TITLE: Jitters

SUMMARY: Ino was nervous. more nervous than she'd ever been. Sakura was the same, as they looked at the returning members of Team Kakashi, who had been gone for a two-year training mission.

RATING: T

AUTHOURESS'S NOTE: Ho-hum... boooooreeeeeeddddddd... anywho, second chapter. TT-TT woohoo.

DISLAIMER: nope, I don't own, but InoSaku would be much too much for a goth girl like me to handle without getting mugged. haha.


Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, Yamoto, and Sasuke were walking to the training grounds they had trained on before they'd all left, and just sat there, in the half-darkness of the winter sun's descent.

"so...they live together?" Sai asked.

"I...I guess so." Sasuke spoke out.

"Wow, it must be because Sakura-chan's a--" Naruto was elbowed in the ribs by Sasuke. "OWW, Teme!"

"Dobe, I don't think she swings that way." the Uchiha smirked. "did you see thier jewellry? it had 'S&I' on it. I think that means 'Sasuke and I', or something."

Yamoto shook his head. "I don't think so. Sakura and Ino moved on quite a bit ago, you know."

he looked a tad shocked.

"Too true. remember when Sakura had all those fanboys awhile back?" Kakashi said, and all of them groaned. of course they remembered, she'd had to throw a few over the hokage mountain until they got the message to leave her the fuck alone.

"Oh! Sakura-chan's never been on a date with someone before!" Naruto recalled. "I'm serious here." he replied to the rolled eyes of the others.

"really Dobe? prove it." Sasuke demanded.

"alright... when she was fourteen, she was asked by Shino to accompany him to a clan festival- she turned him down. when she was fifteen, she was asked by multiple guys- Kiba, Izumo, Myself, Shino, Gaara, Kankuro, Kotetsu, and even Shikamaru and Chouji to go to the spring festival with them, but she turned it down."

Sasuke faltered. "okay, you have proof." he admitted.

"and who did she go to the festival with?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto racked his ramen-minded brain, searching for the answer. "Oh! she went with Ino, said it was some type of 'Gal-Pal' thingie."

WITH INO AND SAKURA, they were breathing in relief.

"I can't believe they haven't caught on yet." Sakura laughed.

"I know! I live here, and we left the doors open to expose one bed, jeeze, do they think I sleep on the effing couch?" Ino cackled.

they walked to the bathroom, and Sakura turned on the shower as she stripped and hopped into the pleasantly warm shower. Ino hummed a song as she, herself, got ready for bed, in a light, silky pair of shorts and a sports bra holding her breasts. Sakura hopped out and dried her hair with chakra, as she buffed her body dry with the towel and then put on her own nightclothes- a tanktop that went clear to her knees, that she had stolen from Naruto a few years before.

they walked to the bed, and got into thier sides, and Sakura pulled her close under the sage green shuriken coverlet, as her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep, once again curling around the Yamanaka like a toddler and a stuffed plush toy.

the next morning, Kakashi and the rest knocked on thier door- which they'd left unlocked- and entered when only a grunting response came. they wandered over to the bedroom, and pushed open the door, only to see the two cuddling.

"Oi! Sakura-chan!?" Naruto was, in a word, aghast.

"Hmm... this is confusing." Sai commented.

"heheheh..." Kakashi giggled as he read Icha Icha- Yuri Edition. everyone glanced at him warily, giving the two in the bed enough time to wake up.

Sakura's eyes met with Ino's, and they both flashed in understanding.

"Sakura?!" Ino said, shocked, then pushed the girl off the bed, with a THUNK!.

"Ino?!" Sakura looked dazedly at the Yamanaka, inwardly thanking thiose acting lessons when she was younger.

oh, they were such good actresses.

"S-Sorry, Ino... bad dream." Sakura's eyes drifted to the side. "you know what." she muttered, as she got up, and went to the bathroom, and closed the door tightly, as she just sat in there.

"u-um..." Ino choked. Sakura did have a bad dream, but it happened alot, so she had comforted the girl half asleep. "please, go wait out in the main area." she asked politely, and then went into the bathroom, and looked at her pink haired girlfriend. "Sakura, how bad was it?"

Sakura covered her face with her hands. "Bad."

Ino sat down on the flooring, hugging the girl with one arm. "it was about when he raped you, right?" she asked quietly, soothingly.

she nodded. "h-Hai."

the Yamanaka nuzzled her collarbone, then pulled her love up, and pecked her silently on the lips. "we'd better get ready." she whispered, and Sakura left the bathroom.

"Hn. no tears?" Sasuke asked snubbingly.

"no, of course not, Sasuke." Sakura sighed, as she ran a hand through her pink strands. "I haven't cried in three years." she smiled wryly.

Ino walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed, and glad she had a change of clothes in there. "yep." she nodded. "can I tell them, Sakura?"

the rosette girl was rummaging the fridge's contents. "sure, Ino." she said after she'd chomped down on a crisp apple, then closed the door.

