Blah.
king & lionheart
If only things had been different.
(for Hearts grow)
.
.
.
"Someday, we will all be saved."
.
.
.
Sakura lost her match.
Sakura lost.
All those hours of training by herself, all that blood, sweat and tears, all the anger she let go of—and for what?
For nothing.
Since the age of six, Ino had been her biggest rival. Smart, pretty, confident—she exuded every possible good quality that Sakura didn't have but desired. She wanted so hard to be friends with Ino, to build up the courage to open that stupid mouth of hers—the one that always said the wrong thing—and say, "Hi."
But she couldn't. She couldn't even find it within herself to like Ino. The blonde's charisma attracted everyone and their friendship, their best moods. Sakura shied away from it like it was the plague, her mind a conflicted ball of emotions whenever Ino's singsong voice floated through the air—delicate like a fairy's. How could you possibly be friends with someone you can't help but hate? Sakura's conscience, the good part of her that often buried itself under mounds of confusion and anger and hate, said to stay away, that it would be better if Ino had lots of friends that liked her, loved her, instead of one friend that wasn't a friend at all.
It was all incredibly frustrating. So, to somehow relieve that frustration, Sakura trained. If she couldn't have the winning personality Ino had, she could at least have the skills. She trained with her mother, hoping her resolve might finally impress her, and trained with her father, his gentle manner and kind voice motivating her to try harder each time. She trained every day, even after—
Even after that day.
There were trees in her backyard to whom fate had not been kind. Their trunks were scarred and pockmarked by kunai, shuriken, and in some the faint imprint of Sakura's shoe or fist was present. And, slowly but surely, her emotions poured out, the driving force behind every punch, kick or throw. Everything she kept to herself, every word that didn't come out of her mouth was bawled, the sounds erupting from her throat with such ferocity even she was surprised. Eventually there came a time where Sakura was finally satisfied, and somewhat proud of her progress—she finally thought herself strong enough to compare not only to the prodigious Sasuke, or the raucous Naruto, but to Ino.
I have finally caught up to Ino.
The florist had most definitely proved herself a worthy opponent in the matches leading up to this one. Each opponent was down within five minutes, the record not even reaching two. She was incredibly quick, and astute, paying close attention to her opponent's moves and countering them effectively. What Sakura found most fascinating was her ability over their minds—Ino would trap her adversaries in genjutsu that confused them, which made for an easy target, or even cause them to inflict injuries on themselves. When the blonde's body suddenly went limp, it was evident that Ino's mind was in control of the other person.
Seeing her picture—the one where her eyes were obscured by fringe—next to Ino's as the next match-up was both exciting and frightening for Sakura. Finally, she would get a chance to prove her strength over her own rival, but that small oscillation of fear in her stomach was still there, reciting all the possible outcomes of failure. Go away, she told it, you don't do me any good.
"Genin, on the count of three!"
Deep breaths.
"One!"
[You won't win.]
"Two!"
Hush, because now is my moment—
"Three!"
—and today is the day I win.
Sakura threw the first punch, a hard one, right to Ino's face. It grazed her jaw, not enough to inflict injury but just enough to disorient. Her speed may not have been up to par with Ino's, but her evasive techniques surpassed those of her team's. She sprinted for the tree, concealing herself in the branches with sufficient time to prepare the hand seals for a substitution.
Ino's kunai would've hit Sakura right in the chest if the log hadn't taken her place right then. Her heart raced at such a close call, and it was then that Sakura knew Ino was in this to win. The title of Chunin meant something bigger to her than it meant to Sakura.
Within seconds the girls were face to face, engaged in close combat. Compared to Sakura's, Ino's movements were slower, a little sloppy. It was evident she relied more on ninjutsu and genjutsu than taijutsu. The pinkette's hands were thrust flat into her opponent's ribs and sent the girl flying. She advanced on her, using a powerful kick to drive her into the packed dirt. The thud of her body was somewhat disquieting, but it gave Sakura a chill in rhapsody. With another kick, the sound of cracking ribs filled her ears.
Sure that this fight was going to be over soon, Sakura took a second to breathe.
A second too many.
Her vision went pitch black, her ears were stuffed with cotton and went she tried to touch her face she felt nothing. The powerlessness that overcame her was horrifying, the sheer vulnerability. Her heart and brain went into such a panic that she forgot what to do with her body—
[What did I say?]
[You have no control here.]
[You are weak.]
Stop it! Sakura's subconscious cried out, her inner being clawing at an escape that didn't exist. Stop it! Help me!
What's going on! I-I can't feel anything!
[It's too late.]
W-What?
[You've lost the match.]
[You've lost to Ino.]
Muahahaha! Did y'all see that coming? I hope not :P It seems as though Sakura has a "friend" that isn't all too nice, and what happens now? Hint: if you don't know, please refer to chapter 2 :) Quick question: do you guys want me to keep going with this Exams Arc, or just start Part Two this next chapter?
Thanks for reading! Review!
(oh and, in case you couldn't tell, ino put sakura in a genjutsu - kthxbai)