Chapter 3

"Isn't it strange?" Sakura demanded. She perched on the edge of a metal railing, skirt carefully tucked beneath her bottom, swinging her feet back and forth.

"Is what strange?" Anko, wearing her usual attire, floated in the air above her, arms crossed behind her head. They were on the school roof, lazily watching the gym students running laps below them.

"That girl I was talking about, Ino. Isn't it strange for her to see us?"

"There are humans that can see the spirit world, pinky. They're called psychics," the purplette drawled, flipping around so that she created the illusion of lying on her stomach.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I know that. But she can do more than that. Ino was able to touch a ghost!"

"That is a little weird," Anko frowned. The older woman thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Explainable, I'm sure. I don't care for all that technical mumbo jumbo."

The gym teacher's whistle sliced through the air, the students coming to a halt. "Ne, Anko…"

"Now what, pinky?" The purple haired woman turned to look at the girl, raising an eyebrow at the slight flush covering her cheeks.

"Aren't humans…well…I-isn't it abnormal for them to, um…"

"Spit it out already!"

"Isn't it strange for a girl to be interested in another girl?" the Reaper stammered, turning away to avoid the smirk she knew the purplette was throwing her.

Her attempts to hide were useless, as the woman was suddenly sitting next to her, leaning over to look directly into her blushing face. "What brought this interesting little tidbit about, pinky? Noticed a hot piece of work?"

"T-that's not it!" she squeaked, covering her face with her hands. This was so embarrassing. Her lack of knowledge about humans was coming back to bite her in the ass. "I-Ino asked if I had a girlfriend…a-and I thought humans didn't approve of those sorts of relationships…"

Deciding to take pity on the pinkette, for now, Anko said, "It used to be taboo, if you wanna call it that. Most considered it wrong. Nowadays, though, it's pretty common. There are still some buttholes out there that call it unnatural, but it's a lot more accepted now than it used to be."

"Oh…I-I didn't know…"

"You really don't remember much 'bout your human life, huh, pinky?"

The teen shook her head, legs ceasing their forward and back movement, a frown creasing her face. "No. Tiny flashes of memory here and there, that's all. They're not even important or meaningful. Just everyday things," she shrugged.

It was quiet for a moment, the only sound coming from the wind and the distant voices of students' four levels below them. A sudden bang caused Sakura to jump, scrabbling to grab onto the edge of the railing to prevent a rather nasty fall. Somehow, she wasn't surprised when her blonde classmate appeared at the doorway. Ino seemed to find her wherever she went.

"There you are, Miss. Reaper!" Ino chirped, rushing to her side. She paused at the other school girl's side, tilting her head at the purplette. "Who's your friend?"

"You sure weren't kidding, pinky," Anko grinned. "It's should be next to impossible for her to see you, let alone me."

The blonde snaked her arm around the pinkette's waist, tugging her off the edge of the railing. Sakura let out a rather undignified squeak, clinging to her smug classmate as she was plopped back onto solid ground. "Since everyone else can see you now, I'm assuming your body is at least sorta human. Don't be so risky," Ino scolded. "Now, shouldn't you introduce me?"

"A-Anko, this is Ino. Ino, this is my, uh, coworker," the Reaper stammered, fidgeting uncomfortably as the blonde kept an arm around her waist. When she tried to pry the arm from her midsection, she suddenly found her fingers twined around the other girls in an inescapable grip. Was it normal for human females to be so touchy feely? Sakura wasn't sure, and wished she had some sort of human-spirit translator.

Ino held out her unoccupied hand with a pretty grin, tossing her bangs back with a flick of her head. "Nice to meet you, Anko. Now, is there any sort of title to your line of work? I call Sakura miss Reaper, you see, and—"

"Nah, I'm just a desk job," the purplette interrupted, reaching out to clasp her hand. She whistled when she found she really could touch the human's hand. "Sure weren't kidding 'bout those strange powers, pinky."

"You don't even do your job half the time," Sakura muttered irritably, glaring at the hand that refused to release her. She broke out in a sunny grin when the blonde let go, but groaned a moment later when she was encased in a tight hug. "Can't breathe!"

The taller schoolgirl had wrapped her arms around her shoulders, pinning the purple haired coworker with an intense gaze. "So you're just a coworker, Anko? Nothing else more…complicated?"

Despite herself, Anko found the situation amusing. Leaning against the railing, watching as Sakura flailed around in the blonde's grip and thus completely oblivious to the turn in conversation because of her attempts to escape, she drawled, "What gave you that idea?"

The blonde somehow managed a shrug despite her tight grip on the other girl. "You two just seemed awful chummy. I like to know the territory I'm stepping on, if there is any."

"No worries here, girly. Pinky ain't my type," the spirit grinned.

Ino let out a disgruntled sound as her captive suddenly burst free, standing and gasping a few feet out of reach. Blushing to the roots of her hair, Sakura spluttered, "Leave me alone!" before dashing down the steps like a bat out of hell.

"Ah, she's so cute…"

"What's got you so interested in her anyway?" Anko said curiously.

The girl merely shrugged and said, "I like pretty girls."

"It's got nothing to do with the fact that she's technically not alive?"

