I don't own Naruto. Or Kingdom Hearts, for that matter. Christmas present for Extra Ren. I love you!
"He's hott,"Sakura remarked suddenly from her upside-down postion on the bed, popping another potato chip into her mouth.
"You wouldn't think so if he was busy trying to kill you,"Ino responded, mashing the buttons on the controller rapidly. Without skipping a beat, she added,"And don't eat so many of those. They're fat-making and if you eat too many you'll die."
Sakura decided to ignore that last comment, and instead said,"Shouldn't you start with the first game? So that you actually understand what's going on? I mean, aren't you curious why he's swinging around two giant keys?"
"Don't really care,"was the short response. Sakura ate another chip, earning a groan from the blonde.
"If you say so,"Sakura replied in a carefree, oblivious tone that overrided Ino's annoyance. "But, if you ask me, it seems like you're only doing this to get Sasuke's atten--" She was interupptted by the sound of the controller clattering onto the floor, and Ino's shriek of joy.
"I killed him I killed him I killed him I killed him!"She sang. Sakura smacked her arm, albeit lightly.
"Quiet! I want to see the cutscene!" Ino fell silent almost imediately, a new record for her, and both stayed that way for the rest of the exceedingly long cutscene, only interruptted by Ino's quiet complaint about being somebody else now. She quickly saved, and shut off the PS2 before leaning back against the bed.
"...Poor guy,"Sakura finally commented. Ino nodded.
"Yeah. He was cute,"she replied solemnly, then yelped as Sakura smacked her arm again. "What did I say!"she demanded, already checking for a bruise.
"I meant Roxas! He basically disappeared, died! Axel didn't!"
"...I was talking about Roxas!"
"...Oh. Wait, what?"
"He's cute, admit it!"
"Well, Axel's hott!"
"He tried to kill me! What kind of friend are you!"
"Roxas, not you, Roxas!"
"Still!"
By this point Sakura had flipped around, and ploppd herself upon her elbows, glaring at Ino, who returned the favor.
...Before they both burst out laughing at how ridiucloud they sounded. Sakura somehow managed to roll off the bed and onto the floor with a thump!, which only served to increase their giggling. The potato chip bag lay forgotten on the floor besides the two.
Ino leaned back against her bed once more as thier giggles subsided, while Sakura managed to pull herself up and sit straight on her knees.
"Know what Ino-pig?"Sakura asked quietly.
"Hm?"
"Even if you are playing this game for Sasuke, it does seem pretty good. I'm glad."
"I'm not playing it for Sasuke!"Ino protested imediately. Sakura laughed at the indignant look she had, and gained a sparkly purple pillow thrown at her head for her efforts, courtesy of a certain blonde female.
"Sorry, sorry!"Sakura yelped, scrambling back on to the bed in hopes to somehow avoid the sudden barrage of pillows and stuffed animals. She dived behind a large pillow, and peeked out nervously.
Ino smiled wickedly. "Only if you promise not to say that again,"she chastised, her tone light and teasing.
"I promise, I promise!"Sakura laughed, throwing her hands up in the air and waving them around.
Process: 15 complete.
---
"Oh, I've gotta go!" Sakura exclaimed, glancing at her watch. "Ino's gonna kill me!" She turned to her two best male friends with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about this. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Bye Sakura!"Naruto gave her a huge grin. Sasuke just grunted his farewell, as he was too caught up with his DS. Sakura couldn't help but giggle as she turned away.
Ino's home was not too far from their usual hangout, so it didn't take long for her to reach it. She paused a moment before the door, deciding to ring the bell. Her friend had told her a million times that she could just walk in, but...she just didn't feel comfortable with it.
The door opened almost instantly, and Ino's head popped out. She was munching on a biscochito, probably made by her mom, and Sakura had to giggle at her. Crumbs were all over her face.
"You shouldn't eat those, Ino-pig,"she teased, throwing her own words back at her. "They're fat-making."
"Quiet, you,"Ino laughed, covering her mouth. "They're not as bad as those chips of yours, in any case. Besides, you're late."
"...True,"Sakura admitted, guilty on all counts. "Sorry about that. It's just that Naruto was telling me this great story about someone he knows, and before I knew it...yeah."
Ino shook her head, smiling. The same thing happened everytime, and the same conversation occured--everytime. She was used to it by now.
"Come on,"she instead replied, finishing the poor cookie off and trying to wipe all the crumbs from her mouth. "Let's get started."
Process: 30 complete.
---
"You're coming home with me today,"Ino ordered as they walked out of their last class of the day. Sakura blinked.
"Why?"she asked.
"Because,"Ino replied in a sing-song voice. "If you go with the boys, you'll be late again, and I really want to get past Demyx."
