Hey guys! So if you've seen anything about my profile you'll see this is my first ever fanfiction. I'd really like to hear your guys opinions, because I never really am a fan of what I write, so it'd be nice to have some outside opinions.
I obviously don't own Naruto, and all that jazz, I'm not making any money from this!
Sakura awoke to the sun shining directly on her face, and a pulsing headache. She sat up in her double-sized bed, and rubbed her eyes. I can already tell today is going to be great… She thought, letting out a sigh. After lazily getting out of bed and brushing her teeth, she walked to the kitchen in search of something to eat. She looked at the clock and saw that she had slept in late; it was 11:44 AM. Not that it really mattered anymore, life was peaceful, and had been for 3 years, so she didn't have any deadlines to meet. She opened the fridge and sighed; she had come home late last night, and forgot that yesterday she was supposed to go food shopping. She reached in, and grabbed an apple (which turned out to be squishy), and threw it in the trashcan in disgust. The fridge was barren other than a half empty pint of milk now, which she didn't dare even check the expiration date on, and a small amount of wine left in the bottle. She didn't normally drink, but on days where she was feeling sad or stressed, it helped to relax her. Living by herself turned out to be more of a chore than privilege at times, it seemed. Due to the fact she had to go out and shop, she had to shower and get ready for the day. She couldn't do what she normally did and laze around in sweatpants with bed-head. She undressed for the shower, and sighed as she looked at her own body. She was still very fit, but that's not what was bothering her. Her breasts were still small, smaller than almost every other woman's in the village. She was 18 now, and had barely had any growth since she was 15. She easily fit her hands over her small breasts, and let out a loud 'huff'. So small, especially compared to Hinata's or Ino's. She briefly thought of the latter, who had been on her mind non-stop as of late. She quickly broke her train of thought and stepped into the shower, remembering what her original task was.
As Sakura finished drying her hair and getting clean, she looked in the mirror. She looked fine, not pretty, never pretty. She had never seen herself as attractive, especially since the only people she ever had attracted were weirdoes (and Naruto, who counted as a weirdo, but a close friend, too). Almost every girl in the village either had, or could easily find, an attractive man to be with, (or at least someone who made them happy, in Hinata and Naruto's case), but of course not her. She put on her shoes and left the house, no need to lock it as everyone in the Hidden Leaf were respectable people. The village had made a great comeback in the 3 years, with it pretty much restored to its former glory. The problem with Sakura was that she had gone her whole life looking for a man, and chasing after Sasuke for a long time, that she had pretty much given up. Or at least that's what she liked to tell herself. She didn't like the thought of what crossed her mind and what it could mean, but at the same time it made her happier in her fantasies. See, because in the past couple of years men slowly started to leave Sakura's mind, and were slowly replaced by, well… women. Not, all women, just one in particular, really. The tall, blonde, gorgeous, example of perfection, with the perfect assets and gorgeous eyes. Not only, was this girl perfect and easily had guys swoon over her, but Sakura had the amazing privilege of having this girl as her rival. Though it was rather self-appointed by the two girls, it became a rather fruitless competition when Sakura saw Ino beating her at everything they competed in. She was even better at things they didn't compete in, just natural everyday tasks. Sakura still had her healing powers over her though, which albeit not much in contrast, was still something. Though, even being completely overshadowed by this girl, Sakura didn't hate her. In fact, it was quite the opposite, really. She was very fond of the other girl. The two had been close in their childhood, but after them both chasing after the aforementioned fellow, they had grown apart. And to Sakura's dismay (as well as the other girl's, unbeknownst to her) they had never really revitalized their friendship.
"Ow, hey! Watch where you're going, forehead!"
Sakura was immediately snapped out of her endless plain of thought as she ran into something. She hadn't been really paying attention, but had still been walking this whole time. It was second nature, muscle memory to know her way around the village. She looked at the other girl, and tried to hide the blush that crept onto her face. Ino was looking gorgeous (as always, of course), even with her furrowed brow and frown.
