"Sakura, seriously? Ramen?"
Sakura looked at Ino, her fists full of instant ramen packages that she deposited calmly into the shopping cart they were sharing.
"What? Naruto likes it, and he's over enough that I have to have something for him to eat."
"It's so gross, though." Ino wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Look, Pig, no one's making you eat it."
"Whatever, Forehead," Ino responded condescendingly.
"Oh, you're one to talk, Miss I-always-have-to-get-the-chips-Chouji-likes."
Ino's cheeks pinked a little.
"That's not the same! We live together!"
"Which makes it so much the better," Sakura pointed out smugly.
"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"
Ino had lost her cool, and Sakura was satisfied with that. These meaningless little arguments, while sometimes fun, were too much work, and she wished Ino would just let things drop.
Ino stalked off down the aisle towards the produce section, and Sakura slowly followed, pushing the cart and watching the floor roll by under her feet.
At least neither of them was really mad. They never were, which was why Sakura could never figure out why they acted this way. Of course, Sakura wouldn't argue with Ino if she didn't pick fights about the stupidest things, but the girl seemed to enjoy herself, even when Sakura hit too close to home (like today).
Whatever, Sakura thought tiredly.
She looked up to see where Ino was standing because she didn't want to accidentally run into her ankles, but she stopped abruptly when she saw a girl with long red hair and black glasses picking through the selection of tomatoes. And though she had never met the girl Sai had claimed Sasuke was spending his free time with, she knew instinctively that this was she.
Sakura stared. Tomatoes were Sasuke's favorite.
The girl looked up suddenly, like she felt Sakura's gaze on her. Sakura was paralyzed, and the look the girl with red hair gave her was frosty. Sakura looked away quickly, ashamed to have been caught.
Unfortunately, Ino seemed to have noticed the little exchange.
"Who's that?" she questioned bluntly.
"I don't know her name," Sakura hedged.
"Then how do you know her?"
"I don't."
Ino looked intently at Sakura, and Sakura spoke again before Ino could get another word in.
"I'm starting to feel nauseated. Let's just hurry up and get out of here."
Ino looked at Sakura skeptically. Sakura knew she wasn't buying it, but she hoped Ino would see the excuse for what it was and not try to dig deeper.
"Okay," Ino finally replied, lips pursed in concern and eyes swirling with confusion and curiosity.
Sakura sighed in relief as she turned the cart in the direction of the checkout stands at the front of the store.
"But if you're feeling sick, you better not eat any of the ramen you got for that moron," Ino cautioned with fake sweetness. "It'll just make your stomach worse."
Sakura just gritted her teeth and nodded her head. Ino could say whatever she wanted; Sakura would endure a thousand of Ino's lectures, just as long as they left.