop. They were both panting, trying to catch their breath.

"Seems like someone's trained in stubbornness!" Ino laughed.

"I beat you like, an hour ago already, but you just wouldn't accept defeat!" Sakura stuck out her tongue at Ino, which caused her to be called a sore loser. They bickered for a while until Ino shuddered violently, shocking the other girl.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sakura frowned.

"Y-yeah, the wind's just getting strong." Her teeth chattered. Strong, harsh winds blew, whipping their hair and their jackets. They scanned the area, but it was getting dark. It was too dark, too windy to see. It was an onslaught of harsh winds and sleet, and it would be unthinkable for them to get home that night, so they both agreed on setting up a tent.

They loudly argued over where to set up a tent, and they both settled for some thick leaves near some trees. Sakura had the idea of using their kunais to hold down the large, thick leaves, to emulate a tent. Ino complied, albeit unhappily. Anything, anything just so they could take shelter from the harsh weather. Even just a bit...

After some time, the tent was set up. It looked shoddy and poorly made, like it would give in any second, but all they needed was one night for the tent to last. Just one night so they could get make it through.

Sakura crawled in and sat down the far end, while Ino sat near the entrance. It hardly changed anything; it was still bitingly chilly and their teeth were chattering. In addition to that, both of them even had massive headaches thanks to all the senseless bickering and lengthy sparring they had before this point in time.

"Th-this is all your fault." Ino said with a snarl. It couldn't be seen in the dark, but the tone of her voice was an enough indicator of just how pissed off she really was.

Sakura was quick to jump to her own defense, "Hey, it's not like I c-control the weather!"

"If you hadn't invited me to the f-forest, then I would have been at home and not here, stuck in an ugly tent with you in the middle of a b-blizzard!" She whined. "I-I can't believe this..."

Clearly annoyed by Ino's accusations, she made Ino shut up. "For once in your life, can you please stop talking?" She said exasperatedly. "You're making my headache worse." Ino didn't say a word afterwards.

The bad weather did not show any signs of ceasing, so they were decisively stuck there. Neither girl wanted to admit that they were feeling cold, that they were practically freezing themselves to death. Both had their pride set so high, they'd rather die suffering from hypothermia than admit anything to the other.

Sakura tried rubbing her hands together. Ino tried to hug herself to conserve body warmth, and even letting down her hair just so the back of her neck wouldn't feel cold. Thankfully, it was dark and they could hardly see each other. The most they can make out of the other was the outline of their body. Just enough to reassure they haven't ditched each other.

"Th-th-this is n-nothing!" Sakura laughed, boasting about how it wasn't affecting her at all. "Bring it on, l-let me feel your worst!"

Ino retorted, "A-At least I don't stutter my words as much as y-you do! I'm u-used to this! I could stay here for w-weeks if I need to!" She boasted.

Sakura scoffed and squinted towards Ino's general direction. "Th-this is rich, coming from the g-girl who was complaining just a bit earlier about being s-stuck here!" She sneezed loudly, her nose feeling more and more congested.

"Well, I c-could stay here for w-weeks, but I'd r-rather not be here with you." She said haughtily with a huff. "Anyone but you."

Their bodies were aching, their body was freezing, and their stomachs were growling. There isn't any food nearby, and it wasn't like it was safe enough to go scavenge around, if ever. They both didn't want to sleep in fear of predators lurking around. They'd rather be prepared to defend themselves, if the problem arises. Sakura decided that if she had nothing better to do, she should just start healing her own wounds and bruises. She got to work, the green light from her healing technique emanating from her hand, lighting up a corner of the tent. Ino looked at her from where she was seated but didn't say a word. No way is she going to approach her for free healing. Besides, it was just a few cuts and minor bruises; nothing serious.

Sakura felt better afterwards, even if she wasn't in tip-top shape. She thought of offering to heal Ino too, considering it was her fault and her responsibility because she led her out here, but her pride said otherwise, so she just kept mum.

"Are you going to get in trouble with your parents or something when you come home tomorrow?" Sakura asked, in an attempt to make some small talk. She just wanted to make sure the other girl was still awake.

It took Ino a while to answer, but she nodded, "Yeah, I most likely will. Nothing too harsh, though, so I don't really have much to worry about." She shrugged.

Awkward silence filled the tent again. Not knowing what to say, they both waited until they could no longer sit up straight. It felt like it's already been at least five hours, so it has got to be late.

I can do this, Sakura said to herself. I can endure the night out here, it's no big deal! She said it over and over to reassure herself that things will be fine. She's been through worse things than this.

Suddenly, a strong blast of icy wind hits their tent, taking both of them by surprise. Their hairs stood on their ends, and they instinctively yelped and jumped into each other's arms.

Trying to shift the blame towards Ino, she yelled, "H-Hey, what're you doing, huh?!"

Ino retorted, "Wh-what am I doing? Y-You're the one who started it!" They could both feel each other shivering like mad in each others' arms.

"I did not! It was y-you!"

"Shut up! A-As if I'd do that!" She said defiantly.

They both fell into silence, and a few moments later, they both realised that hugging each other was the best way to preserve their body heat. It was the best they could do, lest they want to die out here. Their embraces tightened, not wanting to let go of the other now. Both of them decided to let go of their prides, just for tonight, and held on to the other.

Ino chuckled softly, "T-Truth is... I'm actually freezing to death here. Sucks that we got c-caught in a b-blizzard in the f-forest..."

"I-I thought I'd be used to this, given our past missions... I g-guess not. I'm just as c-cold as you are, if not more..." Sakura admitted, laughing with her. They both felt silly. Who wouldn't be feeling extremely chilly right now? What did they even gain from not admitting it? This has got to be better, they both thought.

"It's still kinda c-cold," she said, "but at least not as m-much as before... Being in e-each other's arms is nice... it's a bit warmer now at l-least..." Ino said.

"A-Are you sleepy...?" Sakura asked. It was probably nine in the evening already, or maybe even later. She wanted to sleep; there was nothing to do, and it was just really cold. The snowstorm wasn't as strong outside anymore, but it was still unsafe to leave.

Ino nodded slightly. "Yeah... C-Can we go to sleep...? I don't think some a-animal's gonna get us while we're asleep..." She yawned, eyelids growing heavy.

Sakura shifted a bit and told her to lie down. The snow wasn't a very comfortable bed for the either of them, but it was hard to complain especially when they were both cold, and tired. After Ino had lied down on her side, Sakura settled next to her, facing her as well. Without a word, they both snuggled each other, held the other in her arms, just so they'd feel warmer, as they slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, they both woke up quite early to see the sunrise. The blizzard was, thankfully, over, and they could go home now. They were both back to themselves again, taunting each other playfully and mildly shoving each other around. They disassembled the makeshift tent, getting their cold, snow-covered kunais back.

"Don't say a word to anyone about last night." Ino threatened her, as they walked back together to Konoha. "I swear, if anyone finds out about this..." She worried about the possibilities, the things people would say. She worried about her parents, how they would react when she comes back home later, and she only hoped they would not be angry.

Sakura scoffed, "As if. I'd rather freeze to death than let anyone know I spent a night in the forest with you." She laughed, grinning at her.