"Did your forehead block your line of sight, Sakura-Chan?" Ino asked, as a smirk crossed her face.
"No," Sakura replied, patiently, "I was momentarily distracted by a thought. I'm sure you'd be used to that, being so full of yourself." Ino's smirk faded back into a frown. The two had not talked much over the years, just a few exchanges here and there, nothing too friendly, and nothing really with any meaning. Sakura pushed passed Ino to continue her shopping, as she was incredibly hungry, but was, surprisingly, accompanied by the other girl.
"What are you looking for?" Ino asked, looking at the other girl.
"Food, I'm completely out of everything at home." She replied without making eye contact. There was an awkward silence, and Sakura thought she might as well return the advance, to be polite. "What are you here for, Ino-Chan?" She asked, trying not to sound too interested. Because in fact, she wasn't, but she did like having the girl around and didn't want to seem too enthusiastic too early.
"I was just bored, thought I'd come out and do some socializing. It's a Saturday, so I felt like there'd be more chances to see people that were off work." She told. Sakura's next words stung Ino, because she didn't know how untrue they were.
"Why would you come here? You've got so many boyfriends and you're so popular I'm surprised you don't have people with you all the time." Ino, had been in fact, as lonely as Sakura though the past few years. There weren't really any other females around her age that weren't already tied up in a relationship or something else. Hinata was with Naruto, and Shikamaru was with Temari. Tenten was… well Tenten. She hadn't really been the 'best friend' type since Neji had died. Plus her and Hinata already spent enough time together as the latter comforted her.
"Don't be so ignorant, Sakura. I never said I was popular." She said as Sakura purchased some fruit and vegetables from a vendor. The two carried on from stall to stall, Sakura buying copious amounts of food so that she wouldn't have to shop again anytime soon.
"Well, I should probably be heading home now." Sakura told Ino, barely able to see over all the bags she had.
"Oh well… you wouldn't want to, hang out or anything, would you?" Ino asked, covering a slight blush. Yes, yes, yes, yes yes! Sakura thought, but replied coolly with 'sure, whatever'. Her next move wasn't as sly as she stumbled, almost causing her tower of bags to topple over.
"Whoa, hey there, need a hand?" A familiar voice asked. Sakura peered through the bags to see Kiba. He greeted her with a smile and took the majority of her bags, carrying them with ease.
"Thanks a lot, Kiba." She said, smiling. She wasn't in the greatest of moods, but she felt the need to return the boy's large, warm smile. "What are you doing out and about?" She asked him.
"Oh, I was just visiting my mom and sister; I like to get around to seeing them every now and then. It's not as easy now that The Leaf has gotten so big again." He replied casually.
"That's awfully sweet of you." Sakura responded, still smiling.
"Where do you want me to take these?" He asked, resituating himself.
"Oh! Right! Back to my place, Ino and I were heading there right now anyway." She said, looking at the other girl who hadn't spoken this whole time.
"Right, WE were." Ino retorted, putting emphasis on the word. Though her tone was harsh, Kiba took no notice and followed Sakura as she led him back. The walk was about 5 minutes, so she'd be able to muster some small talk.
"Where's Akamaru, and how's he doing?" Sakura asked, looking up at Kiba.
"He's fine, great even! He stayed with my mom; I was going to go pick him up later. He's almost got as close a bond as I do with her!" He replied with a laugh that had a snort in it, causing her to giggle.
Ino walked casually, but was fuming on the inside as the 3 of them made their way to Sakura's house. She didn't hate Kiba, they were friends and all, she just didn't want him around at this point in time. What's worse was Sakura's constant flirting with him as they walked back. They both talked about living on their own, whereas she still lived with her parents. The walk seemed to take ages, but they eventually arrived at Sakura's house, where Kiba helped put away her groceries and bid farewell.
