This chapter is especially dedicated to Night Kaida for loyally reviewing every single chapter and to CherryGirl164 for her essay of a review in the last chapter! And to everyone who has ever taken the time to review, thank you so much, you are the reason that I write.
Much Love,
Cap'n Jackelback.
At two o'clock in the morning any respectable person, civilian or off-duty shinobi, can be found in the deepest of slumbers, dreaming away in the land of fairytales and magic and rainbows. But not Yamanaka Ino, she was wide awake.
Because her godforsaken phone wouldn't stop ringing no matter how hard she ignored it. Seriously, whoever was on the other end is in for a world full of pain once Ino found them. The sleep deprived blonde snatched the phone off her dresser and angrily jabbed the call button.
"WHAT!?" she snapped.
"This is your fault, you pig!"
Ino sat up and groaned. That was the unmistakable voice of none other than Sakura Haruno. "What the- forehead, is that you?"
"Of course it's me pig! Don't ask stupid questions when I'm pissed off at you!"
"What the hell are you doing calling me at 2o'clock in the freaking morning!?"
"I can't sleep, and since it's your fault you're going to suffer with me! And what did I tell you about asking stupid questions!"
The young Yamanaka girl spluttered at her best friend's irritated tone. How the hell was it her fault that Sakura couldn't sleep? She took a couple of deep breaths and tried to collect her thoughts. "Okay forehead, why don't we take a nice calming deep breath and then you can explain to me WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU PSYCHOTIC BITCH!"
"…well someone's got their pigtail in a twist…"
If she could, Ino would have reached through the phone and strangled her infuriating friend. "Not that I don't love talking too you forehead, especially at ungodly hours of the night, but do you mind explaining to me what exactly you seem to think is my fault."
"…I can't sleep..."
"Yes, I got that."
Ino sighed and massaged her brow, "Why exactly can't you sleep?"
"I've…I've got-"
"You've got your period? Because that would explain a lot..."
"NO I HAVE NOT GOT MY PERIOD! I-"
"Oh my god you're pregnant!" Ino bolted up in her bed.
"I AM NOT PREGNANT!"
"You're right. It wouldn't be possible, considering the last time you got intimate with a man was with old Tsuguchi-san. Remember when he was dancing around naked in the maternity ward and you had to tackle him and tie him up so you could take him back to his room…"
"Ino."
"Kinky stuff, Sakura."
"Ino."
"You know, he still talks about you…"
"PIG, WOULD YOU SHUT UP!"
"Alright fine, now tell me what's keeping you from falling asleep."
On the other end of the line Sakura paused "I've got these…these feelings…"
"What do you mean by feelings?"
"Like, weird-uncontrollable-feelings-that-are-keeping-me-from-falling-asleep kind of feelings."
The blonde sighed, "Saki, we're women. We're supposed to have these feelings, silly."
"Yeah but I thought I got rid of these stupid feelings years ago like you guys told me to but then things started changing and now team seven is back and you just had to bring it up again yesterday and now I can't stop thinking about everything and I think those feelings are coming back again and-and-and-and THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
What the hell…? All Ino could do was blink at her friends' outburst. What was she on about, and did she say all that in one breath? The as she listened to her friends heavy breathing, the blonde thought back to their conversation yesterday with the other girls. Seriously, what could she have possibly said to make Sakura so…
'…unless you're still in love with Sasuke…'
Oh. Shit.
"Sakura, is this about Sasuke?"
The sudden stop of Sakura's deep breathing from the other end of the line told Ino that she had hit the nail on the head.
"Oh Sak…"
"Dammit Ino! I was over him! I was so over him and then Tsunade just had to reassemble team seven again! I have to see him every day at training like when we were twelve! And then when you mentioned him yesterday I just had to analyse how I…feel about him. And you know how I over analyse things! Then he goes and says whatever-that-was to me yesterday…"
"Wait hold up." Ino cut her off "What did he say?"
"…I…he…it's a long story…"
"Well there's no way I'm going back to sleep without hearing this. So spill girly."
"Ugh fine. Well yesterday when I was supposed to train with the guys, Karin comes up and says she wants to spar with me but, you know all she wanted was to make me look like a weakling..."
"OH that WHORE! She was probably trying to impress her precious Sasuke-kun. Please tell me you kicked her slutty little ass."
"Please Ino, it's like you don't even know me…"
"Atta girl."
"Anyway…I may have let her stab me so I could get the whole thing over with. And you know how Naruto is. If I even get a paper cut he'll volunteer himself as a blood donor. So he goes on and on and makes a big deal about me dying and totally exaggerates the whole thing. Anyway, then we had training like normal, and I could totally tell that they were all going easy one me and whatever. Then, after training I tell them that I can't go to Ichiraiku with them 'cause I have to do the grocery shopping and stuff. And then after those three left I was packing up my stuff and he…"
"He? You mean Sasuke?"
"Yeah, he comes out of nowhere and he's all like…"
"What did he say forehead! Quit holding out on me woman!"
"Alright, alright. He says 'You should heal that properly. It would be bad if you were hurt.' I just… ugh!"
