Title: - Wired for Destruction (CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Rating: "T" for the non-graphic mention of sex, violence

World State: Normal

Summary: It had begun, simply enough, with a kiss.

Word Count: 1,025

Credits: Lyrics at the top belong to Ludovico Technique and come from their song, "Wired for Destruction"


Once I knew all that I wanted, a simple clarity

May I live to find the feeling of lost serenity


"I hate you, Yamanaka," Sakura moans, tracing warm lines of hatred along Ino's neck with her tongue.

Ino pauses briefly to consider the irony of the statement before returning to the task of getting Sakura's bra off. A disused supply closet in the Konoha hospital; Ino, pinned to the wall by Sakura's freakish strength, her skirt steadily slipping up her thighs as Sakura leaves white-hot bite marks on her shoulder. Ino worms her fingers into Sakura's hair and pulls her away only to crash their mouths together, each tasting exaltant jubilation and desperate need.


It had begun, simply enough, the same way; with a kiss. Or the promise of one.

"No other lips but Sasuke's will touch mine!" Ino had declared one day to the Konoha Twelve. They had still been children then and the statement had seemed far too close to achieveable for Sakura's liking. Amidst the chatter and laughing of her classmates, Sakura fumed and swore to herself that she would get there first. Swore that none would steal Sasuke from her.


Sakura woke on the bench the day after Sasuke had left, feeling much of the glamor fall away. But still, she vowed that she would save him. That she could persuade him, change him, and make him come back. But she had to be ready; and training was the tried-and-true method.


Despite Ino's claim, she knew she wouldn't be able to go to Sasuke as imperfect. She truly meant that no other boy would touch her lips...but a girl...

When Sakura came to Ino, fuming, angry, and embarassed to ask if they should practice, Ino could hardly believe her luck in that she wouldn't have to ask first, let alone that it was happening at all.

Sakura's reasoning behind going to her dearest enemy was the hope that Ino could keep a secret, particularly one pertaining to their mutual crush. Ino agreed and they met later at her house for the first sleepover they'd had in years.

"Better get ready to have your socks knocked off, Billboard Brow. I'm gonna be the better kisser for Sasuke!"

"Psh, sure, if he isn't totally disgusted by your Pig lips."

Both sniped at one another, both nervous down to their very core.

But it was for Sasuke. Had been for Sasuke.

For the duration of their abrupt session, in the smear of pink lipglosses and warm breath, quickly ended out of sheer nerves before turning in for the night, Ino could only think of one thing.

That not even her imagined kisses with Sasuke had been this good.

She dreamt of Sakura blossoms and strawberries and warm summer days.


Pain...

Everywhere, pain.

The assault was over, but Pain had left his mark.

Ino could still hear the cries of the wounded and the dying. Sakura sent her away when she broke down over a hurt boy crying for his mother. He had been trapped under a collapsed portion of roof, half of his body mangled and beyond saving.

She had found a crumbled little structure some distance from the emergency medical tents set up in the crater. Ino stubbed her first ever cigarette, half-finished, out on the ground; unsure why she had even bummed one or who it had come from. She couldn't understand why Asuma-sensei or Shikamaru enjoyed the feeling of scorched lungs and throat. But she had been willing to try anything to take the edge off.

After enough time, she became aware that she wasn't alone anymore. She wasn't sure how long Sakura had been sitting there next to her, but she understood the look in Sakura's eye.

Neither of them spoke as Ino wept into Sakura's shoulder.

Neither batted an eye when their lips met, neither sure who had initiated the kiss.

And afterward, neither spoke of the raw, animal, emotional release of fucking on the ashes and earth of their ruined home surrounded by death and pain.


And in the blink of an eye that felt like it took years to close, the war was over.

And once more, Sasuke was gone. Sakura had watched him go after declining her offer to join him. Something inside of her had clicked then and the infatuation she had felt for him through all her young life slipped away. But he was safe, and happy, and she could live with that.


Together at the newly rebuilt hospital, they worked nearly around the clock alongside the rest of the medical-nin staff, treating the long-lasting and lingering injuries of the war.

And over time, life became worth living again.


Sakura and Ino fell into their old pre-rivalry ways like it was nothing. Sasuke was no longer there and no longer a reason to fight.

They found reasons to linger around one another. Whether Ino needed assistance with a patient or Sakura wanted to know if that eyeshadow went with this dress. Girls' night out became a regular occurance; the both of them teaming up with Tenten, Temari, and Hinata to paint the town red. Dance floors became a less of a reason to scope out dates when they found more reason to keep to their table in the corner.


The storage closet in the hospital was where it became official.

Sakura tried to deny it, though Ino had embraced and hoped for it long ago.

No matter how she tried, Sakura couldn't be away from Ino's laughter, from her sharp wit, from her hypnotic cerulean eyes. Sakura practically dragged Ino from the cafeteria on their break and led her to the disused supply closet.

"I will never be with Sasuke now," Sakura told a bewildered Ino pinned to the wall and silenced with a kiss of fire.

"I hate you, Yamanaka. You stole me from Sasuke."

"Exactly as planned, forehead," Ino replied, twisting her legs around Sakura's waist and riding her to the floor.