DISCLAMER: I do not own 'Naruto'. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the OCs, whoever may appear, and this particular fanfic. Thank you.
Okay, Now You Can Panic
"…uhh..."
Time seemed to stand still, if only for the currently conscious figure in the dirt. Sakura had no idea what she was supposed to do-or how she was supposed to react here. Come on-naked girls don't just fall from the sky on a daily basis! Especially into one's lap. It sounded like something out of an anime! And she didn't even watch many of them to begin with!
Honestly, if she could, Sakura would have been running for the hills screaming bloody murder. But, that's kind of an impossible task when someone's sitting on you.
Crap…you'd better hope that nobody decides to just 'walk by'…or it's your funeral. Though, what a way to go, eh...? Yep-her conscience, a.k.a her 'Inner Sakura', was absolutely thrilled with the turn of events. Growing up the way she did, Sakura had learned early on to keep a lot of her true thoughts and feelings to herself.
Of course, now that she was older and with fewer restrictions on her life-actual ones, not self-imposed-her Inner was becoming less of just her own thoughts, and more like a personality all its own. That's what it felt like to her, anyways. Half the stuff she talked about had nothing to do with her! Like random observations on the physical side of things, as far as people went.
When she looked at it like that, Sakura was pretty sure she'd have been locked up in the psych ward without parole. She could only pray she wasn't finally cracking under the pressure of college life and stuffing everything down inside for so many years. Perhaps she just needed a therapist? Maybe she was hallucinating?
"Mmm…" The pinkette twitched at the sound. The girl was stirring. Well, that helped to cancel out the illusion theory pretty quickly. Sakura could still feel the pain in her body, and the weight upon it as well. But she'd been so desperate for any sort of false assurance that this wasn't happening. Slowly, she looked down, just as the female sat up. Her delicate hands were pressing into Sakura's ribs as she yawned. Lifting one of said hands, the stranger began rubbing her eyes.
All Sakura could do was stare, in slack-jawed shock.
This girl was beautiful. Absolutely perfect. It was almost unreal. No-she fell from the sky! It had to be! How the hell were either of them even still alive?
Her skin was pale ivory, and flawless. Not a bruise or blemish marred its fair surface. Silky blonde locks, like spun gold, were tied up in a high ponytail. The strands fell forward, shadowing her small face and round, pert breasts. Her eyelids fluttered open with full lashes, revealing a pair of the softest blue-hued irises Sakura had ever seen in her entire life. Such an ethereal shade…
"Eh?" That was when reality hit the pinkette like a ton of bricks.
She was lying on her back, with a nude female straddling her in the dirt. For all to see. The color drained from her face, and she nearly passed out again then and there. It took all of her mental strength to stay conscious. Now was not the time to panic like that!
The blonde was watching her, fully awakened by this point. She tilted her head at the unusual expression upon Sakura's features. It looked so strange…had she ever seen such a look before? Was she used to seeing expressions to begin with? Without any hesitation, she reached out, and poked the pinkette's prominent brow. The girl beneath twitched at the foreign sensation.
"A-aah…" Sakura's green eyes traveled upwards, her eyes crossing as she struggled to get the thin finger in her vision. It didn't work. "What…are you doing?" She was surprised that the blonde could move after a fall like that. Sakura herself was still immobile-then again, she was being used as a human chair. But she still didn't know if she was functional.
"I…I-Ino." The voice that flowed from the petal-shaped pink lips was startlingly soft and sweet. Like sugar, without any sort of rot. Sakura blinked, confused by the sudden word offered to her. "Ino? Boar?"
"I-Ino." The girl shook her head, ponytail swishing back and forth. Her face was starting to scrunch up in concentration, as if she were really trying her very best to explain something. "Ino. Ino!" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Boar, boar? What?" Could this girl not speak?
"Ino!" The girl grabbed Sakura's hand, and pressed it up against her chest. "Ino."
