AN: Thank you to all of my reviewers for reading and thanking me back and I appreciate each of your reviews that you send me as well as giving me a reason to continue to post after such a harrowing time in my life. I will try to keep up on more constant posting, and I hope to complete this story for those of you with me.

As such with this next portion of the story, I felt like Ino deserved another chapter about her own life and inner turmoils and so this is dedicated to her! I really was trying to show her inner thoughts and I think that I really worked hard to portray it really well! Just enjoy, right?

Just a Regular High School Life

Chapter 20: Keeping The Surprise

Blackness…and whiteness…and then the small wisps of grey. That's what she saw when she opened her eyes and looked around herself. When she had fallen asleep, she had been on her purple comforter and her bed, and now, she was on the cold hard ground, but covered through the white smoke floating on the atmosphere of the floor.

Slowly, the girl sat up, her exposed body showing how utterly naked she was to the world around her, and the girl's blonde hair whipped around as her hands moved over to cover her assets as she stood up on shaking legs, the fear of being alone in this unknown place nagging at every thought inside her body. But she covered herself as a scream of wind hit her face and she bent lower, hiding as much as her flesh as she could.

The girl's blue eyes looked glazed around herself, and as she twirled around, she saw a small white light and walked towards it, and as it got bigger, it became a doorway and as Ino moved closer, she paused, for there was a figure standing there in the doorway's white light. She cast her eyes in a squinting manner to see better and saw the dark black hair and immediately smiled in joy.

Ino rushed forward, her hands secured around her more loosely than before and she pushed herself into the boy's chest and felt safe and secure as he wrapped his hands around her, and moaned softly as he cupped her ass in his firm grip. "Ino, I've worried sick about you."

"I'm sorry, Shika."

"Look, we should get going."

"Wait!" Ino backed off, knowing that now was the best time to admit what she felt.

"Ino, wh-"

"Don't speak, just listen. Look, Shika…I like you! I've liked you forever, and I want to be with you." Ino smiled and it flickered as she looked away from him. "I know I'm a superficial girl and shallow at times, but I'll do anything for you…to have just one date! Please?" Ino asked, her tongue licking her lips in worry.

She saw Shika look down at her body, and grimaced as she covered up more. "I don't know what to say."

"Say anything." Ino whispered before gasping as Shika pulled her hands away, and pulled her closer, his hand slipping down to cup her womanhood, as Ino shivered and stared into his eyes. Slowly, he bucked his fingers, and Ino moaned for him before he brought his other hand to hers and dragged it over his pelvis, and stared at her as her eyes flickered up and down to where he was placing her hand.

"What could you do for me?"

"Well, I- OWWW!"

"OWW!" Ino eeped as a finger flicked her nose, which made Ino's body prepare for a sneeze that wasn't coming. Instead, Ino groaned as she brought her hand up to her nose and rubbed the extremely sensitive part of her body and looked over to the side. She grimaced at the smirking face of her best friend, who wore a light t-shirt and leather jacket and with a long skirt to go with her outfit.

"Sakura, that stings." Ino groaned again as she yawned and tweaked her small nose as the feeling slowly subsided.

"Well, you should be happy I did," Sakura's smile died as she spoke to her blonde haired friend. "You were mumbling about touching you here and there. The other girls were getting worried."

Ino sighed morbidly as she turned her eyes back to her locker, where a full mirror showed her tired face, and while she hoped that the others couldn't see them, she knew that there were bags under her eyes. "Not again." Ino whimpered to herself. "Thanks Sakura."

"Hey. What are friends for?" Sakura asked rhetorically, before moving off to her own locker. As soon as she was sure that she was alone, Ino turned back and let a tear of anguish fall down her face. This kept happening in the past few weeks, and if Ino was honest with herself, had happened for the last few months. She dazed out in class, daydreamed when she was driving home, was caught unawares when talking with her friends, and…even during sex. Ino's eyes drifted lower as her cheeks reddened at the thoughts.