"I am curious as to why she's suddenly visible to everyone else, pretending to be a student at my school," Ino admitted, sidling closer. "Care to enlighten me?"

"Sorry, girly. I only know the basics. 'Sides, she's undercover."

An incredibly childish pout burst out onto the blonde's face. "Oooh, now you have to tell me!" For good measure, because Anko didn't look like the nice type, she added puppy dog eyes and clasped hands into the act.

Anko floated into the air, crossing her arms behind her head with a smirk. "Guess you'll havta smooth talk pinky into telling ya. Time for me to get outta here, girly. See ya!" And with that, and a rather large popping noise, the purplette was gone.

Tromping along the currently empty hallway, Sakura cursed her luck while trying to control the heated blush she could feel covering her face. The blonde psychic always managed to make her flustered and nervous, popping up out of nowhere to man handle her and say embarrassing things. "I don't think I like having human emotions," she muttered.

The girl paused to look out a window that faced an inner courtyard within the school, noticing a familiar shock of bright blonde hair. "Naruto…?" The exuberant boy was gesturing wildly with his hands and arms as always, a big grin plastered to his face. Over the past few days she'd gotten to know the hyperactive boy, with his knack of getting in trouble and playing silly, harmless pranks on their teachers, who seemed to ignore him as much as possible.

She frowned at the figure walking next to the blonde. With dark hair, pale skin, and a distinct aura that stated the boy would rather kill himself than socialize, Sakura knew that such a boy would have stuck in her mind. Was he from another class? As if sensing her gaze, the pale boy glanced up towards the windows, his dark eyes seeming to glare straight at her. The pinkette felt a shiver run down her spine and wrapped her arms around her torso, frowning at the strange boy. There was something about him…

"Sa-ku-ra!" Warm arms wrapped around her waist from behind, effectively cutting off her train of thought. If the chirpy voice wasn't enough to tip her off as to her hugger's identity, a trail of long blonde hair tickled at the edge of her vision. "You shouldn't run away from me like that! I missed you terribly."

"I was gone for five minutes," the Reaper blushed, fidgeting in the blonde's unrelenting grasp. She wasn't sure where to put her hands that wouldn't encourage the school girl, and finally settled for laying them against the windowsill.

A soft cheek rubbed against hers. "But every second we're apart is far too long!"

Jeez, this girl was dramatic. Yet despite that, Sakura still felt her cheeks heating to uncomfortable levels. To distract the bubbly girl, she pointed at the two boys walking in the courtyard. "Who's that?"

Ino, ever curious, leaned over her shoulder to get a better look. "Oh, the guy next to Naruto? That's Sasuke Uchiha, class 3D, I think." Frowning cutely, she pulled the pinkette flush against her body, breathing in the frozen girl's ear. "You don't like the anti-social type, do you, Sakura?"

"L-like? What do you—?"

"Come on, Sakura!" the blonde sighed, rolling her eyes as she tightened her grip just a fraction. "I know you're technically not alive and all, but I'm sure you know what crushes are!"

"Cr-crush!" The single word came out far louder than she intended, and the Reaper hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment. After taking a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, she murmured, "I don't get crushes."

The pinkette could practically feel the school girl's irritation, and briefly wondered what could have upset her. "Everyone gets crushes."

"Not me."

"So, you're telling me you don't feel anything when I do this?" Pausing for only a moment, the blonde leaned forward to brush her lips ever so lightly across the shorter girl's neck, grinning when the action produced a full body shudder from her prey. Reaching one hand up to place on her chest, avoiding the naughty places, she purred, "You can't lie to me, Sa-ku-ra. You're heart's beating awfully fast."

The pinkette was frozen in place, positive that if her eyes widened any farther they'd pop from her head. It was true that her heart was beating unbearably fast, thudding in her ears. There was a strange fluttering in her stomach that ceased to calm and her legs and arms were shaking with a sudden energy. Was there something wrong with her? She hadn't had a human body for so long… It wasn't until she felt the warm hand on her heart begin to slide downwards that she finally snapped out of her daze.

Acting purely on instinct, she elbowed the girl behind her to gain room, and swung. A loud 'crack' sounded in the hallway. Looking at her stinging hand in bewilderment, Sakura looked up, wide eyed, to see the blonde gaping at her with a hand covering her reddened cheek. The pinkette vaguely realized the hallway was intensely silent; the multitudes of students staring at the commotion, and felt her cheeks redden in a deep blush. "I-I have to go!"

Ino stared at the retreating back of her newest fascination, mouth agape, and cheek smarting. All she could say was simply, "She hit me!"

And we've gotten more into the characters' personalities! I've always pictured Ino as a big flirt, so it's really not a large stretch from that to a pervert. Sakura is acting slightly more shy and girly in this setting, but it's perfectly natural for people to act different in different surroundings and around different people. So, don't worry, mouthy Sakura ain't going nowhere. ;) Thanks for reading, and review! Tell me what you liked, what you disliked, what you found funny—anything! Just a simple hello will make my day! Also note, updates will be sporadic. I seem to have a lot of inspiration for this one so far, so they shouldn't take TOO long to update, but no promises.–Master of all perv's, out!