"E-ehh?!" What was she referring to here? Sakura was confused for another few moments before she came up with an idea. It was a long shot, but... "Ino! Is your name Ino?"
The blonde blinked curiously. "Ino." She tilted her head, offering a small smile. "Uhh…okay." Sakura wasn't sure what that meant. Maybe this girl was retarded. Wait-that wasn't the term an aspiring nurse should be using. The proper label was 'mentally disabled'.
"Alrighty, then…I'll just take that as a 'yes'." Sakura stared off into the distance for another few seconds. Suddenly, she remembered…
"Aw, crap!" Sakura quickly yanked her hand away from the blonde's soft chest, finally realizing just what she'd been unintentionally doing this entire time. The stranger simply tilted her head once again, giving her the appearance of an intrigued puppy. For some bizarre reason, Sakura found this appealing.
Another rush, this time in the form of heat to her cheeks, rising from her neck. "Whoa! What am I thinking?! Back up here! Okay." She took a deep breath. "Here goes." She looked at 'Ino'. She needed a name, didn't she? Sakura couldn't just go around calling her 'Girl'. That wasn't very nice. 'Ino' stared back, unflinching.
"Umm…could you…move, please? I-I kind of need to stand up…" Silence. Not a bit of motion came from the blonde. She continued staring, as if not hearing, or not understanding. For the next minute or two, there was more silence. Ino did not blink, and Sakura was becoming increasingly frustrated by the second. Aw, jeez! Don't tell me…that I'm going to have to…
Yep-you're gonna have to move her, Forehead. Her Inner was snickering at her. Mentally, Sakura gave her the finger. Her Inner merely tsk'ed. Why did this have to be such a bad thing? Her host really was a prude.
"Okay, then…you leave me no choice…" Sakura locked eyes once more with the mysterious blonde. Damn, those baby blues were gorgeous! Even if it was a bit creepy how she could go so long without blinking.
"Now, how do we do this?" Sighing, Sakura managed to sit up halfway, so that Ino was fully in her lap, instead of above her hips. Her long legs were spread out along the pinkette's sides. She blushed momentarily, imagining how on Earth a picture like this would look to passerby. Ah hell, they'd be too caught up in ogling a naked blonde chick to even notice her. Was that a good or bad thing?
"…probably not." This last line was uttered to herself more than anyone else. Gulping, Sakura surveyed the scene. The only way she'd be able to grab Ino would be by wrapping one arm around her back, under one arm…and the other under her rear. Which was as naked as a newborn's.
"Ino?" The girl looked over, as Sakura carefully placed her arm underneath Ino's armpit, palm flat against her spine. The reaction she got was quite surprising however. The blonde let out a happy chirp of "Ino!" and promptly smashed her in a tight hug. Sakura's chin was almost between her breasts, and she could feel the fresh frenzied flush to her features.
"Yaah!" In her surprise, Sakura forgot her previous fears, quickly reaching down to place her hand underneath the girl's bottom. In a feat of amazing superhuman ability, for her anyways, she shot up on unsteady legs, carrying the blonde like a newlywed. Ino's feet swung in the air, as she clung tighter to the pinkette. This made her even more frantic.
"SHIT!" She took off running, with the blonde holding on for dear life. Or was Sakura clinging to Ino? Whatever the case, she resembled a triathalon runner crossed with a bodybuilder, carrying the unknown female with ease. Was Sakura actually strong?
Or was it just the circumstances?
In less than five minutes, she had made it back to her apartment complex. Amazingly, she did not stumble once while flying up the two flights of stairs, which was a good thing. Her legs were still rubbery, and falling down would've only made things worse, as well as added in a bit of extra brain damage.