Ino had fucked maybe ten guys in the recentness of these…mind-breaks, and they were affecting her in the bedroom. For one, she had not gotten off her stress relief from her parents, and she had been faking her orgasms for a while now. Some the guys didn't know or care enough about her, but the others were concerned with her. They told her that she wasn't as good as she used to be; they rejected her when she asked them into the bedroom, and she was the whole reason for this!

The boys said that whereas she used to stare and moan for them, she now looked everywhere else, especially at the clocks as if she was just passing the time. She didn't even gyrate her hips into the thrusts, and if she did, it was the worst way. Ino sighed further as she reached up to her blouse and shrugged it off, revealing her red lace bra. Three of them said that the act was like fucking a corpse.

As Ino stripped out of her skirt and pulled down her underwear, she looked over as Sakura waved at her, already in her PE uniform, and moved towards the exit. Ino sighed as she undid the clasp at the back and looked back into her locker and pulled out the sports bra that she wore underneath her uniform.

Ino fingered the stretchable material and brought it up over her head before pulling her hair out of the back of it and proceeded to bring it down her neck and over her voluptuous breasts. Usually, that would be the end of it, but that was not the case, and it hadn't been for a long time. Ino began to huff and puff as her bare feet slid across the tiled floor as she flailed her arms, trying to vain to pull her bra over her breasts.

The material stretched to its maximum length, and it briefly pinched around her nipples before Ino stifled a moan at the sensitive buds before she pulled it up and over and back down around the curves. The material though pulled back up and it wasn't until another minute later that Ino pulled it to her exposed chest, just under her breasts that the bra stayed in place. Ino moaned and looked at the mirror in vain as her tips and the entirety of her breasts were in full view despite being covered. Not only that, but a small tear in the material now showed part of her ample chest as well from the struggle.

"Damn it!" Ino cursed and hit the locker with her fist, the ringing sounding forever in the now empty locker room. Her breasts had gotten bigger AGAIN! Why would they not stop growing dammit?! She was already known for her large breasts and already made fun of for it, and for them to just stand out more made her feel like a fat cow!

Ino looked down at her body and sneered at herself, noticing the small flabs of skin everywhere from her arms and legs, to her fattening stomach. She was gaining weight like a prized hog! Tears formed in Ino's eyes as she leaned her forehead against the cool locker and sniffled away the tears.

The truth was that ever since Ino had introduced Sakura and Naruto she had felt lonely even when she was around others. She felt sad because she had so much time to do things, but her parents didn't even want to know how her day was going. Her friends dismissed her more morbid thoughts in favor of a nice fuck session they had with one guy or another. Ino didn't do anything but stay at home once it got dark, curled on her bed, trying to not act like the desperate girl she was for attention.

Her friends called, but only for a ride to the next party. They called again, asking if she could buy them something, and when she arrived, they just wanted to talk about stupid things that no longer mattered to the blonde bimbo. How had her thoughts and mind changed from who she truly was, a cheerleader that wanted hot cock and to be treated with admiration for the actions she did for society? Guy used to call to bone her, but even her room no longer smelled of sex, and Ino for once could smell the overwhelming scent of lavender on her skin. Ino sniffled and looked up at her reflection that now showed a girl with a lack of mascara on her eyes. She was completely different than she was last summer.

Ino raised her eyes and looked around herself, and found no one even remotely around her. When she first made friends with Sakura, Ino had stayed and held up a towel for the girl because she was so scared to change in front of the other girls. She had been the last one out, and yet now the tides had turned.

Ino looked back at the mirror in desperation, and brought her hands up and traced down her puffy cheeks with her nails scraping against them. He nails traversed down her body, and Ino's eyes followed them as her mind turned to think of nothing.

"…..What is wrong with me?" Ino uttered to herself.

