Chapter 22 The Next Step

With much reluctance, Sakura had to leave Naruto for the rest of the day. Honestly she would have preferred for the two of them to sneak back to his apartment and spend the rest of the day making out and doing whatever came from there. But there was something she believed she needed to do first.

"We've been seeing each other a lot lately, have you noticed?" Ino greeted when the pinkette showed up at her family's store. Since she was on strike, her parents were making her work full time at the flower shop, so finding the platinum blonde wasn't too difficult.

"We have, but for a good cause if I do say so." Sakura replied as she was allowed inside. Fortunately it was empty to no one would overhear them, which was good because her friend looked just slightly uncomfortable to be alone with her, and she had a good idea why. "First Ino, if I crossed a line by kissing you I'm sorry. I was just trying to avoid competing over a boy again like before."

"No, I get that, and you're right. We shouldn't be competing against each other to try and 'win' Naruto like that." Ino said, bring the two into the back room of the shop for a better sense of privacy. "It's just... I'm surprised that I liked it so much. There's no doubt in my mind that I'm into men, but I never thought about women that way before."

"I think you have, you just didn't know it. Which brings me to why I'm here." Sakura stated. "You see, I've been looking into my family history, and I've gotten a few answers. Apparently my dark side is a piece of something like a kekkei genkai."

Ino looked surprised and sat down, her friend doing the same. "Like a kekkei genkai? But not really one?"

Sakura nodded. "One of my ancestors was attempting to create something similar to your clan's methods, he called it the Hekikai, and the end result was a split personality. But he figured out that the two personalities can combine to create a better mind, which I've recently done. Basically right now my mind is in one piece again, no light or dark."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "So what now? You're never going to have a subconscious thought ever again? Everything's going to be on the surface? I don't think that's mentally possible."

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know, I think you're right and there will be a whole new set of unacknowledged thoughts someday, but the ones that I already had are now dealt with. I literally feel like a whole new person."

"So what feels new?" Ino asked.

Sakura looked at her hand, checking her nails. "It's... it's like I'm seeing things in color for the first time. Nothing's changed, but I'm noticing things I never noticed before. Like Naruto-kun, I've always known him to be dependable, headstrong, and somewhat naive, but now I'm seeing those traits as endearing rather than off-putting. And Sasuke, I mean... I still think of him as a strong, independent, troubled guy with a need to complete his dream, but those traits aren't so endearing anymore."

Ino nodded. "Yeah, they stopped being endearing to me when I saw what happened to Shikamaru and Chouji on that mission to bring him back. I just couldn't date someone who could cause my friends that much harm and claim it was a good idea at the time."

Sakura nodded. "If you saw what Sasuke did to Naruto-kun when they fought, you'd probably want the traitor dead."

Ino blinkded. "What happened to Naruto? I remember that he got hurt really bad but no one ever told me the specifics and I was afraid to check the reports when I was allowed to."

Sakura fidgeted. "Remember when Sasuke fought Gaara in the finals and he used that lightning fist jutsu"

Ino gasped and covered her mouth. "He used that on Naruto?"

Sakura nodded. "Twice."

Ino grabbed her chair to avoid falling out. "And Naruto survived? Wait, I saw some scars on his chest, is that where those came from?"

"I'm pretty sure."

Ino let loose a few tears. "Naruto went through all that, and he still thinks of Sasuke as a friend who can be redeemed? Why? Why wouldn't he be out for blood?"

Sakura hung her head. "It's because of me. It's because back then... I still wanted to be with Sasuke. And Naruto has always wanted me to be happy, even if it hurt him to make it happen."

Ino got up and grabbed her friends shoulders. "Then tell him to stop! If anyone can make him stop it's you Forehead! Tell him to stop before he gets killed!"

"I will! Of course I will! But I need to get him to believe it too! Otherwise he'll just keep doing it anyway! You know how he is with promises, he refuses to go back on his word! I don't think even being on strike himself will stop him from trying! So right now all I can do is change his reason for saving Sasuke, not stop him from doing it altogether! But the only way I can do that is I either kill Sasuke myself or I give Naruto-kun something other than my happiness to live for!"

Ino released her friend, stepped back, and tilted her head. "What do you mean 'other than my happiness'? I would think that the obvious solution would be to convince him that you love him now instead of Sasuke."