Fumbling in her pocket for the keys-thankfully she'd left her purse behind; all she needed was her wallet-she unlocked the door, and rushed inside, kicking the wooden barrier shut and setting Ino on her feet in front of her. Finally, Sakura's body gave out, as she collapsed in a heap against the closed entryway. Ino stood, looking down at her. This strange pink haired girl with the large forehead and bright green eyes. She knelt down, watching the obviously stressed female.
It was obvious to anyone who wasn't Ino, anyways, that she was stressed.
"Augh…I can't believe I did that! What the hell?!" Sakura's heart was pounding, as she struggled to come to terms with what exactly had happened. A naked girl had fallen from the sky. Where she'd come from was unknown. She had crashed on top of her. She was clingy, with a possible mental impairment.
And Sakura had brought her home, like some sort of stray. Was she insane?!
"I must be! This is so freaky it's not even funny! What on God's green Earth am I going to do?! Stuff like this doesn't happen! It's not supposed to!" There was no way she could keep the blonde here. Not only would it be near impossible to support two people on her salary, but-it just wasn't right! This whole situation was wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong!
"Damn it-I have to call the authorities! But what am I expected to say?" Sakura groaned. "Hello, I was walking along, when this naked girl fell from out of nowhere and beamed me in the head! Can someone take her off my hands?" It sounded even stupider out loud, and she knew this time that the both of them would wind up shipped off to the asylum, to have their heads examined.
"Uh?" Soft footsteps, and another light but unfamiliar-and still noticeable-touch. The pinkette raised her green eyes, and met shining blue. The blonde was smiling, with a finger extended. She was poking Sakura in the head again. The young woman's eyebrows furrowed, wrinkling her forehead. "What?"
"Ino." Her smile grew, as her index pressed harder against the large expanse of flesh.
"Whaaat? And stop prodding at me! I already know it's huge-no need to rub it in!" She jerked her head away, and crossed her arms. Just like a pouty child. Her forehead had always been a sore spot for her-she used to get so much flack in her youth for it! It had taken her forever just to come out of her shell enough to stop keeping her hair in her face all the time.
More padding footsteps. Another intrusive prod. "Ino!" She didn't get it.
A vein twitched in Sakura's temple.
"AUGH!" The sudden cry startled the blonde. She fell backwards, as Sakura rose to her feet. She was glaring. "Enough! I don't know what I'm going to do, but what I would like is to be left alone! Do you understand?"
The blonde gaped. Scary...she was so scary! Ino didn't like yelling...she knew that this sound didn't mean good things. She'd never seen anyone yell before...right? But she knew what it was, and that she wanted it to go away. She didn't like that look, such a look upon the pink one's face...! Her lower lip began to tremble, as her face scrunched up. This reaction was noticed by Sakura, and her glare was instantly replaced with confusion. "What-"
"'Sniff' 'Sniff' I…I…INOOO! WAAH!" The pinkette crashed into the door, as the piercing sound bounced off the walls and rang in her ears. She watched, now feeling guilty, as the blonde sat in a crumpled heap upon the floor, bawling her baby-blues out. The sight pulled on Sakura's heartstrings as she sighed, before kneeling in front of Ino. It took her a few moments to get her thoughts in order enough to reply properly, though.
I can't believe I...I did that...I was way harsh there. The level of aggression aimed at Ino was frightening to her-it reminded her far too much of what she'd seen before, what she'd had to witness. She'd hated it then, the violence. And even as a child, she knew. She never wanted to cause that sort of pain to another.
But all it took to get started was just a single word, uttered in anger.
"Hey. Ino." The blonde hiccupped, and furiously rubbed at her nose with the back of her hand. Sakura's voice sounded tired, and strained. Not yet exactly welcoming. When Ino did look up at the pinkette it was with her own glare, marked by hurt and more tears ready to spill at the first sign of attack. Was the big-brow going to...to...well, do something bad that came after the scary sounds? What could be worse than that?!
However, the voice that reached her ears this time...was soft. "Look, I'm…I'm sorry, okay?" Ino blinked. That wasn't a scary sound. At all. It was completely different from her voice a moment ago.