"Demyx?" Sakura's eyes lit up. She had to hand it to her, Ino always did know exactly how to get what she wanted. ""Sure thing--I'll definitely go with you. Just let me tell them I can't go with them today."
"I'll go with you,"the blonde offered. Both stepped up the pace, and managed to catch Naruto just as he was about to leave the building.
"Naruto!"Sakura yelled, dropping her backpack at Ino's feet and running up to him as he turned at the sound of her voice. "I'm not going to hang out with you guys today, alright? Ino wants me to come over early."
"Aw..."Naruto's face dropped. "That's too bad. " Sakura had to smile at his crestfallen expression, and leaned over to give him a quick hug.
"Tell Sasuke for me, won't you?"she asked as she pulled away. He nodded.
"Sure thing, Sakura. Have fun!"
"Thanks,"she smiled brightly at him, before turning tail and walking back to Ino. "He'll tell Sasuke,"she informed the blonde,"so we don't have to go and figure where he went now."
"Great. Let's get going!"Ino grinned, visibly excited. Sakura picked up her bag, and slid a strap over her shoulder.
"You just want to see some eye candy,"Sakura teased as they stepped onto the sidewalk to begin the short walk to Ino's house. Luckily for her, the blonde didn't live too far from the school.
"Nah, Demyx isn't my type. Neither is Sora. Now, Roxas on the other hand..."she trailed off, sending Sakura a meaningful look. Her friend just shook her head with a smile.
"Guess your eternal love for Sasuke didn't last very long."
"I--what!? I don't like Sasuke!"Ino protested quite loudly. Birds in a nearby tree started at the noise.
"You don't need to tell me,"Sakura waved it off, her tone still teasing. "You gave up on him, and now want Roxas, I know. Come on, I'm hungry for some of those cookies your mom promised me."
"But I never did like Sasuke!"Ino burst out, sounding rather desperate. Sakura blinked, feeling shocked and a bit out of her element.
"I...was just kidding with you,"she finally said, her expression unreadable.
"...Oh." Ino had the grace to look embarrassed, and looked down at her moving feet. "I, uh..."
"It's alright,"Sakura waved it off, not especially wanting to get in an arguement. Seriously, they oculd fight over the silliest things, couldn't they?
Scarcely a minute later, they had reached Ino's house, and made a beeline for her room, talking as amibly as ever. Ino kneeled on the carpet, switching on the PS2 as Sakura took her place on her bed, cookies all but forgotten as she reached into the nightstand for the potato chips. A silence fell over them as they watched the opening scene for Kingdom Hearts, one that was broken by the cutscene that Ino imediately ran into.
As she popped chips into her mouth, her head by Ino's, watching Demyx speak, a part of her realized that, in the whole entire world, there was nowhere else she'd rather be.
Process: 51 complete.
---
"Want to spend the night?"Ino asked, her eyes never leaving the screen. Once again, the two girls were at Ino's house, this time on a Friday night.
"Sure,"Sakura replied. "If my mom says yes."
"Then call her." Sakura nodded, already picking up Ino's cell. It didn't take much persuading--her mom adored Ino--and within a minute she had her agreement and was hanging up.
Ino cursed loudly at that exact moment, and Sakura's attention darted back to her. "What's wrong?"
"He killed me. Xaldin freaking killed me,"Ino moaned, switching off the console and flopping backwards.
"I'm...sorry?"Sakura offered, unsure of what to say. The blonde took this game way too seriously sometimes.
"'S not your fault,"she mumbled, closing her eyes. "You didn't kill me."
Sakura bit her tongue to refrain from correcting her--Xaldin killed Sora, not her. Instead, she scooted over behind her, grabbing a brush from the nightstand. Ignoring Ino's protests, she pulled the hairtie from her ponytail, and began to brush it.
"Quiet, you,"she scolded. "You obviously need to relax, so just let me help you." The blonde acquiesced, muttering something about mother hens. Sakura ignored her, and concentrated on brushing her hair. She silently admired how long and silky and split-end-less it was.
"Done!"she finally announced, reluctantly pulling herself away from the pretty, pretty hair after putting it back into a ponytail. Ino let out hte breath she had been holding, then turned to Sakura, and smile dup at her.
"Thanks, Forehead-girl. You were right for once--I did need that."
"Anytime Ino-pig,"she returned with a smile of her own.
Ino's smile turned quite quickly into a wicked grin, and all of a sudden Sakura feared for her sanity. Or, at least, coming out of this room in one piece. The blonde pulled herself on the bed besides her.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. Now turn around, it's my turn."
Sakura groaned good-naturedly.