Was she not pretty enough anymore? Was she not popular enough to her own ego? Was she not a good friend to those around her? Ino thought she was genuine in everything that she did, but that was all a lie wasn't it?! God, She was so Pathetic and Ugly! Her hair was turning a sickly white and her nails were bitten down to stubs. She may as well just cut them off and-

"Ino?" A voice whispered from behind her.

"Huh?" Ino gasped and whipped her eyes around to see Sakura standing at the corner of the lockers, her hands on the corners and looking at her in concern. Ino quickly turned her head back to the mirror and looked back in horror to see the tears down her cheeks. Ino quickly grabbed at her mascara in her locker and used the time to hide them by wiping away the traces. Ino Yamanaka does not cry.

"Ino, you okay? The other girls are waiting for you."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ino chirped up, her voice soundly so fake to her ears that they must be red from embarrassment.

"…You're still naked, Ino." Ino watched as Sakura's eyes drifted down to her ass in the mirror, and stuttered back a snarky reply.

"I-I have my top on, Forehead. I'm not naked."

"…You need a new top." Sakura cocked her head to the side and thought aloud in an analyzing manner. Ino's hands stalled in frozen horror over her eyes and cringed. Was it showing that much already? All the weight that she had put on in the last few weeks and months? The ten pounds were showing and Sakura was going to make fun of her for it?!

"W-What do you mean?" Ino questioned back. Surely, Sakura couldn't know.

"…You've had that top all last semester." Sakura smiled, and Ino breathed in relief, digging around for her short shorts that all girls loved to wear for exercise "….Have you gone shopping?"

Ino cringed again, and she swore that Sakura pushed off the locker because she saw her friend's nervous motions. "I um…haven't had the feeling to go."

"Well, you should." She looked up to see Sakura's smile directed straight at her. "If you want, I could go with you. That's always fun and-"

"No!" Ino blurted out and as she saw her friend's eyes sadden at the outburst, she looked away and pulled on her shorts, wincing at how tight they were around her thighs. She was a fucking pig! Ino turned back to grab her running shoes. She didn't want Sakura to realize that she needed a new size up in everything she owned. Heck, what she was wearing today at school was the largest thing she had at home. She wasn't a size 1 anymore, and she was too embarrassed to say it.

"I don't want to separate you from your time with Naruto."

At that remark, Ino cursed as she never brought that topic up when they talked about shopping, and Sakura squinted her eyes to look closer at her friend, suddenly more interested. "What does Naruto have to do with this?"

"Nothing…."

"Ino….you keep pushing me away."

"I'm not-"

"You are!" Sakura argued back, moving next to her friend, before lightly gripping her shoulders and turning her around. And while she did, Ino looked away, feeling how much fat Sakura was gripping in her hands. "Ino, you're depressed." Her friend spoke in a scolding manner.

"I-…" Ino began to rebuke before letting it die in her throat. Tears bubbled in her eyes once more and before she knew it, Sakura was holding her close and rubbing her back in a soothing fashion.

"Hey. I felt the same way when I first got here, remember? And who took care of me, huh?" Ino felt Sakura grip her cheeks fondly and smiled a bit. "That's right. You did, so let me help you."

"How?..." Ino breathed, her mind hanging off every word her friend had to say.

Sakura smiled. "Here, come meet me tonight, okay? You, me, and some boys."

"Naruto, you mean?"

"Yeah, a night on the town. It's Friday night, and all the girls are saying that you don't have any plans with them, so please come?"

"O-Okay." Ino sighed and sniffled into Sakura's hands as Sakura worked her fingers under her eyes to wipe them away. Ino smiled bitterly as Sakura backed off and turned to walk away.

"I'll give you five minutes to change, but come on! They're really worried about you."

Ino turned back to herself and smiled lightly to make herself happy. Her smile though didn't stay long as she still look tired and pale. Ino reached in and gripped her calorie calculator that she always used and then through it towards the wall where it banged against the wall before it shattered and she watched it slip into the trash can before moving sluggishly to get changed. She was going to wolf down everything on the dessert menu tonight. Besides, she was always hungry nowadays, like a bottomless pit, getting fatter and fatter as the hours passed.