"I…I didn't mean to blow up at you. It's just…I don't know what I'm supposed to do, or how to react." Apologies were tough for Sakura. She wasn't used to them; for the most part, she didn't dole them out willingly or on a regular basis. She'd never learned to, first off. Not growing up in the environment she did. "It's not you, it's…this situation. I don't know if you get what I mean here, but-"
The reaction was instantaneous. "Ino!" The girl had thrown her arms around Sakura's neck, pinning her against the door. She had obviously understood the words that had been spoken, and was now much happier for it.
Or at least, she understood that the girl was taking back her earlier anger. She cast her stare on Sakura, who had to smile. Although her face was still red and puffy, her eyes were shining with joy and forgiveness. The pinkette reached up and brushed away a stray tear from her soft cheek. This resulted in her being pulled closer-and lower, in the blonde's embrace. Sakura let out a yelp. "Yow!" She was being smashed right up against Ino's perfect rack!
Wait-did she just think that this girl had nice boobs?
Uh, yeah. You kinda did, honey. But don't worry-I think they're quite nice, myself. The thought nearly threw Sakura for a loop.
Forget that! And why the hell is my face being planted in between, anyways?! Also, when had her conscience started perving on girls? Surely she would've noticed this sooner? With that, Sakura pulled away. Ino blinked in surprise. "Ino?"
Sakura had to force herself not to look in Ino's direction as she spoke the next line. For some reason, she was having trouble focusing here. "Okay, first things first-you need some clothes! Badly!" She stood up, and quickly made her way to the bedroom. Ino padded along after her.
Not that seeing her body is really such a bad thing… Her Inner cackled, and Sakura bit her tongue. Unhelpful, as usual. Why was she being so naughty today, in particular, and towards a girl no less? She wasn't even gay! At least, as far as she knew. But even then, it didn't matter.
She didn't care to get into relationships-they always seemed to end on a sour note. Both from what she had seen in the lives of others, and her own. And she wasn't one to repeat history. The scars it left the first time around were more than enough for her liking.
All of them.
Plus, she still had no idea where this girl had come from. For all she knew-and this was the sanest option of all of them, which was scary-this chick was an alien in human disguise!
"'Kay. Let's see here…gotta find something for you to wear." As Sakura skimmed through the contents of her dresser, Ino scanned the room, and proceeded to sit down on the bed. It was squishy, and was rather nice to sit on, she had to admit. One surface she wouldn't mind resting upon for extended periods of time. It didn't make her feel...restricted.
The room itself was filled with lots of other things as well, things that Ino couldn't really remember seeing at all before. Not clearly, anyway. A couple flickers of static and sounds drifted across her mind and mental ear, as she gazed over the scattered papers and piled up books. They seemed quite solid. Would it hurt if she touched them? The clothes gathered in a corner seemed far more pleasant to imagine handling. They looked soft. Like the contraption she sat upon now.
It was much better than floating in nowhere.
Soooft. Ino poked her arm, then her abdomen. After a few more seconds of quiet contemplation, she proceeded to poke at one of her breasts, like a youth discovering anatomy for the first time. Poke. Soft...
"Ah-this should do for now!" Ino looked back towards the voice, and tilted her head. In the pinkette's hands was a pale blue t-shirt with a black cat design, baggy blue cargo shorts, and a pair of white panties. Simple clothing that wouldn't attract too much attention to her new 'companion'. True, the thought of sharing her underwear with a complete stranger was a bit disconcerting, but it was either that, or more uncomfortable experiences relating to bare bottoms and the like. Sakura would just have to deal.
"Hmm…I should give you a bra, too." But upon inspection of her drawers, she made the-unfortunate-discovery that her bras were far too small for the blonde. All it took was a quick glance to see this little fact. For a few seconds, she allowed herself to sulk.
