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The Enemy of My Enemy

.

"Okay, okay," Ino clacks her glass down. "Let me get this straight."

"Nope," Sakura giggles. "I don't think we will, piggy."

"Sakura, shut up. We, all three of us here, have at some point-"

"Wait," the new girl interjects. She eyes Ino with hazy focus. "All three of us?"

"Didn't Forehead tell you already?" Ino waves her hand as if swatting away embarrassment. "We grew up in a small town, everyone went to the same school from kindergarten up to sixth grade. I was in love with Sasuke-kun cause that was, like, the trend. I was a cool girl."

"And I was certain," Sakura adds, twirling a finger in the air, "that to be a certified female girl feminine woman whatever, I had to have a crush on Sasuke-kun, too. So I did. He hung out with me and Naruto the most for some reason-"

"Ooh," Karin shudders. "I think I know. And let's not say either names yet. I'm not drunk enough."

"-so of course I developed more solid feelings for him. And because he said goodbye to me in private before moving away for middle school, I managed to convince myself he felt the same way. What I had was real, and I was willing to keep it up and make it last, until- well. "

Ino watches the two women across her exchange looks and laugh. "So," she accuses. "what's he got to do with you two, uh. Here? Now?"

"Like we were telling you," Sakura insists. "Ino, you know Karin. Just never met her. And Sasuke-kun is, well, he sorta... introduced us."

Karin eyes the blonde across her through a sip of scotch. "Okay. I don't know how to say this, so I'm just gonna rip the band-aid off. I take it, uh, Forehead," she pokes the mentioned part with vermillion nails, "has been talking shit about me these past few months, to hear her tell it. That give you a hint?"

"Wait. Wait." Ino warns. One last heave on her glass, down, down, down... Okay. Pull the bandaid off. "Karin-san, you're lovely. I hope you prove my theory wrong, but are you the bitchSakura's been bitching about these past six months?"

Sakura sobs laughing. "Shut up. I was heartbroken. If I knew what a babe she was, I wouldn't have gone so hard during the hate s-"

"No way!" Ino shrieks. "Sakura? Hello?! She's the one you walked in on skinning knees with Sasuke-kun!"

"God, I'm too sober to hear that word, please," Karin begs.

"You nearly tore each other's hair out in the dorms because you, you were in 'a dark place with your anger issues'! Your words exactly!"

"I confronted him, and he was being avoidant! I had to take it out on someone!"

"It was hot," Karin giggles. She frowns. "And that is so him, with his stupid hn's and his disappearing up into his ass. Good grief."

"You lost the love of your life! To her!" Ino had to change prepaid plans to accommodate Sakura sobbing to her on the phone several hours daily for two months; she had hurt where her dearest friend did. "You loved the man before you could spell your name. You're dating the reason you broke up with your childhood sweetheart, your youth, first and only love, once in a lifetime, Sasuke-kun. I'm the one feeling betrayed here. I should be smacking her face off for breaking your heart! No offense, Karin. Like I said, I think you're a sweetheart."

"None taken." She raises a toast: "To my newest friend."

"Ino Pig, if you even lay a finger on the love of my life, I will punch your living jaw clean off its daylights." Sakura belches long and hard into some tissue, then simply breathes for a full minute. "To be fair, we were thirteen when I asked Sasuke-kun to wait for me. Practically children, except you don't know it at that time because that's the biggest you've ever been, then. I'm... grateful I found him out, otherwise, I'll probably be stuck with him for life. I'm not sure if I want that anymore, seeing who he's become. We both grew up."

"And he agreed to me asking," Karin tightens her hold on Sakura defensively. "It's not all my fault."

"Did you at least slap him?" Ino asks Sakura. "I'll do it for you if you haven't."

"Yeah! Took it like a champ. Had the tact to look guilty, even."

"He never looked at me, doing it," Karin mumbles into her girlfriend's chest. "Always thinking of someone else. I was so mad when Sakura came into the picture, 'cause I thought it was her." She looks up at Sakura, who promptly rubs her nose against hers and settles there. They giggle. "I thought I could eventually convince him to pick me instead, but it couldn't ever have been any of us with my cousin in the way."

Ino blinks away the weight on her head. "Who now?"

"We were at each other's throats until we found them together."

"It was like- well, to me, it was déjà vu," Sakura hiccups. She shudders and finishes off Karin's drink, her own soju bottle long since empty. "Damn. We sobbed in each other's arms."

"Drunk to bond over the disappointment."

"Went back to her room and, well. That was two weeks ago. Now, we'll be looking into each other's eyes forever."

"Hang on." Ino feels her stomach turn, just a bit. "Karin-san's cousin. Right. Couldn't quite move on from that. Um, just a sec." She waves away the spots in her vision to summon a waiter, then gulps down two of the mojitos he brings them. "Okay. Rip the bandaid off. Karin-san, this is just me guessing—but would either of your parents happen to be named Uzumaki?"

Sakura and Karin watch Ino's jaw drop, and guffaw.