Matchmakers
This is my first attempt at a one-shot. This is also my first attempt at a yuri; I have my friend Avery to thank for that. I've always liked the idea of Sakura and Ino winding up together (because, frankly, Naruto and Sasuke belong together and I've gotta figure out something to get these girls out of the way ;p). It's six thirty in the morning, so any plot I may have will be fractured and obscure thanks to lack of sleep. I apologize for crappy writing in advance.
Disclaimer: The characters and concepts of Naruto are not mine. I own some pins, though, Cute ones. I got 'em at MegaCon. D
Warning: This has yuri. Meaning girl x girl. There is also implied and sometimes blatant yaoi (for the record: boy x boy). If you don't like this, or if you don't agree with my pairings (Ino/Saku and Naru/Sasu) then stop reading right here. I mean it.
Notes: The main pairing is Ino and Sakura, although Naruto and Sasuke are major players. There also might be an appearance by my favorite het couple, Kiba and Hinata. I know, I'm weird. Maybe Kakashi or Iruka will come in as well, who knows? I've got no plans for this thing. This is all off the top of my head. (That should have been in the warning, huh? P) Also, a note on their ages: they're all about seventeen or eighteen.
Here we go:
"Oy! Sakura!"
Two pairs of eyes, one bright blue and the other midnight black, watched the green and orange clad figure rush up to a pretty pink-haired girl. She jumped as he skidded to a halt right in front of her and snapped to attention. As she blinked her teal eyes at him, Rock Lee dropped himself into a deep bow, his black bowl-cut hair brushing the dirt floor.
"Um... hi, Lee..." Sakura raised an eyebrow warily.
"Sakura! Please, please come to my house and cook dinner for me tonight! Guy-sensei has left on a training mission and I need to fend for myself!" Lee stood up and the two onlookers under the tree saw his lip sticking out in an exaggerated pout. "I can't cook to save my life, you know that!"
"You also can't be subtle to save anyone's life," Sasuke grunted from the shade.
"What? Are you jealous that you can't approach a girl like that?" Naruto teased from his sprawled out position in the other boy's lap. Sasuke poked him in the side, making him squeak.
"Why would that matter since I'm with you, dobe?"
"Don't call me that. And you make a good point. You could have had any girl in this village, huh?"
"Yeah, too bad I fell in love with you."
"And you're complaining about his subtlety?"
Lee bowed deeply again: "Oh, please say yes, Sakura! Please?"
"Um..." she smiled politely, "I suppose I could, I mean, you know, whip up something really quick..."
"Oh, thank you!" he jumped up and beamed at her. She smiled nervously and gave a tiny wave as the whirl of green and orange sped off again. Then she let out a sigh and turned toward the marketplace. A light sound drew their attention away from their friend and off to one side of the area where the brief scene had taken place was Ino. The blond was standing with her arms crossed angrily over her considderable chest, scowling toward the direction Sakura left. Naruto and Sasuke watched as she tossed her hair and stomped off in the opposite direction, huffing. Their eyes met one another's.
"Okay," Naruto blinked at his companion. "Sakura just made dinner plans with Lee, and Ino saw and got really upset."
"In layman's terms, Ino either likes Lee or Sakura," Sasuke observed.
"I doubt anyone would like Lee," Naruto made a face.
"So then, she likes Sakura," the raven-haired boy stated
"Which is understandable. She's practically got your status when it comes to guys."
"And girls, apparently."
"What are we going to do about it?"
One black eyebrow shot up: "You're asking me?"
"You're the one who made the connection, so I'm assuming you're the smart one in this relationship," the blond answered defensively.
"It's probably better if we don't interfere."
"Right, so that Ino tells off Sakura later and she won't know why she's getting chewed out."
"Honestly, where has meddling in other people's affairs gotten us?"
Naruto actually thought about this, his blue eyes turning up to the canopy of the tree they were leaning against.
"...a lot of trouble," he concluded.
"So then what should we do?" Sasuke leaned back. The blond boy thought for another minute or so. Finally, he stood, stretched, and looked down at his companion expectantly. The darker one rolled his eyes and stood as well, crossing his arms and leaning against the tree trunk: "This had better be worth it."
"Just think--if they're preoccupied with each other, they won't have time to chase after you, right?"
"...What's your plan?"
"I knew you'd see it my way."
