Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Obviously.

Authoress' Note: This story was originally published December 4th, 2008. As part of my current project, I'm updating many of my previous stories. Namely for grammar, but also to make them a little easier to read or updating plot holes that were previously unfilled. So please enjoy!

A Flower Like You

"This is where everything started, huh?"

"It was the place where everything ended as well."

It was a warm spring day in Konoha, and a rare day off for two of its finest kunoichi, Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka. Even more rare was the two deciding to spend their day off together, as often times they spent their time fighting over who would be the one to win the heart of the stoic Sasuke Uchiha. However, in the weeks and months after his defection from the village, the two have been able to calm down their rivalry and manage to somewhat become friends.

On this day, the two ladies decided to take a trip down memory lane, to the field where they made their rivalry known, but for what reasons they really didn't know...

"Hard to believe that after all this time the field looks exactly the same."

"Yeah..."

Ino turned towards her friend, blue eyes lit with a bit of concern. "Sakura?" she asked, her voice light with curiosity.

"I remember when we were younger, we always came here and braided flowers together. Your rings were always prettier than mine, but then again with you living at a flower shop, it wasn't much of a surprise," the rosette replied, "Then we would unbraid them and bring them home to our mothers, and they would always smile and place them in a vase."

The blonde teen laughed, remembering the events as well, "They always said that the flowers we picked were the most beautiful of all because their lovely daughters always picked the perfect ones."

"You heard that from my mother."

"Yeah, but my mom said something like that once too."

Sakura laughed slightly as she sat down on the grass, a light breeze ruffling the leaves of the trees around them. Ino followed suit, "I remember when Ami would always tease you and I shot a flower in her mouth. Her reaction was priceless when I said it was poison!"

"That was pretty funny. Although at the time I was more focused on being grateful for you being there."

"Of course. We were...best friends back then, and it's a friend's job to protect the ones they care about."

"Yeah...that's true."

With a bit of a frown, Ino scanned the field, taking notice of all the flowers around her. Then her lips curved up, her mind hatching an idea. "Sakura, I want you to wait here and keep your eyes closed," she said as she stood up.

The rosette raised a thin eyebrow at the statement, "Why? What do you have planned?"

"You'll see. Now close your eyes!" the blonde said in a demanding voice.

Sakura sighed, but decided to listen, closing her eyes as instructed. With a huge grin on her face, Ino walked away, picking up flowers every few steps she took.

"Can I open my eyes yet?"

"Not yet. I'm almost done."

"Ino, come on... just tell me what you're doing!"

"Just wait a moment; I'm almost done, darn it!"

Sakura sighed again, her mind cursing the blonde as she kept her eyes shut. 'Dang it Ino! You know I'm not the most patient person!' she yelled to herself.

Suddenly she felt something land on her head and a small laugh echoed in her ears. "Okay, open your eyes," Ino said, a sing-song pitch in her voice.

Sakura's emerald eyes opened up at the command, only to see flower petals flooding part of her vision. Curiously, she looked up at her friend, who just smiled wide at the confused kunoichi.

"The other thing we did was making flower crowns for each other. And my beautiful crowns always looked perfect in your hair," Ino stated softly, "That's one thing you always beat me in, you know. My blonde hair could never compete with your pink hair. You know why?"

Sakura only shook her head. Ino's smile grew a bit larger, "Because it's perfect for a beautiful flower like you."