"That is an option, but I don't think it's enough. Naruto-kun will still feel duty-bound to bring Sasuke back, for one reason or another. The problem is convincing him to not die in the process, and let's be honest, if Naruto-kun thought that his death would do something good..."

"Then he'd be willing to die in hopes that he'll at least be a hero posthumously." Ino finished, then she shook her head. "No, I'm not going to allow that. Naruto should not be so desperate for approval that he sees his life as disposable. I don't give him permission to die young."

Sakura smirked. "That's the Ino I know. But how are you going to get him to agree?"

Ino smirked too. "Maybe the same way you will."

The pinkette chuckled. "Yeah, if three girls can't convince that boy to stay alive, I don't know what would. Oh, I got off track. As I was saying, my ancestor said that now that my mind has mended, I can allow others to experience the same thing and combine with their dark sides too."

Ino looked surprised. "So... you could awaken my own dark side and I could combine with it to get the same mental clarity that you have?"

Sakura nodded. "And according to the notes, once that happens you and I should be able to access some sort of shared power that will make us stronger together. I'm not really sure how, it didn't say too much, but I imagine it would mean we would be able to collaborate our skills or jutsu better than before. I'd like to try it out if you're up for it. If it works maybe I can try this with Naruto-kun or Hinata, bring our little group closer together this way."

Ino raised an eyebrow. 'She really wants this to be a harem. I'm starting to think this is as much for her as it is for Naruto.'

"Let me think about it."

Sakura nodded. "No problem."

"But let's say I do give this a try, how exactly would you do this?" The platinum blonde asked, curious.

"It's in here." Sakura said, pulling out a sealing scroll and unsealing the book that gave her the details of her mental condition. She flipped through the pages to find the hidden instructions. "Okay, for a Haruno like me, the Hekikai is triggered by being hit by a strong source of chakra that comes from another person. Sort of like being attacked, preferably at a time of mental confusion. In my case that was when Naruto-kun was being controlled by the Kyuubi and he hit me. At the time I was confused by what was happening to him, and as Yamato-taicho pointed out I wasn't being honest with myself over my feelings for him. According to this, a Haruno like me can trigger a Hekikai experience in another person but it's not the same."

"How?" Ino asked.

"For starters, I experienced it involuntarily, so to do it on purpose requires something different." Sakura explained. "You would be voluntarily undergoing the process, so that makes things different here. It says here I can project chakra directly into your head like a medic nin soothing a migraine, but at the same time, you have to be in a meditative state. In that state you not only need to be conflicted on something, you have to... well, this is hard to say, but this works better when you're thinking about love or sex."

Ino blinked. "It says that?"

Sakura nodded and showed her friend the text. "I had to reread that part too. Thinking it over, when Naruto's chakra hit me, I was overwhelmed with concern for him. At the time I thought it was fear for him, but looking back I think it was really me acting out of love and I just didn't know it. So you have to be in a similar state of mind, thinking about love but being confused about it."

"I... I think I could do that if I had to." Ino stated. "Is it possible that this whole split mind thing is based on love rather than mental stability?"

"Actually that makes sense. The guy who wrote this says it works best when used on a loved one, but he did acknowledge that it doesn't have to be romantic love. So maybe in a way the Hekikai is literally about the 'power of love' making us stronger or something. Heh, sounds cheesy when I say it like that, but I can't deny the results. We'll both be stronger and know exactly what we want regarding our love lives."

"That would be nice to know. But if I went along with this, wouldn't my dark side take over my body like yours did?"

"I assume so, I think it's part of the process, but it's not like she'll do anything that will hurt you. Mine didn't, and look where it got me."

"Still, I'd rather wait."

The pinkette nodded. "Wait as long as you need. But don't make me wait too long, I'd like to get close to you." She then put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

Ino blushed. "How close are you talking about right now?"

Sakura then blushed and removed her hand. "Sorry, part of the merge involved my repressed sexual side. I'm a little hornier than normal, but I'm not going to force anything on you that you don't want."

Ino took a moment to look around the shop, seeing no one around or look like they were about to come in. "Go upstairs, there is something that I do want to try."