"Ino." The call startled her. She turned around with a jolt-to see that the girl was still naked. Another jolt. Sakura's cheeks burned, as she quickly turned away, covering the side of her face with her hand. "W-why aren't you dressed?" Good, good, she got the question out. Now, would Ino understand it?
"Ino. Ino, Ino." She waved her hands and stuck out her lip, as her head shook back and forth. "Ino-oo!"
Nope. Didn't look like it. She stared back at the blonde, thoughts still churning. Why couldn't she speak? "I-I don't know-oh! Oh…" The pinkette's green eyes widened to dangerous proportions, as she finally stumbled onto exactly what Ino meant. She…didn't know how to dress herself. Another session of personal musings.
So she's not from Earth. Either that or she's got a bad case of amnesia that's interfering with her basic motor skills.
"I…I see." Sakura took a deep breath. This day just kept getting better and better. Now she had to help the alien change clothes. After a few seconds of deep breathing, Sakura carefully walked over to where Ino stood. The blonde simply stared, blue eyes so wide and innocent. Another deep breath.
"Okay…let's begin."
First things first, may as well get it out of the way now. Sakura decided to start with the dreaded underwear. She held the white cotton panties in her hands, as she glanced at the blonde. "Ino…I need you to lift your left leg for me. Okay?" The girl stared, showing no sign of having registered the command. But in another couple of seconds, she began moving.
And something was not quite right here. "Ah-no, Ino honey-your left leg. Not arm." Honey?! Jeez, I think she's growing on me. And it hadn't even been that long. Maybe she was just trying to help the girl feel more comfortable, like she wished she did?
The blonde nodded, and tried again, with no success. "No-your other leg. That's your right." The pinkette was inwardly crying. This was going to be hell. She knew Ino wasn't doing it on purpose, but-!
After finally managing to pull the undies up to Ino's slender hips, Sakura moved on to the shirt, and finally the pants. The rest of the dressing went by better than expected, except for one part where Sakura's hand had accidentally brushed against the blonde's nipple. Sakura could have sworn that she felt the female shiver, the faintest gasp escaping slightly parted lips.
Now that the job was complete, she stood back and surveyed the girl's new attire. She didn't look bad at all. After all of the initial panic, the result was quite pleasing. Sakura knew how to put an outfit together apparently. Ino was looking down at her legs, pulling at the long shirt, and twirling back and forth with a grin in place.
"So, do you enjoy them?" The pinkette crossed her arms. The blonde looked over at her, grin still clearly visible. A shift in her stance.
"Ino! Ino!" She then proceeded to tackle Sakura. It took all of the pinkette's strength to not lose her balance and crash her head into the wall. "Yeesh! You really like to hug, ne?" But it was all too clear that she'd gotten her answer.
"Ino…" In response, the girl nuzzled her neck. Instantly, a blush crept up into Sakura's cheeks. What the heck was going on here now?! Did her heart just skip?
Luckily, the growl of the pinkette's stomach provided a much needed distraction. With a groan, Sakura realized that she hadn't picked up the food that she'd set out for in the first place. After managing to pry Ino from around her neck, she began to ponder her options. She glanced over at the blonde, who was playing with the end of her long ponytail. Could she bring her out for a trip, now that she was properly clothed? Would she be okay?
What the hell am I thinking? She's not a pet! She's a person-at least, I hope so. Sakura bit her lower lip. And maybe if I bring her out…someone will recognize her. This time, her Inner was snickering at the idea.
Feh. Right-they'll happen to know a chick who just fell outta the sky from God only knows where. She wanted to slap herself. But it was all she could come up with so far. These were extraordinary circumstances, yes, but she'd be damned if she wasn't going to try and at least find some logic and reason in them. She was a future nurse, for goodness sake! Logic was supposed to be one of her fortes.
Even if she seemed to do a good chunk of 'reasoning' with her heart, instead.