"Ino?" Sakura's voice called out as she slid her tiny shirt over her fat chest. "You promise you'll come?"

"Yeah, yeah." Ino called back, glad that Sakura hadn't seen her latest outburst just now.

"Good, now come on! Coach is waiting!"

"Okay."

Ino stared questionably across the white tiled floor, her head laid back in a bowl of water, her feet propped up on soft padded legs of a specialized chair, and rested her hands on either side of the armrests provided. Ino shivered as a lady behind her pulled her gloves through Ino's yellow locks of hair and poure cold water through them, pulling with it a comb and brush to straighten it for the young teen.

But still Ino stared to the chair beside her, as a pink haired beauty mouthed into the air above her the words in which the song played out of the headphones wrapped around her ears. Green cucumbers covered her sight as the two women behind the girls spoke in hushed Suna-nease whispers about their lives. Ino's cucumbers had fallen off as she had turned her head, but had stopped the attendant washing her hair from placing them and her headphones back on.

Ino didn't understand what Sakura was planning; and while she usually never understood Sakura's plans at first, it was not like Sakura to not tell Ino of the entire plan to unfold. After school had ended, Ino felt herself being pulled to her car and placed in the passenger seat. Somehow, as Ino realized as she reached for her keys, Sakura had slipped them out of her tight pockets and into her own. Unknown to her was the fact that Sakura had taken said keys as Ino was changing back out of her uniform after PE.

Ino did not like for other people to drive her around, and yet Sakura, the most submissive of Ino's friends, had pulled a dominant flip to her personality and told Ino to sit back, and relax. And the even scarier part was that Ino had shut her fat mouth and done so. This Sakura had a plan, and Ino did not know whether to trust her or not.

"Sakura?…" Ino voiced as she tried to get the attention of her friend as the women added the shampoo to their hair and made them nice and shiny when the sun or other forms of energy shined upon them. Ino scrunched her eyes in worry, because she didn't understand where any of this was going. Was Sakura actually trying to help her feel better? Or was she simply in need of wanting Ino to pay for a date for Naruto and herself where Ino was the third wheel?

Ino grew a little angry at that thought. In Sakura's relationships and sudden interest in motorcycles, Ino did not want to be the not existent wheel, but as soon as she thought that, she look down and grew saddened. Was she even existing in reality? What if she was just living the life of what someone else deemed she do? To be controlled as if a puppet or strings, or a simple animated character from Tycoon or Sim.

"Ino…" Sakura turned as the ladies left to get more ingredients. Ino turned to face her friend's calming green eyes and Sakura saw the connection between them breaking a bit as Ino sank deeper into depression. "You need to relax and not sweat the big things."

"But…"

"Ino, tonight is going to be a night to remember. I promise you."

"But, Sakura. I don't even know what we're doing. Just tell me."

Sakura smiled slightly and shook her head, replacing her eyes with the cucumbers once more. "No…I think that you'll like the events of tonight, and I don't want to spoil that. Just think on it, and think happy thoughts."

"You don't even like going to the salon. Why are we here?"

"That's not happy thoughts, Ino."

"Fine, fine." Ino sighed and looked back up, before the teen's eyes were covered once again, leaving her mind to wonder where and when they were going to get going to this mysterious event. Was it a party? A small get together? Or was Sakura trying to win Ino over for a three way with Naruto? Ino let out a small giggle at that. Like that could happen. If Sakura was one thing in her character, it was that she was very protective of her possessions; be it her career or Naruto.

Two hours later, Ino found herself lying on her bed, back at home and with a headache worse than waking up with a hangover. All of the thoughts of what she would be doing tonight was making her feel like she was going insane and she was simply not sure of where it would lead her. How was she supposed to think of this and yet not think too much into it? It was things like that that simply flew right above her head and she wanted to grab her two thousand dollar lamp and bash her brain into it. Sure she would be brain dead and the stupidest girl ever, but maybe she'd get some sympathy from her friends, or even from her parents.