"Oh my god…"
"I know right. What is that even supposed to mean?"
"Oh gosh forehead, he was worried about you! Oh my gosh…"
Ino heard her pink haired friend scoff from the other side of the phone. "Come on pig. This is Sasuke we're talking about; he doesn't care about anything…least of all me"
The tone of sadness in Sakura's voice concerned the Yamanaka girl. "Oh Sak…you still have feelings for him, don't you."
"Why else would I be calling you!?...the thing is…I don't know what kind of feelings I have, for all I know, I could just be over analysing myself again and… UGH! Pig I hate you!"
"Calm down forehead! I just don't want you to get hurt again…"
Sakura was silent. "Forehead?" Ino asked nervously.
"Yeah pig, I'm here. You know what… I was exaggerating. I'm fine and I'm definitely over Sasuke. Don't worry about it…"
"Forehead..."
"I'm FINE pig. Sorry for waking you…"
Ino sighed to herself. Yeah, like she was going to fall for that bullshit.
Sakura was so in denial, but the blonde was still worried about her. She had taken it the worst, when Sasuke left. Sakura had tried to keep it bottled up so not to worry everyone, but Ino had known her for far too long. She knew Sakura wasn't only pushing herself to get stronger for her own benefit, but so she could help Naruto bring Sasuke back. Ino knew that Sakura didn't disappear to the hospital everyday like she claimed, but instead she went to the bench in front of the Konoha gates. And Ino knew that Sakura's red eyes weren't from over working, but from crying herself to sleep every night.
After everything her best friend had gone through, Ino just wasn't sure that Uchiha Sasuke was worth it
"Fine, fine" Ino muttered, "But you're meeting me and the girls tomorrow for breakfast at the café."
"Pig, I said I was fine…"
"I don't give a damn what you think you are. You are coming tomorrow. Understood?"
Ino heard the girl sigh. "Geeze, fine I'll be there. See you tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Night." As Sakura hung up, Ino began thinking…Sasuke wasn't one to shown concern about anyone, did he…maybe…have feelings for Sakura? Or was he just finally getting some hormones and perving on the nearest female.
And then suddenly Ino activated Mamma-Bear Mode.
Ohhh hell no.
She would not let that damn Uchiha rip out her best friends' heart and stomp all over it again. If that boy wanted to have anything to do with the pink haired beauty he would have to prove himself worthy… by Ino's standards.
With a new found determination Ino buried herself in her blankets and went back to sleep.
Sakura groaned. After hanging up on Ino she had not gotten a wink off sleep, she had been too busy trying to convince herself that Sasuke Uchiha was nothing but a team mate to her.
Key word being: trying.
Now she was miserably making her way to the café where she was assigned to rendezvous with her female companions.
Why couldn't she have fallen for a nice guy who wasn't a vicious psychopath half the time and a moody, grumpy douche the other half? Even better, why couldn't she have fallen for someone who actually likes her back? Maybe this was it; maybe she was destined to a hopeless love life and end up being an old spinster who devoted herself to her work in order to have minimal to no romantic contact with anyone.
Oh god. She was going to end up like Tsunade.
But without the amazing boobs.
Great, she was going to be Tsunade but without any attractive assets whatsoever. Great, just perfect.
The young medic rounded the corner and the little café came into view. Sitting in their usual table was Tenten, Hinata and Ino, all deep in conversation. And Sakura just knew they were talking about her.
She knew that calling Ino would be the wrong move. But she went ahead and did it anyway. Sakura had a feeling right when she hung up last night there was no way that Ino was going to drop it, but did she have too rope in the other girls as well?
She took a deep breath and marched over to her conspiring friends. As soon as they saw the young medic approaching their discussion died and an awkward hush came over the group. Sakura immediately fixed her harsh glare on her conniving blonde friend. This was all that pigs doing.
Ino cleared her throat and laughed sheepishly "Hey forehead, it's about time you got here. We were just talking about you…"
"I bet you were" Sakura said coolly. She pulled her chair out and sat down. Her friends had generously ordered her regular black coffee with two sugars and it sat, steaming in front of her with the other girls' beverages.
Tenten leaned forward "Ino filled us in on what you guys discussed last night." she said with a slightly concerned tone in her voice.
"Did she now?" Sakura crossed her arms and glared at said blonde, "Did she also fill you in on how I realised that I was overacting and that it really was nothing." her voice strained.
"Sakura-chan, please, you can tell us the truth" Hinata said "We know that Sasuke-san was a big part of your life, and it must be hard to move on."
"But I did move on, Hina-chan. I'm over him okay. Sasuke is just a team mate to me, like I said before. It's just that, the reformation of team seven reminded me so much of the old days, I tricked myself in to thinking that I'm still the same twelve year old girl with a crush on her team mate."
Ino grasped her friends' hand "Sakura, you didn't just have a crush on him, you were in love with him. No one just falls out of love like that." She felt her friends hand tense under her own at the word 'love'.
"You know it's alright to still love him, right?" Tenten put in, smiling gently.
Hinata nodded in agreement, also smiling. 'We'd all feel the same way if we were in your position, Sakura-chan."