"Okay Ino, we're going out." The blonde followed her out of the bedroom, eyes sparkling as Sakura began searching for a pair of shoes for her company. Eventually, she settled on some black sandals that she hadn't worn in a while. They were clean enough and luckily on the bigger side in size, not smaller. Once ready, they exited the tiny room-Ino was rather intrigued by the keys-and made their way to the steps.
As they walked through the neighborhood, Ino swinging her arms and skipping every few steps, Sakura couldn't help but notice all the stares that the petite blond was gaining from various people. Men, women, children, teens-all seemed to be hypnotized by the happily oblivious stranger. All the pinkette could do was shove her hands in her pockets, as they reached the entrance to the burger joint.
Great. Just freaking great. Stuck with the abnormal supermodel from who knows where. It seemed that even covering her with casual attire was not enough to hide her beauty. The grouchiness wasn't from any sort of petty jealousy.
Sakura began tapping her foot, as she waited for the line to move. Ino merely stared, bright blue eyes traveling from here to there. Occasionally, she would wander away to investigate something, but after a few times of checking back to see that she was behaving, the pinkette let her be...at her own peril.
It was only when she heard the gasping and muffled laughter as she stood at the counter that she'd turned around, to see Ino spreading ketchup from the dispenser all over the counter with her hands and a couple of straws. That was when she'd established exactly what she had on her hands here.
And that thought continued on even after she had to clean up the mess. Finally, once she received their order, she promptly dragged Ino from the eatery and ran like a bat out of hell. They kept running until they'd reached one of the local parks, complete with empty benches. As she plopped down on a seat, face a vibrant shade of scarlet that could rival that of the ketchup itself, all Sakura could think was,
"Why me?!"
Her cry was loud enough to scare away the flock of pigeons that had gathered nearby for scraps. Ino giggled, and promptly poked Sakura in the forehead again.
…...
"Shiii-zune! Are you-you finished yet?"
It was afternoon in the kingdom of Hokage, about two days after the invasion of Sound and the disappearance of Ino. Currently, everybody was trying to rebuild all that had been lost, and clean up the debris. Nerves were quite frazzled and tense, as often came with combat and hard work.
And the Hokage was piss drunk. What a surprise.
"No, Hokage-sama, I still have a few more things I need to work out before the system will be up and ready for use." Her head scientist was doing her best to make progress, but it was a little difficult when your employer was hammered and pestering you like a child on a trip.
Of course, if Tsunade was aware of anything on her end, she didn't care. The Slug Sannin simply muttered a few choice curses, as she took another swig from her Sake bottle. Turning away on her heel, she nearly fell over from inebriation and the sudden movement. "Whoa-room's spinnin' real good now..."
Stability didn't mean a thing here. Nothing was stable so long as her daughter was gone.
"Jeez-just watching her get pounded like that makes me queasy!" From outside, Anko watched the sorry scene unfold. She was currently helping out in the rebuilding of the meeting hall, which had been almost completely decimated. "Not that I don't like the occasional bottle binge myself, but she's pushing it. Two days, man. Two days straight. And she's not sick yet?"
"Eh, she's the Hokage. She's probably got a strong gut, among other things. The job's not for the meek or mild." Hatake Kakashi, the silver-haired and non-infirm captain of ANBU Team A, was passing up tools to the workers on the roof, while reading a volume of 'Icha-Icha Paradise'. The famous 'erotic novel' series written by none other than the Toad Sannin, Jiraiya. No wonder Tsunade had a bone to pick with him over a hardcover book, of all things.
He was a relatively quiet man, laid-back in his actions and demeanor, though ultimately responsible. He never complained about his duties, even as he approached them with all the appearance of a layabout. He had been late a few times to the training sessions with his students, Anko knew this for a fact. How he could be so calm right now though, was almost unnerving to think about.
