Note: I need to edit the other chapters. Since I'm still new to this stuff, I still have to learn the ins and outs of this… so. Yeah. That's all. Thanks for reading.
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Sakura was confused. She was laying on her stomach, her arms folded and resting her chin on her arms. Chewing her bottom lip, she argued with herself in her mind.
What the hell is this feeling? Every time I think of Ino, my stomach gets butterflies in it…
Well, obviously, you've got feelings for her.
No, no I don't. I can't have feelings for her. She's a girl and I'm a girl! It just wouldn't work out like it would with Sasuke.
Forget about Sasuke. He's made it clear that he doesn't like you… or anyone else, for that matter, so stop chasing after him.
Yeah, but he's so cool, and he's so hot…Ino is sexy too, and it's much easier to connect to a girl than a guy.
Sakura argued with herself until her mother called her for dinner. She left it at that, blocking out her inner self for the rest of the night.
- - -
Ino arranged a bouquet of miscellaneous flowers nervously. Her mind was racing, fighting herself to try to make sense of things. Why did she feel like that when she helped Sakura up? It didn't feel natural; almost like how it felt when she 'accidentally' brushed against Sasuke and their bodies met, barely brushing against each other and sending tingles up her spine.
Her mind trailed to Sasuke. She was sure that Sasuke wasn't interested in either her or Sakura. So what was the point of chasing after him anymore? She'd probably have a better chance with Shikamaru, Choji, Neji, even Sakura… wait. Sakura? Why did she put her in the same category as her male friends?
Maybe she did have some feelings for Sakura. Once she thought about it, Sakura was pretty; the only problem she had was that forehead. True, it was wider than most… but it was that uniqueness that made Sakura… Sakura.
That image of Sakura invaded her mind. Placing her hand to her forehead, she sighed. Why am I thinking of her so much now? Confused, she heard her parents calling for her. Trying to shove all of her thoughts away, she went to see what they wanted.
"What do you need, Mom?"
Ino's mother smiled at her in the back room. "Could you take care of the shop for a couple days? Your father and I have to go out of town for a little while. We need to pick up an order."
"Yeah, sure. I'll do that."
Ino wasn't surprised. She had to take care of the shop for five days once, so she was used to doing this kind of stuff.
She walked back into the shop, standing behind the register desk. She sat in the stool, resting her head on her hand. She heaved a sigh. Tapping her long fingernails on the heard tabletop, she thought of Sakura again.
- - -
"N-n-n… Naruto…" Sasuke moaned.
God, it hurt, but it felt so good… He'd never felt anything so phenomenal in his entire life. Naruto shook his whole body, the inside and out, and he loved that feeling.
He clawed at the cool sheets, groping for something to keep his body steady. Naruto pushed in and out, sharing body heat and sweat with the raven haired boy he so dearly loved. A tremor flooded Sasuke's body as Naruto moved faster and faster, thrusting in and out. Naruto could feel Sasuke's muscles tighten around him, embracing Naruto with such tension, such… passion, it seemed.
Sasuke felt Naruto's fingers sliding slowly up and down his hardened length. Sasuke couldn't contain himself anymore; he released all over Naruto's warm soft fingers. Naruto smiled as he stroked Sasuke. The white-stuff was very warm and a little sticky. He liked the texture of it on his soft fingertips. He formed his fingers into a ring and ran it up and down Sasuke, rubbing the sticky substance all over Sasuke's pulsing length.
Naruto could feel himself wanting release as well. He placed his cleaner hand on Sasuke's waist, gripping the Uchiha to steady himself as he started to reach climax.
"Mmph… Naruto-o-o…" The tender spots inside the dark-haired boy were touched in just the right places, in just the right moments, and in just the right ways. For the second time in a few minutes, he experienced the first orgasm of that kind in his entire life. He cried out, his eyes wide as his entire body surged and trembled from the shock of the exhilarating experience.
Naruto released just when Sasuke reached the second orgasm, filling Uchiha with his own white-heat. Both boys
Naruto withdrew as Sasuke gasped in relief and exhaustion, traces of the orgasm starting to fade away. They laid on the bed, absorbing each other's burning body heat and glistening sweat. Sasuke stroked Naruto's hair with his hand, smiling. He loved the blonde more than ever in his life.
They stayed like this for a little over a half hour. Both boys had agreed on showering after they regained their strength.
They tried behaving in the shower. They shared kisses in the hot water, they cleaned each other with soap, they washed each others hair… Both boys spent more time in the shower than they normally would have, about twenty minutes more, since they distracted each other, massaging soap suds all over the other's body and tasting each other once more, their tongues playing a game of tag.