"You guys, it's been years since I...had feelings for him" Sakura said, her voice losing some of its confidence.
"Are you sure forehead?" Ino asked "Or did you just convince yourself you don't still love him?"
The young medic looked up at her best friend, confusion in her eyes.
"It's a natural coping method." The blonde shrugged "To pretend that you don't care, so that you don't get hurt again."
Sakura sighed in defeat "I don't know…" she began "I'm just really confused…I don't know…" she muttered mostly to herself "what if I do…but I was so sure that I was over him…maybe I… oh god!" Sakura groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I have no idea; I don't even have a freaking clue! I hate this! Urgh! Every time I look at him I feel…"
"Nervous?" Tenten suggested.
"Butterflies?" Hinata asked.
"Happy?" Ino put in hopefully.
"Nauseous." Sakura finished.
Her three friends groaned. "It's like there's this churning in my stomach and I feel really sick." The pink head continued.
The other girls shared a look 'Yeah, lovesick' they all thought.
"I don't even know how I'm going to face him now." Sakura mumbled.
Tenten went to pat her friend on her shoulder but stopped at she spotted something behind the young medic. "Oh no." Tenten muttered.
Sakura looked up at the weapon mistress's unnaturally anxious face. "What's wrong Tennie?"
"Uh…you better figure out a way to face Sasuke…and really soon…"
"What are you-?"
The young medic was cut off by an annoyingly familiar voice.
"Hey Sakura-chan!
The pink haired girl spun around in her seat. Rapidly approaching the little café was a beaming Naruto who was waving frantically, along with Shikamaru, Neji…
…and Sasuke.
Sakura hastily turned back to the girls.
"I think I'm going to puke."
Well this was a pleasant surprise Naruto couldn't help but think. Just as he and the guys were heading to Ichiraiku for a nutritional breakfast, they happened to stumble upon the girls who were enjoying each other's company over a cup of coffee. And it would just be rude of him not to greet his wonderful team mate…along with the lovely Hinata-chan.
The Uzumaki boy turned and grinned at his male companions. The gleam in his blue eyes conveyed one message. 'Let's go get us some babes!'
As he trotted towards the girls, still waving hysterically, the three boys exchanged glances…that idiot was going to get himself beat up. You don't go interrupting the girl's private meetings unless you wanted a ticket straight to the hospital. Never the less the boys sighed and followed him anyway. They had to make sure the dobe didn't die.
As they guys got closer to the booth they noticed that something was strange. The four girls all seemed very tense…especially Sakura. She didn't even turn around when they arrived. She was just staring intently at her cup of coffee.
"Uhhh…Hey …" Naruto began "Is everything okay?"
Ino took control of the situation and cleared her throat "Yeah, everything's great." she answered for the girls.
Naruto looked at Sakura uncertainly "Sakura-chan?"
The pink haired mumbled a little and nodded her head, but her eyes never left her cup. Her blonde teammate kept a sceptical gaze on her.
"So…" Tenten started, trying to distract the boys from Sakura's stiff demeanour "What brings you guys here?"
Her diversion seemed to have worked, Naruto grinned at the four girls, "We were just on our way to Ichiraiku's for breakfast and we were wondering if you lovely ladies would care to join us." He flashed another smile specifically at Hinata who blushed furiously.
"Actually we just ordered our breakfast and it should be here soon, and besides who eats ramen for breakfast?" Ino stated taking a sip from her latte.
"Well maybe we can join you." Shikamaru asked but already pulled a chair next to Ino and sat down.
Neji followed his lead and pulled up a chair next to Tenten and whispered in her ear, "Please don't make us leave, Uzumaki's had us eating ramen for breakfast all week..."
Tenten smiled weakly in sympathy.
Naruto spluttered "But-but- RAMEN!?"
"Naruto, don't be rude." Shikamaru scolded him coolly.
The blonde quickly quietened down when he realised that this would be the perfect opportunity to have some heart to heart chit-chat with Hinata-chan. "Oh well!" he giggled.
Naruto took a seat next to the blushing Hyuga heiress, which left Sasuke to sit…
…right next to Sakura.
As he sat down he muttered a "Hn." of acknowledgement to his pink haired teammate. She let out an unintelligible sound in response.
Sasuke flicked a questioning gaze at her but she wasn't even facing him. In fact she was on the edge of her seat furthest away from him; she looked like she could fall off any second.
Sasuke blinked. Did he smell bad or something? Maybe it was the new shampoo he used this morning…?
He knew that he should have gone with Nexus Black over Suave Fresh. But no, he needed to have a hair product that had a minty tang and not only moisturized but invigorated his scalp.
God dammit.
Meanwhile, inside the mind of Haruno Sakura:
SHIT! FUCK! CRAP!
He's right freaking THERE!
SHIT! FUCK! CRAP!
He's freaking LOOKING AT ME!
SHIT! FUCK! CRAP!
He's staring into my SOUL!
SHIT! FUCK! CRAP!
…he smells nice though…
! #$%^&*&^%$#!ASDFGHJKL!#$%^&*&^%$# !
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