Note: Written from Ino's POV, first person, pre-Ship.
I sped up through the people and manage to catch her before she turns the corner. "Sakura!" She stops and turns around. Her eyes are wide, like some kind of animals, and darting around in her head like clockwork gone haywire. "Oh, sorry--wait, you're her mom, aren't you?" She shakes her head violently.
"I don't have a daughter," she say, her voice so high-pitched I'm surprised I can hear it.
"No, I'm sure you're her mom. Sakura Haruno," I said, moving towards her. She shifts around on her feet, looking anywhere but at me. Her lips are pulled down into a tight frown.
"I don't have a daughter," she repeats.
"You're Asami Haruno, though," I say, knowing now that it's her. Why she denies it, though, I can't understand.
She hesitates. "Yes."
"Then you're Sakura's mom."
"No. I don't have a daughter."
"But I go to school with her," I say. It's almost a game. Who will give up first.
"No."
"I saw her. At the academy."
"No," she says, her voice rising. "I don't have a daughter."
"But you do," I insist, stomping my foot into the dirt road. "I see you with her all the time." A man comes up behind her and hugs her shoulders, quieting her. He glares at me before leading her away.
"But you're her mom? What if she needs you?"
"She doesn't need me."