Fuck knows how long it's been. Ages, my guess. A Levels are a positive bitch, and I really want to finish these stories, but not only is my time eaten up, so is my inspiration. Nevertheless, the order will be as follows: Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara [the End] - unless I've forgotten someone lol.

The Nymph

Ino's arrival into the world was a bit different to the rest of the citizens in the kingdom. That is because she was born on the forest floor, into the arms of her mother's sisters. That was because she is a nymph, and the forest was in her blood; the leaves were in her hair; and the streams were in her eyes. A nymph that had to conceal who she was, because the people of the kingdom were afraid of those who were different; a nymph that, because of what she was, knew of no father nor brother.

In fact, she hadn't known of anything male for a long time. It was only after she reached the age of seven - when she started venturing into the outside world, away from the forest that was her home - that she got to know what boys were. She got to know Shikamaru by bumping into him in a field, while he was cloud watching, and she got to know Choji by virtue of him being Shikamaru's best friend. And they formed a trio that she was contented with, at least for time.

Because she was the youngest nymph in the land - in fact, most nymphs were much older than her (after all, they aged a bit differently to humans) - she had no female friends to speak of. And that was a fact that she had been determined to change, and she thought she had, when she reached the age of 10.

Because this was when she met Sakura. Sakura, whose bright pink hair contrasted her straw blonde hair so well; whose eyes were like oak leaves, unlike her own sky blue ones; whose smile shimmered and stunned, while most of the time, Ino couldn't muster up more than a smirk.

When she met Sakura, they had instantly hit it off; and perhaps that was because Ino was all confident, while Sakura was shy. Ino had taken it upon herself to break Sakura away from her shyness - a task that she had succeeded in. In fact, Ino lamented, it was a task she had performed a little too well.

Sakura and Ino did everything together: from playing with dolls, to mock dressing up, to doing each other's hair and nails. Sakura's parents had been perplexed at how she had been spending so much time with a girl of unknown background - but they had allowed it somehow, and at some point, Ino remembered, they had began to treat her like their own daughter.

Of course, this had all come to an end when Sasuke came into their lives, when they were both fifteen.

It was a charity function that would forever be engrained into Ino's memory - Sakura had insisted she come, lest she be too bored on her own - and they had both been in their finest apparel, Ino's gown having been provided by Sakura's parents (because nymphs didn't own clothes, at least, not the way normal people did). They were both laughing together at this that and the other, when trumpets started blaring, announcing the royalty arriving into the hall. The King had walked in, all stern and straight and stoic, before the Prince followed, a scowl painted on his face.

The applause had been thunderous. Maybe it was because she was a nymph, but Ino hadn't quite understood what they were applauding - it was just two people walking into a room, whatever their status may be. She had turned to share this thought with Sakura, but Sakura had been clapping right along with them, her brilliant green eyes focused on one of the two figures in front of her. Ino had been confused when Sakura turned and hastily apologised, before rushing off to do who knows what. In hindsight, Ino knew that she had rushed off to greet the Prince, the so sought after Sasuke, who was the breaker of fair maiden's hearts everywhere.

He had changed everything. Ino hated him for it.

Because, when Sakura came back, she was no longer the same - his name was on her lips, and she started going on and on about him - from the darkness of his hair, to the mysterious look in his eyes, to the silk of his voice - and finally, Ino couldn't take it. Her heart felt shrivelled and deadened, and she petulantly lashed out.

"You know, you're never going to have him," she remembered saying, flicking her blonde strands behind her ears.

Sakura had gasped in utter horror, her eyes filling up with tears. "What, do you like him, too?" she had asked, blinking away the water. Ino did not remember what she had replied, but Sakura had taken it as an affirmative, and on that day swore them to be rivals. Swore that she'd get Sasuke. And in a snap of her fragile, thin fingers, Sakura had written Ino out of her life. Just like that. In a way, Ino hated her for it, too.

But she didn't fully hate Sakura. She could never fully hate Sakura. She loved her too much for that.

Maybe it was because she was a nymph, and because of the lacking male influence in her life, that the person she fell in love with was ultimately a woman. But there was just something about women that appealed to Ino more than any man - maybe it was the softness of their bodies, and the gentleness of their spirits. Whatever it was, it had caused her to fall for her best friend, who wasn't even her best friend anymore, because of Ino's inability to control her jealousy. She hadn't known it at the time, but that's what she had been - jealous - and she'd never admit it until the day she died.

Since then, she'd tried to move on to other relationships, and somehow managed to become extremely good friends with the Queen - but despite the Queen's gentle and kind manner, she couldn't help but wish for Sakura's witty remarks and brash humour. Shikamaru and Choji were good too, but they were men and they were hard and big and tough (and because of it, ultimately ugly) and they couldn't fill the gap that she had left.

Ino wished she could use her magic to erase her memories, or at the very least her feelings. However, as a nymph, all she could do was help flowers and plants grow (it was ironic how Sakura's name was a type of flower), and it was a gift that wasn't much use to anybody. She wished she could be normal, she wished she could have a family the way that Sakura and Choji and Shikamaru had a family - but alas, it could never be. Just like her love for Sakura could never be.

Maybe it would've been different had she not been a nymph, had she been born to a midwife in a cozy house instead of on the forest floor. Maybe it would've been different had she had a normal family or a normal home. But she is one, and she couldn't imagine being otherwise - so she's doomed to a life of unfulfilled loves forever, although she doubted she could move past the first one - Sakura.

Can we hit that 50 reviews plz? It feels weird updating after so long.