Getting an idea, Sakura smirked and went upstairs, pausing for a moment to see her friend put up a 'Back in 30 minutes' sign on the door before locking it. She went up to the second floor, which had an office, break room, and bathroom for the Yamanakas to use when on the job. After all, the flower shop wasn't part of the residential portion of Ino's house, so sometimes it was easier to remain here than to go back home when she was on the job.

Sakura went to the break room and sat down. A minute later Ino came in and locked it.

"There's a bit of tension between us Sakura, we both know it. I don't have answers for your mind or mine, but I know one thing we can do." The platinum blonde said while walking up to her friend, blushing a little. "The way I see it, we have to kiss again. This time not on impulse and us both aware. That's the only way to know if we feel anything for each other besides heat-of-the-moment horniness."

Sakura nodded and stood up, coming closer to the Yamanaka heiress. "I agree." She wrapped her arms around Ino. "But this time, you start. It's the only way you'll really know."

Ino's face was doing a perfect impression of Hinata right now, but she nonetheless nodded and wrapped her arms around Sakura as well. Pausing for a moment to slightly lick her lips, she closed her eyes and leaned in, planting her lips on the other girl. It was chaste, not raw passion like when she kissed Naruto nor the unexpected thrill she felt the last time Sakura kissed her. This was tentative, the kiss equivalent of putting your toes into the water to check the temperature.

Sakura hummed, enjoying it, but she kept herself from pushing further. She did allow herself to rub Ino's back, making her relax a little more. Ino started to hum too, and got more into the kiss, prompting the pinkette to stick her tongue out a little. Ino couldn't stop herself from letting the tongue into her mouth and putting her own into her friend's mouth as well.

After a while the two pulled apart, breathing heavily and gazing into each others eyes. Sakura smiled a little while Ino looked coy but pleased, with neither letting the other go.

"How did that feel to you?" Sakura asked.

Ino's answer was resuming the kiss, going for full make-out right away which Sakura complied. The two girls moaned and started grinding slightly against each other. Ino's hands wandered down to Sakura's rear and groped both ass cheeks, squeezing in a teasing way. Sakura in turn had one of her hands sneak under the platinum blonde's top and crept up until she cupped one of her bra-clad breasts, rubbing it sensually. Ino broke the kiss to moan louder and bent her knees a little, looking like she really enjoyed this.

"I was always jealous that your boobs got so big and mine didn't." Sakura whispered. "But they feel really nice."

Ino let go of her friend and unbuttoned her top, trying to do it slowly but her hands however were in a hurry. Her top opened and she shimmied her arms out of it, letting it fall to the floor. Then she reached for her bra clasp.

"You sure? Your parents could walk in at any moment." Sakura warned.

The Yamanaka heiress hesitated, then sighed and let her hands down. "You're right. As good as this feels, we shouldn't go too far. And honestly, I like you Sakura and the odds seem good that I'm bisexual, but this isn't how I want my first time to be."

Sakura grew a knocking grin. "You mean you want it to be with Naruto-kun, don't you?"

"I... alright I admit it, a part of me wants to be with Naruto first. I... I haven't felt this way for a boy since Sasuke. Heck, this is more serious than with Sasuke ever was. I'm just not sure what it is. Is it my heart that wants him, or is it my hormones?"

"I have an idea." Sakura suggested, removing her hand from Ino's chest who seemed not to notice. "Say the words 'I love Naruto-kun'. See how that makes you feel."

Ino took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I love Naruto." After a moment of not reacting, her eyes opened. "That felt a little too soon. I like him, but I don't love him yet."

Sakura nodded. "That's okay, I wasn't positive about it myself at first. Give it time."

Ino nodded back and put her top back on. "It was easy for Hinata, I wonder what her dark side will do if given the chance. That is if she's willing to try this out as well."

"I'll ask when I can. And I think we're all curious to see Dark Ino."

"And Dark Hinata." Ino added, making Sakura nod. "Oh, we should tell her about all this. Keep her in the loop."

Sakura nodded again. "And see if she's open to a little exploration now."

Ino blushed, but she smiled and nodded.

After talking to her father, Hinata had a good idea of what would inevitably happen later, so she decided to beat them to the punch. She walked through the streets heading towards one of the residential areas, but the path went by the Yamanaka Flower Shop, and she saw the door open with two familiar kunoichi coming out.

