au: sakura and ino's last fight!
Ino walks with Sakura in a way that is not hasty or hazardous. It's the first time they've been beside each other, calm as air, quiet as bugs. It's nice, Sakura thinks. Having a best friend. She wonders if in unseen moments, Sasuke appreciates Naruto like this.
Ino and Naruto are similar, she finds. Mostly in their attitude.
"Is Sasuke-kun really dumb in real life?"
The Haruno damn near explodes. Sasuke-kun was something beyond strong, he was...! He was...?
He was strong! Definitely that.
"Obviously," Sakura says, too stubborn for her own good. "He wouldn't make it this far if he wasn't."
"I guess you have a point," Ino shrugs. "I was just thinking, before I used you to cheat during the written, I tried to use Sasuke, but he had nothing written down."
The pinkette deflates a little bit. Is she serious? Sasuke-kun had nothing? Not even the question about genjutsus in the last war? She'd expect that from Naruto, but Sasuke?
Sakura refuses to let the thought shake her the wrong way. They've gotten too far to be discouraged. Even if her teammates were the dumbest in the whole village, they were still her teammates! She turns to Ino and accuses, "Right, and what about your teammates? Did they have anything written down?"
"Hey—!" Ino's face suddenly grows red. "You just see, Forehead. If it's between your team and mine, Team Ten's coming out on top!"
"Yeah, right, Ino-pig!"
Dear Sasuke-Kun,
Good morning! I dropped off these proteins and vegetables for you this morning. They should be good until the end of the week. Please train hard and eat well before the fight.
Sincerely, Haruno Sakura
Dear Naruto,
I threw out all the ramen in your fridge and replaced it with fresh meat and veggies. It's crunch time now.
I put a lot of money on you, so you better eat well!
You better beat those losers so hard they cry!
Giving you all my strength,
Sakura-chan
(Notes found on Sasuke and Naruto's front doors)