"I can't believe he talked me into this," Sasuke rolled his eyes for the upteenth time that day. It was dusk now, just a tiny bit after sundown. He had been waiting by the back window for almost fourty five minutes now, since he talked Lee into inviting Sakura to stay and eat dinner with him. Sasuke was about to give up and go home when the trees on his left rustled slightly and Ino appeared, still looking grumpy. She was the only one; Naruto was a no-show.
"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked moodily.
"I just wanted to know if you knew about this," he motioned to the window. She looked at him before stepping up to the glass and peeking inside. He knew what she was seeing and his suspicions from earlier were confirmed when her eyes widened and her cheeks darkened in the early evening light.
"Why...are you showing me this?"
"Just to confirm something," he turned his eyes to hers. "Is Sakura dating Lee?"
"Is Sakura WHAT--" Ino nearly shrieked. Sasuke clapped a hand over her mouth and pulled her down with him, pressing them firmly against the wall of the small house as Lee stood from the table and walked over to the window. Sasuke waited till the presence of Lee's chakra faded and eventually let her go. She gasped for a breath and glared daggers at him. He shrugged and stood, looking into the window once more.
"No need to over-react, I was just asking," he said softly.
Ino stood quickly. "Well, she's not! I mean, she wouldn't..."
"I don't know. It looks like she's pretty happy with him," he shrugged. Ino frowned at his words and approached the window again. They looked inside together. Whatever Lee just said had obviously been funny; Sakura was red from laughing so hard. Beside him, Ino growled low in her throat and Sasuke shrunk away slightly.
Dammit, Naruto. This was all your idea. Where are you and why am I doing this by myself?
How he had gotten himself into this mess, he had no idea. From the corner of his eye, he saw timid Hinata watching the fight with a mixture of worry and puzzlement. Kiba snarled from his right hand side and Naruto let his eyes come to meet the yellow orbs of his opponent. He briefly saw this afternoon's conversation in his head:
"Hey, Hinata!"
"Hinata, what's the matter?"
"Naruto... It's Kiba. He's been acting so weird around me...like he hates me. Do you know...if I did anything to make him angry...?"
"Yo, dog-boy!"
"Go away, brat."
"Break any pretty girl's hearts lately?"
"What the hell are you babbling about? Make sense, for once."
"I'm talking about Hinata! She deserves to stress over someone better!"
"You have no idea what the hell you're talking about!"
"I love Hinata."
Naruto snapped out of it and from the other side of the court, the aforementioned girl let out a gasp. Kiba's ears perked at the sound but he gave no sign that he acknowledged her presence. He stood to his full height and stalked over to the blond, his clawed fingers curling into tight fists as he advanced.
"You're all talk, Naruto," he sneered, his fangs protruding over his bottom lip. "You think just because Hinata has a thing for you, you can come in whenever you want and just take her. I've got news for you, punk: Hinata's a person. A special, wonderful person that doesn't need to waste her time on garbage like you."
Well, at least Naruto had gotten Hinata her answer. But he was looking at some serious pummeling if he didn't act really, really fast. But in this one thought, Kiba had already closed the distance between them and drew back one balled-up fist. Naruto closed his eyes.
"Stop!"
"He really likes her," Sasuke spoke into the silence that had built up. Ino made no gesture that she heard him, her eyes were glued to the scene in front of her. Sakura had brought desert. And was feeding it to Lee. Sasuke could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears and he secretly grinned: When Naruto comes up with a plan, in all its rarity, it's a good one.
"She never told me," the blond girl finally whispered, her eyes never leaving the window. "I'm her best friend, and she never made any mention that she liked Lee."
"Maybe she didn't want you getting upset?"
"I'm not upset."
He gave his friend a bemused look: "Naruto can hide his feelings better than you can."
Ino suddenly tore her eyes away and locked her icy gaze on his. "She's my best friend."
"I know," he answered sympathetically. "How long has it been for the two of you? Since you were both six or so?" She nodded wordlessly. "And how long have you been in love with her?"
"I'm not--" she cut herself off and looked back into the house. They were laughing again. Sakura smiled gently. The animosity in Ino's stare melted away abruptly.
"How long?" Sasuke asked again.
"Years," she choked on her own breath.
"And, are you going to let some clueless dork cut in?"
"No... No way."
"But what are you going to do, Ino? She's in there, with him, and you're out here, alone."
