Well, I'm not much of a Naruto fan. I've only watched a few episodes so don't get mad in case I mess up with the words they're saying or their attitude... and I'm a newbie in fic writing. So please don't flame me.

And the disclaimer... I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

Chapter 1: The Feeling is Gone

The cherry blossom trees were starting to bloom once again. The pink petals always amaze some people. And among them, is Sakura. The girl picked up a strand of her hair and stared at it. So much like these petals. She sat under the tree and sighed. More people were passing her way and she stared at them. A familiar figure came into view. The blonde which she hated before. Yamanaka Ino.

"Hey, Sakura-chan." Ino waved at Sakura, with a smile on her face.

"Hi, Ino," Sakura said that in a rather lazy tone.

Ino leaned over to Sakura. "What's wrong? You're not happy to see me?"

"It's not like that… it's just that…" Sakura stared at the ground, not willing to look at Ino in the eye.

Ino sensed that Sakura's in a not-so-good mood today. "The blossoms… They look so… beautiful… so much like my… Sakura."

Sakura smiled at this. Ino is her best friend and will always be. She can't believe that they had been rivals… just for a boy!

"Wanna go with me?"

"Where?"

"Just wanna walk around the village. I wanna see what's new in Konoha today!" Ino extended her hand to her best friend.

"Sure! I've got nothing else to do today." And she accepted the hand that was offered. Sasuke was the reason for our fight. And now… The feeling for him is… gone.

They began walking.

"Ne, Ino-chan…"

Ino glanced at Sakura. "What is it, Sakura?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Do you still like… him?"

Ino was shocked at first. Who is she talking about? "Sasuke?"

Sakura nodded. "Do you still like Sasuke-kun?"

"Why?"

"Just asking."

"Well, I gotta admit. The fight over Sasuke-kun has been stupid. Imagine, ruining a friendship for a boy!"

Sakura smiled weakly. "But you won't give up on him."

"Nor you. But now…" She shook her head, "I don't like him that much anymore."

"Ne? How come?"

"Now that I think about it… I guess it's not just meant to happen."

Sakura remained quiet.

Ino looked at her friend. "How about you? Do you still like him?" She kicked a little stone that was on her way.

"Not anymore."

Ino was not prepared for this answer. "Huh?"

"The feeling is gone…"

"Naruto."

Sakura stared at her. "Nani?"

"You like Naruto, don't you?"

Sakura blushed. "No! I mean – how did you know? I mean – Why did you think that I like him?"

Ino smirked. "I know you Sakura. I'm your best friend. And from what I can observe, you seem to like him. I can't believe you had fallen for that – that – that stupid guy who keeps on eating ramen all day!"

"He's not stupid! Naruto's not stupid as you think he is!"

Ino chuckled. "See what I mean?"

"Was it really that obvious?"

"You can't fool me. I know about those kinds of things."

"You're right. Hey! What about you and Shikamaru?"

"What? What's with me and Shika?"

"You two seem to be getting along just fine."

"Eh? We're just friends! And of course, we get along! We're on the same team, remember?"

"There's something in there… Getting along with each other. It's not the usual kind of thing."

"What are you saying there, Sakura? Me and Shikamaru are just friends! I wouldn't fall for that idiot who keeps on saying 'Mendokuse..' all the time!"

"Oh, really?" Sakura grinned.

"Really!" Ino turned her back to Sakura.

"If you're not falling for that idiot, how come you're blushing like crazy?" Sakura pointed to Ino's cheeks which were reddening.

"Am I? oh, it's nothing." She put her hands over her cheeks.

"Come on, Ino. Admit it!"

"Fine. You caught me. I like him. Anything wrong with that?"

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong at all." Sakura smiled to herself.