- - -
Ino looked up as the shop's door opened. To her delight, it was Sakura, who happened to be on her mind at that moment.
Sakura's cheeks turned pink. She held out a fairly large covered basket at full arm's length, smiling at the pony-tailed blonde. She set it on the tabletop.
"How are you, Ino?" she asked, smiling warmly.
"Oh! I'm doing okay. I have to watch the shop for a couple days by myself because my parents are going out of town." She started to untie the basket, curious as to what it was.
Sakura blushed even brighter. She shook her hair, to conceal her face a little better and to hide her now flushing face.
Ino smiled when she opened the basket. She saw, laying before her, a fresh batch of heart-shaped frosted cookies. She gazed at Sakura, who was brilliantly pink by now, with shining eyes of a thousand thank-yous.
She jumped onto Sakura, wrapping her arms around Sakura's neck, giving her a friendly hug. "Thank you, Sakura. They look delicious."
Sakura, taken by surprise, wrapped her arms around Ino, holding her close. She closed her eyes, breathing in her scent and relishing her touch. Ino was so warm and she smelled so good…
They embraced each other for a minute or so, before they realized exactly what they were doing – and why. They broke apart, looking out the glass window, smiling. They didn't want to let go of each other… not yet, but they had to.
Ino picked up a cookie. She nibbled a small bite, tasting the sweet pastry before it dissolved in her mouth. Taking another bite, she watched Sakura smelling a bouquet of daffodils, touching their soft petals.
I wonder if this is how Ino's skin would feel if I could touch her like this… Sakura massaged the delicate sunshine-yellow petals, fascinated by the silky texture.
She stood up straight, dusting herself off nervously. She turned her head to face Ino, smiling.
"What do you think of the cookies, Ino?"
The pony-tailed blonde smiled. "I love them. Thank you."
Sakura combed her fingers through her strawberry hair. She wanted so much to stroke Ino's long shiny hair. Would her hair be as soft as her own?
"Anyway, Ino, I'd better go. My mom is expecting me to return right back so I can finish my chores…"
Ino looked up. "Oh, yeah, sure. That's fine. See you later."
Sakura smiled as she opened the tall glass door. The silver bells on the door sang a sweet chime, and lasted for only a moment as both girls turned away from each other, wishing that both of them could stay.
Watching Sakura walking away, Ino sighed. Why did she think of Sakura this way? It just didn't make any sense to her. Now she was sure that she likes Sakura as much as she likes Sasuke.
I was hiding these feelings all this time? I guess I liked her from the first moment I met her… I just didn't realize it yet. I realize that now… why was I so blind?
Ino absentmindedly arranged some flowers for the sixth time that morning. She glanced at the delicious cookies Sakura brought her. She picked up a cookie and ate it slowly, not caring if she was on a diet. With each small bite, her mind flooded with images of Sakura, her cherry-blossom pink Sakura, her ex-best friend, her rival, her crush.
- - -
Naruto woke up the next morning exhausted. He swung himself around, sitting on the side of the bed, pulling off his sleeping cap. He yawned, stretching out his sore legs and arms. Man, did I need that sleep.
He hit his alarm, which was ringing obnoxiously. He wanted to sleep in a little more, but since he had to meet his new squad at sunrise…
He started his usual routine. He was just about to open a container of cup ramen when he remembered that his new sensei had told them to not eat breakfast that morning – else they were to throw up. He didn't want to throw up, so he reluctantly put away the ramen and decided to brush his teeth instead.
He wondered if Sasuke was awake already. Most likely. What did Sasuke eat for breakfast? Not ramen, he didn't think. Vegetables? Fruit? Rice? He'd have to ask him at some point or another.
Pulling on his orange pants, he glanced at the clock again. Now that he didn't have breakfast, he had extra time to get ready. He wanted to look his best for Sasuke.
He combed his hair in front of the mirror after he dressed. He tried many different styles: smoothed down, parted down the middle, combed back. He simply decided that his usual messy hair was fine enough. Sasuke seemed to like his hair the way it was.
Why are you trying to impress Sasuke so much?
Because… I don't know. You tell me.
He likes you just the way you are. Otherwise he wouldn't have had sex with you, he wouldn't have said all those things, he wouldn't have done all that with you… stop trying to be someone else and just be Naruto.
You've got a point…
Naruto sighed as he messed up his hair. He smiled at his reflection. Is that smile real?
His face fell as that thought ran through his mind. Am I being real? Do I really want this… thing… between me and Sasuke?
