Sakura's Jealousy
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura had just come back from training with Kakashi-Sensei and she really wanted to eat with Sasuke. "Wait up!" she called. Sasuke looked back, but said nothing. He lived on the other side of the world, apart from any love or harmony. Sakura knew deep inside him wasn't evil, for she had a way to see that in everyone. The evil the lurked in Sasuke didn't make him an everyone, though. He was a person. A different person.
"Sasuke-kun!" she called again. Sasuke kept on walking. Sakura frowned and hung her head in shame. "Oh well," she said, "I'll never be able to eat with Sasuke-kun at this rate. We've been teammates for so long and I've never had a chance…" She sat on the nearest bench, near Ino's home.
"That sure is right, Sakura-chan." Sakura slowly turned to face Ino, her face still an unhappy moon. "You have no chance with Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan. You might as well give it up." Sakura's not the kind of person who would stand for Ino's tolerance. She was a person who would stand up for herself. Especially in front of Ino.
"Yeah, Ino-pig? You've got some nerve insulting me! You can't even get Sasuke-kun to go out with you!" Sakura yelled angrily. Ino thought hard and tried to change the subject. Her comeback was quite convincing.
"Yeah, Sakura-chan? Well, I've got some news for you. My best friend is coming to the Leaf Village and I'd love for you to meet her!" A wide grin spread across Ino's face. Sakura's face turned puzzled as Ino explained her friend's coming.
"Yeah that's right, my best friend. She doesn't know Sasuke-kun, luckily. Her name's Flare Fire. But who knows. She could like Sasuke-kun. After all, she's going to be in your squad." Ino grinned again and Sakura's eyes were wide with horror.
"M-M-My group?" She asked. "That means…" Her voice trailed off in a soft tone and in her mind, a scream of horror no one could hear.
My group… She thought. I'll have to share Sasuke with her. Great. What if she does turn out to like Sasuke? What will I do? Sakura continued to silently weep her invisible tears, with hopes that Ino was lying. But, reader, if I told you this story of Ino's was a lie, I would be lying to you. Unfortunately, this is all the truth.
Ino grinned again. "Well, see you later, Sakura-chan!" She started laughing and walking back inside her house, her voice trailing after her.
"In my squad…" Sakura whispered and sat down to face the truth.
The next morning, Sakura woke up with the fear of losing Sasuke. She couldn't help it. A new girl in the village would mean more competitors. She knew she couldn't let Ino down, though. She had to come with Ino to meet Flare Fire.
Sakura walked over to Ino's home, hoping that she would take a long time looking at herself in the mirror. No. That can't be true. After the preliminaries, Ino must've changed. I mean, she cut her hair with a kunai. A few minutes later, Ino came out looking as… well… the same as ever.
"Time to go see Flare!" she said. "I can't wait! I just can't!" she seemed so excited that Sakura didn't want to disappoint her. She wanted to meet Flare, but she was afraid.
"You coming Sakura-chan?" Ino said harshly. "You're not afraid are you?" Sakura fiddled with her fingers. What could she say? She gulped.
"Uhhh. No. Yeah, I'm comin'." She stumbled. Ino grinned, but said nothing. She motioned to follow here to the front gate. "I know where it is, Ino-pig! You don't need to show me!" Ino snorted.
"Yeah, yeah." She said and continued to walk towards the gate. "THERE!" she yelled happily. "There's Flare!" She pointed her finger at a young girl.
Flare had a pink backpack and was wearing a green shirt and camouflage pants. She had two headbands. One on her forehead and another on her waist. She had beautiful, blue eyes and a sneering face just like Ino's.
"Hey, Ino!" she waved at us, well, Ino, and dashed toward Ino. "Hey! Who's this?" She pointed at me and looked closer. "You have a big forehead, but I like you." She grinned. "Well? Care to introduce me to your friend, Ino-sama?"
Ino blinked and then shook her head. "Of course! Right. I forgot." Ino's glance turned toward Sakura and her hand in her face. "Sakura-chan, this is Flare Fire." She pointed to Flare. "Flare, this is Sakura-chan." Flare grinned.
"So, I heard I'm in Squad 7. Who are in my group?" Flare asked curiously. Sakura gulped, trying not to meet her eyes with Ino. Even though she wasn't looking, Ino's gaze stung like a thousand wasps. It wasn't easy to avoid. She finally gave in.
"Squad 7," she started, "my squad, has Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and me." Sakura gulped again. Flare's grin brightened.
"Sasuke Uchiha?" She made him sound as if he was from heaven. "Really? I'm going to be in the same group as Sasuke? Oh, thanks, Ino!" She ran off.
"INO?" yelled Sakura, her finger pointed at Ino's nose. "Why would you do that? Don't you want Sasuke?" A big grin spread across Ino's face. She cleared her voice.
"Yeah, I know, Sakura-chan, but since that's not going to happen for a while, I figured I'd give him to my best friend. You know, to warm him up for me." She grinned. Sakura was fuming.
"You said Flare didn't know Sasuke!" Sakura exploded. "You said so! Cha!"
"I lied." Ino grinned and walked away.
The next morning, Sakura was in her room trying to get ready for her first mission with Flare. "What if she purposely tries to keep Sasuke away from me? Is she strong? Will she kill me?" Then, Sakura thought back to the moment when Flare was talking to her.
You have a big forehead. She said. But I like you. Had she really meant that? Or was she just pretending for Ino's sake? Does she really like me? Sakura's thoughts swirled in her heard like a vicious tornado about to do major damage. The cold air was Ino and the hot air was Flare. When they mix, they cause destruction.
Suddenly, Sakura realized what she was thinking. She was thinking of her friends, or rivals, as horrible monsters! She shook her head. It's time for me to face my fear. Maybe Flare won't try to take Sasuke after all. I'll just have to think of the best.
When Sakura arrived at the training ground, she found that everyone else was waiting for her. For once, she was the late one. She had spent so much time in her room thinking, that she was actually late!
"You're late, Sakura-chan. Do you always stall in your room?" asked Flare in an Ino-like tone. "You must be scared. Don't worry. We're only rescuing a cat from a tree. Sakura let out a breath of relief.
"Good. Then you won't be able to outsmart me or make me look bad." Said Sakura. She was glad they were only rescuing a cat. Flare won't have a chance to take Sasuke then. "So," she said, "Which tree is it in?" Flare smiled and so did Naruto, but he decided not to say anything.
"We started without you, Sakura-chan. You were too late." Explained Kakashi-sensei. She was too late. Flare must've already won Sasuke. I guess she was talking out loud, 'cause Flare replied.
"It's not a contest, Sakura-chan. I don't want Sasuke that way. You can have him if you want." She smiled a comforting smile that made Sakura forgive herself for judging Flare too quickly. Sakura smiled back.
"But you know, Sakura," Started Kakashi-sensei. "Since you didn't do the mission with us, you'll be working for 10 minutes shining the Hokage faces." He smiled. "Have fun."
Everyone walked away, leaving Sakura with a bucket of soap water and a sponge. At least I can have Sasuke. She looked up at the Hokage faces. Yeah, sure. Or at least, he can have me… As a maid.