Speaking of which, they had returned home from the salon not twenty minutes ago, and already Sakura was rummaging through her walk in closet for something for Ino to wear. The first two things that she'd brought out made Ino wince at the knowledge that Sakura most likely knew about her recent gain in weight. And yet through the entire process, she had not made Ino feel uncomfortable about it or made her feel like she should change herself back to who she once was.

"Ino, how about- oh, Ino!" Sakura called out as she spotted Ino lying lazily on the bed, her legs and arms dangling downwards and quickly marched over, the heels of her boots clicking on the wood before she bent over and pulled at Ino's arms, pulling the dead weight of Ino back up to a sitting position. "Ino, you know better than to mess up your hair by lying down."

"What's the point of all of this? It's not like it's prom and my p-parents are taking my p-picture." Ino stuttered out and Sakura grimaced before moving back into the closet. As soon as she moved inside, Ino leaned forward to clasp her hands together and between her legs and breathed deeply through her mouth.

When they got back, her parents were not even here. Apparently, they were in Milan for the weekend…and they didn't feel like telling Ino about it…at all. Ino's body pinged as her heart clenched a bit and skipped a beat. Ino breathed heavier at that thought. Her parents never even wanted her around anymore. For all they cared, she was an expensive mistake that simply used their money sparingly.

They had given Ino her passport last month and told her that she could fly anywhere, but Ino knew now the true message behind it. It was really so that they themselves could leave the country and Ino could run off and get kidnapped like that older movie Taken, except that she wouldn't have a father to come and try to rescue her. Who would ever be her Knight in shining armor? Ino knew that perhaps she was cursed to sleep with one thousand guys, and never love one of them, and perhaps even that prophesy of recent years was changing to not being able to get laid at all!

Ino breathed in a mouthful of air and held it to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. She didn't even know what she was crying about, and Sakura was in the room and just out of sight. Were her hormones acting up with her breast enlargement and weight gain, or was she-she….God! She didn't even know what to think anymore! In fact, the only thing that she wanted right now was a tub of ice cream!

"Hey…Ino?" Sakura's voice called out from the closet and Ino quickly looked to the entrance to see that Sakura had grabbed another outfit of hers through the mirror next to the door. As she saw her friend turn around, Ino quickly wiped her cheeks and calmed her breathing, before sitting up straight. Sakura may be worried for her, but Ino didn't want her to feel pity for her too.

"Yeah?" Ino's voice called back as soft and squeaky as a mouse.

Sakura smiled embarrassingly from around the closet entryway and brought the outfit around the corner and in front of her. "Do you think I could borrow this?"

Ino leaned further up to see the outfit, and her mind stopped and stared at the outfit in Sakura's hand. It was a maid's uniform that she had worn for a costume party two years ago. It had silver stockings that still showed every ounce of skin underneath it, with the garter belt and black straps, as well as heels that hooked through straps to the knees. The black skirt fell only just past the ass, and at the waist completely exposed the wearer's middle and lower back while it also moved up the sides, exposing the stomach to cup the wearer's breasts before tying off at the neck. The white apron covered the stomach and little else.

It pondered Ino for a few seconds as she realized that Sakura could actually fit into it. Sakura and Ino were the same shoe size, but over the last few months, Sakura's bust size had gone up to a medium B-cup, to what Ino was at as a freshman. Ino had gone to that costume party and had experienced some spanking and whipping and bondage for the first time, and she kept it around as a souvenir.

But still….Ino's mind wrapped around the question Sakura had asked her. "Of course you can borrow it, Sakura, but why would you- oh-oh…" Ino stilled as her brain in memory of being tied down and spanked moved to a different girl in the same costume, of Naruto spanking a naughty Sakura. "Oh…."