"I know that. It's just…depressing. Our great and fearless leader, drinking her life away because of a kid. Seriously-in my opinion, they shouldn't even be messing around with that cloning business. Let the dead be." Anko had a stern grimace on her face. It was apparent she understood full well what had occurred in those labs during the attack, what had been lost-and that she didn't think too highly of its contents.
Kakashi gave her a pointed look; her words weren't kind. "Hey, Alice was her life. You can't deny that fact-the pain of losing a loved one is one of the greatest to endure. The cloning was her way of sending it away. It's not conventional, but it worked for her." A pause as he turned the page. "And now that whole plan's gone to shit-of course she's going to be pissed."
"Yes, I know, it's just…something about it doesn't sit right with me. And you encourage binge-drinking, Kakashi?" Anko's dark eyes flickered up to meet his one, scanning the tiny orange book without any discernible emotion. A sudden tap to his shoulder from above.
"No, but I think she knows how to handle herself. And besides, we've all had our share of drowning in booze." He turned the page, while proceeding to fish out a couple of nails from the toolbox below him, and hand them upwards. "I trust her."
Sighing, the captain shook her head. "Whatever, Kakashi. And will you put that bloody book down already? My God, it's like a third appendage for you!" He raised an eyebrow at her comment, giving his visible features a tint of amusement.
"Aww, Anko-are you jealous?" He chuckled. "Want to read? I think they were having a sale at the book shop, last I checked. They should be back in business by now. I'd share, but…well, you know how it is." He received a tap on the shoulder, and placed a hammer back into the toolbox. Anko stared at him in disbelief.
"I will never understand what goes on in your head, Hatake Kakashi." She turned away then, to survey the rest of the clean-up efforts. She had to make sure that, no matter if they were all burnt out, cleanup was still going as it should. "And I don't think I want to."
He merely waved, before returning to his adult reading material.
…...
"Oi! Sakura-chan!"
"Shit. You have got to be kidding me."
Sakura slowly sat up, looking to her right. Ino was rolling around on the grass-Sakura hoped to God that the two males fast approaching from the direction of her complex wouldn't notice or connect the dots, even if they had already spotted her. There was no point in running. In a few more steps, they stood before her.
"Naruto. Sasuke. How are you?" Sakura spoke through gritted teeth, but was managing to stay calm and amicable.
"Hn." Typical response. Uchiha Sasuke was not one for conversations. The dark haired male was not one for heavy socializing in general, with a sharp mind and tongue that could trip up anyone. In the short time that she'd lived in the small complex, she'd become well-acquainted with him. He and his partner were her neighbors after all, but they were also her age. Sasuke attended the same college she did, while Naruto…
"Oi! What's up with you, dattebayo?" Sakura facepalmed. Naruto was squatting, directly in front of Ino. She was on her back, looking up at his spiky blond head. From where Sakura sat though, it appeared as if she was looking up his nose. Not an appealing thought.
But of course. Of course it had to be the numb-nut that noticed her first. Naruto could function, but he was a prankster at heart, with a slight tendency towards procuring damages and winding up in sticky situations. Also, he was dense. Just like a rock. But her companion didn't know this.
"Ino." The blond blinked, and sat down on the grass in front of her. She rose up and turned around, in response. He still didn't get it. "What the heck…?"
"Ino. Ino." She started pointing at herself. Naruto scratched his head. "Boar? Boar? Pig? What, 'tebayo? Does she think she's a pig or something?" Sasuke scoffed at the display, while Sakura tried not to cringe. "Charming. Looks like you made a friend, Naru." The nickname was meant to torment, and it worked, as his blond partner pouted. How cute.
But not so much was his reply. "Don't call me that, you pigeon-ass!" A vein in Sasuke's forehead throbbed, but he was quick on the draw. "Then don't call me by that name, either. Now we're even." Naruto merely stuck his nose up in the air, and crossed his arms. Sasuke sighed. So childish…how on Earth had he ended up with him, anyway?