Process: 80 complete.
---
"It's a Sunday,"Sakura pointed out. It was more then a week since their sleepover, and Sakura found herself their yet again that morning.
"And?"Ino asked, her eyes never leaving the screen. Sakura resisted the urge to smack herself.
"Shouldn't we, oh, I don't know...do something else?"
"You're just saying that because you're bored,"Ino replied. "Take that, you weird British-sounding guy!"she yelled at the screen a split second later.
"Luxord,"Sakura supplied a name helpfully. "And of course I'm bored--he's killed you at least twenty bazillion times."
"We'll do something else when I beat him, promise,"Ino compromised. "Ha! Take that!"
Sakura sighed, trying not to smile. Who would of thought the blonde was the gaming type? Or that she would get as wrapped up in a game as Sasuke always tended to do? She closed her eyes, only to have them fly open at Ino's shriek of joy.
The blonde jumped up, preforming an odd victory dance that Sakura had to laugh at. She was so silly.
"Ino-pig, save already. I have to go in about an hour, so let's get going,"she said once Ino completed the dance, and they watched the cutscene. Ino complied.
"So, then, what do you want to do?"she asked, flopping backwards onto the bed. Sakura shrugged.
"Don't ask me."
"But you're the one who wanted to do something different!"
"Doesn't mean I have to have something in mind."
"Argh. Uh, then...how about we help Mom bake? She should be starting a new batch right about now..."
"Sure,"Sakura agreed,"Sounds good to me."
"Then let's get going." Ino jumped up again, pumping her fist into the air before they both rushed down to the kitchen, imediately bumping into Ino's mom. She said something hurriedly that neither caught, and before they knew it, they were in charge of the batch of cookies currently in the oven, and the ones not yet created..
And now both stood in the middle of the room, Ino with her hands on her hips and Sakura with her arms crossed against her chest, both surveying their enviroment--aka the supplies and cooking utensils.
"Well,"Ino finally said, in a completely deadpan voice. "Let's save those cookies."
Process: 95 complete.
---
"Go go go go go GO!"Sakura yelled, cheering Ino on. After who knows how long (Well, other then Sakura herself), Ino had finally reached...Xemnas. Insert dramatic music here.
"Damn you Riku, you're gonna get me killed!"the blonde yelled at the screen, the light emitted from it the only light source in the entire room.
"Kill him kill him kill him!"Sakura chanted, ignoring both Ino's yelling and her prior words of it being just a game.
The sound of the controller hitting the floor silenced both of them, and they stared.
"I...won,"Ino whispered. Then, loudly,"I won!" The cutscene began, and Ino scrambled up. "Move, Sakura! Give me some room!"
Sakura scooted over, and Ino collasped on the rather small bed besides her. Their limbs tangled together as both wanted to lie down as they watched the cutscene.
"Could his hand go any lower?"Ino whispered, nudging Sakura, who nodded.
"He's not as innocent as he looks, taking advantage of his best friend like that,"Sakura commented solemnly.
"Yeah..." Both fell back into a comfortable silence.
"Look!"Sakura pointed out once they got to Destiny Islands, "That's so cute!"
"Riku and Mickey? Come on, group glompage of Sora is waaaaaayy cuter,"Ino laughed, shoving her playfully.
Sakura opened her mouth to shoot back another retort, before quickly changing tactics and subjects. "Kairi's really pretty. So's Namine."
"Yeah...hey, wait, that's it?" Ino looked scandelized as the credits began to roll. "Where's the hot make-out scene between Riku and Sora?"
Sakura couldn't help but laugh--really, she couldn't. "Ino..."she managed to choke out,"Did you really think that'd put that in a kid's game?"
Ino opened her mouth, then shut it, finding that for once she had no response to that. She pouted, crossing her arms as best as she could in her current position, effectiively sending Sakura into giggles.
An indignant look crossed Ino's face, and she shoved at her best friend's choulder again. Sakura shoved back playfully.
Ino couldn't help it either--she started to laugh. They really were silly. Oh well--they were teenaged girls, they had an excuse. Sakura watched her with a smile, waiting.
The blonde's laughter faded away, and she breathed, smiling brightly at nothing, aka the ceiling.
"Hey, Ino?"Sakura quietly asked after a few moments, when all the light there was came from the start menu on the TV screen.
"Yeah?"
"Best friends?"
Ino turned her head to look at her, wondering what prompted that question. She studied her for a few moments, trying to fugure it out before giving up. "Yeah,"she instead replied. On a whim, she held out her pinky finger, just like little kids do.
"Yeah,"Sakura breathed, staring into Ino's bright blue eyes as their pinkys joined.
Process: 100 complete.