Sakura blushed a little as Ino stuttered and repeated herself, but sighed on the inside as she missed the result she wanted. She had heard Ino's sniffling and had thought that poking into her own sexualized lifestyle might cheer her up. Hopefully, it would at least keep her mind occupied and give her another happy memory. She was worried for Ino, and if tonight didn't work out, then she would have to sneak inside Ino's room while she was out and take out all things sharp. Ino didn't need the opportunity to try anything stupid, and Sakura would not let her.

So Sakura smiled when she saw Ino's lately less than perfect white teeth show on her face. "Damn, Sakura. You two are moving so fast. I can't believe that Naruto has you doing things like that."

"He doesn't, Ino." Sakura smiled back and was rewarded as Ino smiled a little brighter at this close and girlfriend's gossip. "No, he's too scared to try something like this. Rather I do it for him. The look on his eyes when I walk in and ask him to spank me…I think he'd like that."

"What guy wouldn't?"

"Naruto is really going slow, Ino. I mean," Sakura cocked her head as she looked around the room. "I like it, and it's so sweet, and it makes logical sense to do what he's doing, but it just makes me…want the relationship to go faster, you know? It's so illogical and yet…my heart tells me to do it."

"That's nice. You should trust it more often."

"Words to live by, Ino." Sakura nodded as she placed it off to the side and dug back inside. Ino's smiled tugged down at those words. Was Sakura trying to tell her something in that comment just now? As if she should follow her heart in these manners and not her mind? Ino had always followed her heart in everything, and…well, maybe she had lost touch with it for a while.

Ino cast a glance towards her dresser where her spare razor lay on the top and shined back to her. Ino shivered at the memory of last week, how she had accidentally cut into her skin when she was shaving. She had been distracted, but when she thought about the pain, her inner turmoil had frozen and had been lowered, and so she purposefully cut herself again the next day, and the day after that. But Ino had stopped for a few days now, and yet that razor still had a few drops of blood on the edge, calling out to her. Maybe, while Sakura was busy, then she could slip off to the bathroom and-

"Ino why do you have this?" Sakura came out of the closet again, and Ino froze in her actions, Sakura's sudden intrusiveness breaking her out of the subliminal thoughts of self-harm. Ino turned to blush even redder as Sakura pulled out a leather outfit with buckles and keys and-….an outfit that made Ino blush at the memory.

"It's something I liked to wear a few years back." Ino blushed and Sakura threw her a confused look and looked it over. "Put it back, please."

"Okay." Sakura nodded as she moved back to rummaging and Ino sighed again. She was a freak in the bedroom, wasn't she? Could that be why she was a nobody now? Because she no longer did some entertainment with the boys and girls? Better yet, what sort of entertainment was she walking into tonight?

"Why am I dressing up for this, Sakura?" Ino called back, her voice louder than it had been in weeks, and Ino's throat grew a bit irritated, like it had tightened its grip on the new voice controls and was trying to readjust. Sakura came back out towards Ino's vision and the girls stared at the other with one face anxious and the other calm and completely neutral.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…First we went to the salon, and we got our toenails and fingernails polished and painted, and now we're getting dressed for what? A party?" Ino asked aloud. "I mean, what is the point of all of this exactly?"

Sakura smiled at her friend, and Ino grew agitated as that smile was actually pretty soothing at the moment, because it preceded a wise and caring friend who offered the best of advice. "…Ino, do you remember when you got me ready for that party a few months back?"

"W-which one?"

"The one where I met Naruto, Silly." Sakura smiled brighter and Ino frowned and shook her head.

"No…you dressed yourself."

"No, I didn't. You took me to the mall, and had me try on a thousand dresses and combinations."

"It wasn't a thousand."

"But it felt like that many, and I was so confused. After all, why doll myself up if I don't plan on attracting a boy to sleep with him and repopulate the earth? I mean, at the time, you could have easily done that if you weren't on birth control pills." Sakura pointed out the pills hidden in Ino's drawer.

