Title: Found Wanting
Author: Killaurey
Word Count: 500
Rating: T
Written for Day 15 of the 2013 Last Fan Standing Challenge on KakaSaku's Dreamwidth community.
Prompt: "I can make it disappear..."
Ino jerks away from her, her ponytail smacking Sakura solidly across the face. Sakura swallows hard, tells herself to not be a coward, and catches up to Ino.
"Ino," she says, "please, I know you're mad. I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't cut it."
"I don't understand why not."
The next thing Sakura knows is that her arms and legs are pinned to the ground. Each finger held separately by strands of long, golden hair that glow with chakra.
She should be scared.
But it's Ino's jutsu that holds her down. It's Ino's jutsu that's grown Ino's hair past the point of all reason, until there's piles and piles of it that have wound around Sakura like dangerous snakes.
Ino's eyes are colder than the frozen skies above them.
Sakura has never, ever seen Ino this angry-at her. Something inside of her shrivels up. The look is what does it; not the true danger she's in. Ino won't hurt her—physically.
It's not Ino's style.
"Don't give me that bullshit, Sakura."
"Ino," she says, "you have to—you said that you would."
"I said no such thing." Each word is clipped and carefully enunciated.
"We need to go back," Sakura tries, hoping this will work. "We can't just go."
"Can't we?"
"I know you don't like him!" Sakura erupts because it's better than wanting to cry because, oh god, Ino hates her now and she can hardly stand to think that let alone face the idea that Ino might be right to because this is all Sakura's fault. "But we can't just go back."
Ino just arches one fine eyebrow. A silent 'oh yeah? Watch me'.
"Ino," she pleads, "we can't. Please. How could you live with yourself if you didn't?"
"If I want to," Ino says, "I can make it disappear."
The thought is awful and unpleasant and undeniably true. It makes Sakura's stomach twist dreadfully, until she feels like she's going to vomit. "I—"
Ino steps back. Sakura slumps to the ground as the hair lets her go. On her hands, on every bit of exposed skin that had been covered with hair, are chakra burns.
(How much chakra does Ino have these days, she wonders and doesn't dare ask. Not right now.)
The burns sting and ache painfully but Sakura's felt worse.
"I'm not going to," Ino says, turning away. "I see no reason to. I'll be able to live with myself just fine. I don't care."
Sakura doesn't have to be able to read minds—which is good, because she can't—to know that Ino is speaking the truth.
(Hadn't Ino said as much, days ago? It feels like years; a different lifetime.)
Ino doesn't care about very many people.
"Do it for me!" Sakura snaps at Ino's back. "If you love me, do it for me, then!"
Ino's back goes very, very still.
Sakura holds her breath. Doesn't dare move.
"Sorry," her oldest, truest friend says, sounding like she means it. "But not this. Never."