"Ino, Ino." By this point, Sakura wasn't paying attention. She'd looked away from the lover's spat, head drooping. Ino had noticed this, making her way back over to where she sat. Now, she was tugging at the pinkette's shirt sleeve, like a little kid asking for attention. At last, after ten or so tugs, she acknowledged her. "What, Ino?"
"Ino? Is that her actual name?" Sasuke asked. By this time, Naruto had gotten over his earlier irritation, and had ambled over to join the rest of them, leaning forward on the other boy's shoulder.
"...Yeah." That was the pinkette's reply, as her head fell back against the bench. She had nothing else to offer there. If 'Ino', for whatever reason wasn't her real name, well...it may as well have been. It was being used damn well enough in reference to her, and by her as well.
The blonde, completely unaware of anything going on in Sakura's brain, promptly resumed her prior antics. "Ino." Poke. "Ino." Poke. "Ino." Poke. Poking at her new friend's forehead with gusto, Naruto just had to speak up. "How come she keeps sayin' the same thing, 'tebayo? Is she broken?"
At this, Sasuke slapped him. The blond began to squabble once more with his lover, though it was mostly one sided. Sasuke's retorts were short and swift-Naruto was the one who kept ranting. Sakura's eyes closed, as she desperately tried to drown out everything around her-she just wanted to be normal; to have everything return to the way it was before. Like it was just a few hours ago…before this-this thing-fell into her life.
But it was not to be. At that moment, Sakura felt a push against her forehead. She recognized this contact. Her cheeks began to prickle with heat, as Naruto's playful tones entered her hearing. "Oh? Aww, how cute! Sakura-chan, looks like you have an admirer!" She opened her eyes-
-coming face to face with soft blue irises and smooth skin.
Ino had placed her forehead against the pinkette's and was now grinning at her. Sakura didn't know whether to scream…or to hug her. Maybe both. Damn confusing emotions! Damn them to hell!
Naruto, who had finally recovered from the previous slap, decided to take a chance and open his mouth once again. "So, is Ino your girlfriend, Sakura-chan?"
With that uttered, Sakura pushed her way up from that seated position. Ino stepped back as the pinkette marched around the back of the bench. Naruto's eyes were wide, his features paled. In one move, a fist came swinging at his face, with all the force of a bullet train.
Yep…Sakura was stressed. And normal was definitely out the window by this point.
A/N: Hey there, and welcome to the second Chapter of 'TLC'! Again, more edits, and I think I've managed to polish this one up pretty well, too. This beginning sequence with Sakura and Ino's first interactions feels more smooth, IMO. Of course, that's for all of you dear readers to decide for yourselves. Did I do alright? ^^-
I noticed there wasn't a lot of development on Sakura's end previously-we know what's going on from Ino's end, but what about Sakura? I never did mention much about her side of things, which...isn't a good thing. She has to have her own piece to contribute to the story. And this time around, I think I've found her voice.
Yes, one of the side pairings in this fic is SasuNaru. One of the few guyxguy pairings I ship, in general. 'is a MAJOR Shojo-Ai/Yuri fangirl at heart' Tried to give them a little more to do here, than in the previous version. I feel like they didn't get enough fleshing out. After all, they do have their role to play in this story, too. What that is...
Same w/the village of Hokage, and its efforts to repair after the big fight. I saw that a lot of the earlier chapters aren't as deep as they could be, so. I explored a little more, w/the universe that's at play here. I wanted to bring things to life a little more-everything's so sparce and short, broken up! I want more meat to my fic! You're still growing, you need more than that to be healthy! I want you to develop! XD Okay, I'll stop that now, sorry. ^^;
Next time: Bubble bath! It's just a shower-what could possibly go wrong? Well, in the case of Ino...you never know. X3 Also, a look back at the bases of both Hokage and Sound-what sorts of progress have they made? And morning routines, oh how we love thee...
Any questions? Read on to find out. :3