"H-how did-" In began to question.

"I know you well enough now, Ino Yamanaka, to know that you hide yourself behind a façade of an uncaring, whimsical girl, but inside, you play things safe, and know when to back off. But sometimes that can be your weakness in matters of the mind and heart."

Sakura reached into the front of the closet and smiled at the time on the clock of the alarm. She had stalled long enough for Naruto to get his side of things done, and she should now have plenty of time to get Ino set, so she grabbed at the clothing that she herself had bought for Ino, and pulled it in front of herself.

Ino's eyes widened in surprise as she couldn't recall buying the clothing in front of her. The top was a gentle violet that covered her stomach, but left her arms bare, but with a connection to a mesh undershirt that would move down to her elbows. With it on the hook was a violet skirt that had a gold buckle down on the leg as it stopped at probably her knees, before more mesh woven from underneath it to her ankles. As Sakura twirled it a bit, Ino saw the gold lining on the borders and edges of the fabric, matching her hair color nicely, while being a slight duller to accentuate the idea that her hair was brighter than the piece of cloth.

"You want to know why we're doing this, Ino?" Sakura asked as she stepped forward and held it up to Ino's body as it was a perfect fit for her new and growing bust size and widening hips. "We're doing these things because they are things that you like to do to get ready to have a great time. You do them because you believe that making an impression, a good impression on someone is nine tenths of the law."

As Sakura spoke her own manta back into her own face, Ino looked away from the material in front of her and scooted a bit back onto the bed, bringing her exposed knees up to her face and wrapped her arms around them, holding her terrified and stupefied face staring straight ahead.

"What if I'm not able to keep myself pretty enough?"

"You can always make yourself pretty, Ino." Sakura placed the material on the edge of the bed and crawled next to her friend, before moving her left hand over to rub her back in a soothing motion. "Look at me; I didn't even know how to put on makeup besides asking an artist to put it on my face. Now, I'm able to think about what Naruto would like to see me in, and change it up to try to make him stutter at the mere sight of me. You can make yourself beautiful, Ino, whether you grow older, or even gain a little weight."

Ino shivered at those words, but her mind calmed as Sakura's hypnotic motions with her hand kept her relaxed and steady on listening to her words. "Are you hypnotizing me right now?"

"I wish I could."

"You're so happy now."

"Well you know, when I first got here, I felt pretty bad at myself and my feelings were mostly down, but you know? You cheered me up, as soon as you bounced around that moving van and said hi to me, whether I thought you were an annoying loudmouth at the time or not."

Ino nodded her head and rested her chin on her knee, letting the other drop to the mattress, and moving towards being more open to Sakura's words. Sakura pressed on, hoping to make sure that Ino was the happiest she was before the events tonight began. "Ino, I want to remind you that you can make yourself happy, by seeing the good things in life and letting them take you places that you'd never thought they could before. You just need to let your true self be set free."

Sakura turned Ino's face towards her and smiled reassuringly. "Ino, I guarantee you. I guarantee that by the time that the night is over, by the time you come back here, Ino, and sit on this bed, and think over all of the events that will have taken place for a reason that you'll know…you'll be happy. I promise."

Ino smiled a bit at Sakura's words. She seemed so sure of herself, and if truth was to be told, Ino would rather be blindfolded and told to jump off a cliff, than to say no to any favor Sakura asked her for. She was her friend and she cared about her wellbeing. Maybe she didn't need her parents to comfort her, because maybe she still had a friend in Sakura. Ino's hand reached over and felt the soft material of the fabric and smiled a bit as she turned to Sakura, pulling the top in front of her chest.

Ino's eyes looked tearfully at Sakura's attitude, hoping to sway Ino's sour mood around, and spoke inwardly towards her best friend. "I don't know about all that you said, Sakura…but you don't realize how much I hope that it all turns out that way."

AN: Part two next time!