He stared into his own eyes. Those vivid cerulean orbs, those windows into his head… could Sasuke tell that Naruto wasn't as bubbly and naïve as he appeared to everyone else? He knew that Sasuke was good at picking up people's emotions and reading the person behind the image.
He heaved a sigh. Turning away from the mirror, Naruto felt the hungriest sense of longing than he had ever felt in his life. He needed Sasuke more than ever now. He needed to know that Sasuke really wanted this. He wanted to hear those sweet nothings whispered in his ear, he wanted to taste Sasuke's sweet mouth, he wanted to caress his slender and muscular body… Most of all, he wanted Sasuke to simply be there to comfort him.
He hugged himself, squeezing his arms close to his beating heart, hugging some imaginary someone. All he wanted was to be accepted… Maybe he could find acceptance through Sasuke.
Fifteen minutes later, he was out the door. He noted the darkness of the chilly morning as he locked the door. The sun was still hiding from Naruto's prying eyes, not ready to pull off the cold blanket swallowing Konoha in darkness.
He kept his face down as he walked. He kicked rocks along the way, finding some sort of amusement in kicking the cold hard stones around.
Before he knew it, he was at the training grounds. He got there just as Sasuke appeared. He smiled when he saw Sasuke waving at him, and didn't even notice Sakura running up from behind.
Of course, with Sakura being the fickle teenage girl that she was, she squealed when she saw Sasuke waving. Cha!! Finally, Sasuke's waving at me! She waved back, smiling.
Sasuke's arm fell slowly to his side. Naruto ran up to greet him, leaving the girl behind. Sakura was confused, yet again, as she saw Sasuke and Naruto greet each other in the near distance.
She fell to her knees in the damp grass, setting her pink backpack behind her. Her stomach growled at her as she sat there, watching the two boys walking towards her, apparently sharing a lazy conversation.
The boys quieted as soon as Sakura was within earshot. What do they have to hide from me?
Naruto dropped his bag to the ground, sitting down as he did so. Sasuke did the same, but he remained standing. Sakura noticed that Sasuke kept glancing at the blonde boy, whose eyes were closed and trying to steal a few moments of rest.
They waited for a long time. It wasn't until the sun was already scaling the sky that Naruto cried out, "Bah, where are you, sensei?! I'm tried of waiting! There's better things that I could be doing instead of just waiting."
A moment later, their sensei appeared on one of the tall carved logs standing upright. "Sorry, I got lost on the path of life."
"You liar!" Naruto yelled, jumping up in surprise and pointing an accusing finger at his sensei.
"Calm down, dobe. He was just late, that's all." Sasuke murmured, clearly irritated at his sensei as well.
Sakura yawned, stretching her arms, reaching for the blue sky. "So what are we going to do for our exercise, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi smiled at her. He jumped off of the log, the faint sound of a bell ringing coming from somewhere as he did so.
Naruto looked around. Where was that bell coming from? He knew when Kakashi-sensei drew two small bells, hanging from red ribbon, from his pocket. He dangled the bells between his fingers, shaking them slightly to make them sound.
"I want you to take these bells from me."
The teens gazed at Kakashi with pure bewilderment.
"That's all? You want us to take those bells from you?" Sasuke peered at Kakashi.
Kakashi explained the rules. They must take the bells from him with the full intent of killing. They had until lunchtime to take them – otherwise they didn't pass.
Sakura's jaw dropped. "But you've only got two bells! Even if we did take the bells, one of us is sure to fail!"
- - -
Sasuke perched in the strong tree limbs. He depended on the thick leaves for his cover; it was going to be difficult taking a bell from Kakashi-sensei.
Naruto was being himself yet again. He was trying to attack Kakashi, wide open, in the middle of the clearing. Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. True, he maybe a knucklehead ninja, but he was his knucklehead ninja.
He raised an eyebrow when he saw Naruto dangling from the tree. He smiled as Naruto fought the ropes, flailing his arms and yelling at Kakashi.
He could just hear Kakashi speaking. "Don't take the bait if it's obvious…"
A thought crossed Sasuke's mind. Now's my chance! He drew a kunai knife from his side pack with swift grace and stole his chance. The kunai knives were flying at Kakashi, and, for a wild moment, Sasuke thought he had him. Suddenly, the falling figure of Kakashi transformed into a log at the last second.
Damn! Now he knows where I am. Sasuke raced through the trees, a frightened bird flying away from a hawk, seeking a suitable hiding spot.
Sasuke stopped in a dense bush. He was a little breathless. Did he lose him?
"Hello, Sasuke…" Sasuke's heart stopped. He turned to see a single black eye staring straight into his own, the Konoha headband concealing the other eye. Sasuke's mouth opened, forming soundless words in disbelief.