"well, anyway," Ino rolled her eyes. "three years ago, that's when her father left, but... he left her a little present." her eyes drifted to Sakura, who's green orbs flashed and flickered, as she busied herself with a task she could do half asleep- and had done half asleep- she brushed her teeth while getting out the bread and butter and putting it in the toaster. it was second nature to her now, after all.

"what did he do?" Kakashi asked, warily. he wasn't sure if he wanted to know or not, but this was Sakura. he needed to know.

"He...he raped her." Ino forced out, as Naruto's eyes bugged out.

"WHAT?! HE TOOK HER...HER!?" Naruto choked out, but couldn't finish his words.

"her Virginity?" Sai said, with a smidget of shock and disgust in his tone.

Sakura gave a dry laugh. "oh, HELL no. nope, lost that on a seduction mission the month before, didn't tell you because you'd probably be out hunting for a guy who's currently pushing up daises somewhere in Amegakure's nameless cemetaries." she gave a wry smile, then chomped down on the toasted bread with butter spread over it, and sighed inwardly. she really didn't want to talk about this.

"S-Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"Hai, Sasuke?" she asked with a hint of agitation to her voice.

"why didn't you tell us?" he asked.

she inhaled to keep her anger. "because. I didn't want to hurt you guys more than you've been hurt already. not to mention that bastard is a Haruno, who had to be complete masters of disguise." her eyes dimmed. "I wouldn't recognize him now, I bet." she quickly ate the other piece of toast, and then brushed off the crumbs to the floor. she pushed herself from her leaning position on the wall, and started leaving the apartment, and toward a training ground.

"oh no." Ino groaned, then took off after her.

the boys followed, confused. when they got there, it had started sprinkling rain- only a bit though- and were shocked at the scene. Sakura was trapped under Ino, with her knuckles bloody, and her eyes glazed over. Ino's eyes were the same way, and they were barely three inches apart.

"what happened here?" Kakashi asked, s he inspected a rock with large indents in it.

Ino and Sakura snapped out of it.

"oh, she's just a little angsty and mad right now, she'd probably train herself to death when she's like this, so I'll have to kep watch on her." the Blonde shrugged. "it happens whenever she tells someone about that little incident." she helped Sakura up, then looked at the sky, but gave up trying to figure out the time.

"it's ten twenty-three a.m, Ino." the rosette girl sighed softly. "I'd better go get ready; I have an ANBU mission later." she started heading back to thier apartment. Ino followed, and the males followed as well, puzzled beyond what they thought was possible.

she dissapeared into the bedroom, and came out in full ANBU Black Ops gear, including her kitsune mask, and two Katana's that radiated pure- but only slightly noticeable- power, and the baggy pants kept up by a chain belt that could double as a weapon.

"I'm leaving now." her voice cam from behind the ceramic mask, and then she was gone in a holographic fashion, without any warning.

the guys and Ino trained until about five or six in the afternoon, when Sakura was due to get back to the apartment, so they headed back. Ino opened the door, and looked around to see no Sakura.

a hour later, when there was a weak, soft and unsure sounding knock at the door, Ino went to open it, only to shriek. Sakura layed on the 'Welcome' Mat, and her green eyes were flashing from thier viridian shade to bright, luminescant purple with a snakelike slit. the boys tried to peer at her, and they saw her wounds surrounded by purply crimson chakra, and were aghast to see the way her eyes flickered, and that her mask was hanging on her neck, and a trail of blood was going from her mouth, down her chin, and staining the white ANBU over armor thing red.

she looked to Ino. "H-hide m-me." she gasped out, before her eyes went completely purple.

"crap." Ino muttered. "her demonic side. not again." she groaned lightly, then pulled the girl into her arms, glad for the minimal strength-by-chakra she had learned from her rosette love, and walked her to a cheap, white futon she unrolled with one foot in the corner of the dinner room, and placed her gently down on it.

Sasuke went tentatively foreward, and tried to poke her on the arm, to see if she'd respond, but a wisp of angry-coloured reddish purple chakra blazed out and zapped him, making him jump back out of sheer surprise.

"what's happening to her?" Yamoto asked.

Ino looked to them. "I'm not allowed to tell you much, other than--" she was cut off by a forign voice coming from the pink haired girl.

"than who this brat has imprisoned inside her damn human body." the dark voice came.

Ino sighed. "Ah, shit."

Naruto looked a bit more informed about this than the others. "so Sakura's a...a..."

"Jinchuuriki?" the two asked at the same time.

"Hai." Ino said, pinching the skin on the bridge of her nose. "she's a bit annoying, but she'll go back once Sakura's all healed."

Kakashi's silver eyebrow rose. "and that would be...?"

"a few hours." she groaned.

he blinked. "Oh."

the Demon that had control of Sakura's healing body nodded. "Hai, 'Oh'."


K.L.K- (face-palm) I did it again. as if having her supposedly related to the tailed beasts, now she's also a Jinchuuriki. great.

Sakura- (growls)

Ino- DAMN YOU K.L.K!!!!

K.L.K- fine, just for that, I'll make her protective of you.

Ino- TT-TT damn it all.

Kakashi- O.o well, review!