Those words ignited the fire under her. She sprung into motion, rushing swiftly around the side of the house. Sasuke chuckled to himself and watched as the front door exploded open, and Ino stood there in all her 'righteous anger' glory. Lee yelped and Sakura merely blinked as her dinner companion tried to hide himself under the table.
"Ino...?" the pink-haired girl blinked again.
"We're leaving, Sakura," Ino commanded in a 'pick-up-your-crap-let's-go' voice.
"Leaving? Why?"
"Because I'm not going to stand out here and watch some idiot take what rightfully belongs to me."
Sakura stood, looking slightly upset: "Look, Ino, I know we're best friends and everything, but don't you think this is a little ridiculous, even for you?"
"I'm not fooling around," the blond stepped into the small house. "I'm taking you with me whether he likes it or not." She pointed to the shivering mass beneath the table. Sakura rolled her eyes at him before turning back to the other girl.
"This is really rude of you, Ino. We were having dinner--"
"You're not some housewife he can ask to make dinner whenever he wants."
"I didn't say that--"
"Get your stuff. We're gone."
"Who do you think you are--?"
Ino suddenly snatched Sakura's gesturing hand and pulled her away from the table. The other hand caught her chin and tilted her face up and Ino kissed Sakura hard. Sasuke had to look away; the intensity of the kiss was making him slightly uncomfortable. After an endless moment, they fell away from each other, Ino grinning and Sakura blushing. Lee found his voice (and his courage) and stood up from beneath the table.
"Hey!" He tried reaching for Sakura. "She and I were having dinner!"
"I know that," Ino turned her hard eyes onto him. "And if I ever catch you near my girlfriend again, I'll use fifteen different techniques to kill you."
Lee shrunk into a mere speck. Sasuke felt as shocked as Sakura looked at this point.
"Girlfriend...?"
"From now on, you and I are more than best friends," Ino looked at the girl beside her. Sakura could only stare back in silent shock. Finally regaining her senses, she pointed at herself.
"Me? But I thought you loved..."
"Nah," she shook her head. "And besides, you know he's already taken."
Sasuke felt his face flush.
"Come on, Sakura. Let's go home."
"...can we go out for a little bit first?"
"Sure. Where do you want to go?"
"Can we get ice cream?"
Ino laughed softly. Sasuke watched them leave the house, smiling slightly. Then he looked around.
"Now, where is that dobe...?"
"Stop protecting him, Hinata! I'll make sure he never hurts you again."
"He's not the one hurting me, Kiba."
Narrowly avoiding death, Naruto had stood to one side and let Kiba and Hinata clear the air of some things.
"I thought you hated me..."
"I could never hate you. You should know that..."
And thankfully, Kiba wasn't mad at him afterwards.
"I asked Naruto to help me."
"...and here I thought he was instigating."
Home never looked so pleasing as it did now. He slipped inside the house as quietly as he could.
"Thank you, Naruto. Thank you for all your help."
"Sorry about the cuts...and the bruises...and that bite... Um...thanks."
He took off his headband and his jacket, tossing them onto the couch and moving silently into the bedroom. I wonder how everything went for Sasuke... He pulled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes, plopping down onto his side of the bed. He knew the other boy was there without having to see him.
"What happened?"
"Ran into Hinata."
"What did she want?"
"She wanted me to find out if Kiba was mad at her."
"Oh. Was he?"
"Nah. Big misunderstanding. Cleared up now; hearts, smileys, rainbows, that kind of thing."
"Happiness all around."
"What about you? How'd the plan with Ino and Sakura go?"
"They're out getting ice cream now."
"How badly did Ino kick Lee's ass?"
"No ass-kicking, just a death threat."
"Oh. Well, that works just as well."
Naruto rolled onto his side to look at Sasuke, who was lying on his back with his hands behind his head.
"Today was a weird day," he said.
"You can say that again," the dark-haired one agreed.
"Today was a weird day."
"Ha."
"I love you, Sasuke. You know that, right?"
The silence after that statement was so long that Naruto actually started to feel nervous. He was assured quickly, however, when Sasuke's hand found one of his in the darkness between them and clasped it firmly.
"We're a couple of matchmakers, you and I. We could start a business."
"I doubt I'll ever come up with an idea like that ever again."
"Getting Ino mad enough to confess was pure brilliance."
"Unfortunately, the same trick didn't work on Kiba."
"How many wounds do you have?"
"Not enough to get blood on the sheets."
Sasuke laughed softly and Naruto grinned back.
"I love you too, Naruto."