"Oh perfect timing, we were just about to go looking for you." Sakura said, coming up to the white-eyed girl.

"Do you have a free moment Hinata?" Ino asked.

"I was going to go see my sensei, tell her for myself that I'm on strike now. But that's not something I have to do right this moment I suppose. What do you need from me?"

"Let's go somewhere private for that." Sakura advised.

"I know just the place." Ino piped up, leading the girls away from the area. She took the other two from the residential area into the woods.

Hinata noticed that Sakura was staying close to Ino during this. Normally that wouldn't be anything, the two were good friends, but she got the feeling that these two wanted to remain close enough to touch each other at all times. The fact that their hands kept brushing each other was a good indicator that something was up.

'Did they decide that kiss meant something?' She asked herself. 'Does that mean that they want that out of me?'

She blushed considerably, images of Sakura and Ino making out with her. And going further than that. Having never thought about that before, she wasn't sure what to think right now, but she kept following.

Ino brought the two back to the pond where she had brought Naruto to swim not too long ago, and where they caught her flashing her chest at him. Like then, there was no one there. "Okay, this is private enough. Sakura, tell her."

The pinkette nodded. "So Hinata, the issue with my dark side is resolved. My mind is one again, no shifting between light and dark anymore."

Hinata smiled. "That's good, but what does that mean?"

"For starters, my repressed side will be more apparent, so just a heads up in case I do anything that seems out of character. I might even surprise myself. And I'm going to be extra flirty with Naruto-kun all the time, so try not to be threatened by that. I'll be flirty with Ino as well, and if you're okay with it, I could even be flirty with you."

Sakura took ahold of Ino's hand who allowed it, and the two girls looked like a legit couple right there.

Hinata kept her blush but looked confused. "So you're going to date Naruto-kun and Ino at the same time?"

The two girls looked at each other. "You know, I don't think we discussed that." Sakura admitted.

"I don't think either of us know for sure. I'm exploring myself right now, but I think it's better to date just Naruto for now. Sakura and I would be more like... friends with benefits I think?" Ino suggested.

Sakura nodded. "We'll figure it out. But the important thing is, I found out that I can awaken the dark sides of others, and those I do will share a certain power with me."

Hinata slightly tilted her head. "What kind of power?"

"I'm not sure. Something like a two-person kekkei genkai, I haven't found the notes telling it specifically. But my ancestor said it was a good thing, so I'm curious. I could awaken the dark side of you and Ino, and the two of you combine with them like I did. It's like the mind equivalent of opening the eight chakra gates. You'll have much better mental health and clarity, no more insecurities and self doubts. Would you like that?"

The Hyuuga heiress thought it over. "Honestly, yes, but it seems too good to be true."

"So far I haven't noticed anything bad, other than facing some truths I kept from myself. But honestly, I'm glad this happened to me. I feel refreshed and like I can give Naruto-kun what he really needs, a true friend who can give him her all. You can't love half a person, and before now that's all he would have gotten from me."

Hinata thought it over for a bit. "I think I'm willing to try it."

"You sure?" Ino asked.

Hinata nodded. "I'm nervous, but I'd rather do this now than later. I don't want Naruto-kun to feel like he has to deal with two different versions of me. It'll be hard enough having him date three girls."

"Or more." Sakura mentioned. "But if you're ready, let's do this."

"Hold on." Ino piped up. "I might as well do this too."

Sakura looked intrigued. "I thought you wanted to wait."

"Yeah, but Hinata's right. Better to do it now and get it over with rather than cause trouble later."

"Alright, so both of you sit down. I'll get this started."

Hinata and Ino sat on the grass and the pinkette stood before them. She channeled chakra into her hands, like she was about to do a healing jutsu, and put one on each of their heads.

"Think about something that confuses you, something you don't know how you feel about, or aren't ready to admit you know. Think about the one you love but can't be with. Think about why you love him but what kept you from him. Think about anything that you can't answer but want the answer to."

Hinata and Ino closed their eyes and did as told, their thoughts both revolving around Naruto right then. Hinata thought about her respect and love for him, along with the fear that kept her quiet until now. Ino thought about her attraction and admiration for him, along with the regret of disrespecting him until now. Sakura put her chakra into them, not sure if what she was doing would work, but it was the only thing she could do.

Then everything went white for them.