Wednesday, Third day of School

"Sakura," Iruka called once more. He cleared his throat, hoping to attract some attention. I remained silent, "Maybe Shikamaru could think of a different plan."

"Oh Sakura," he said in a louder tone. "Naruto could help with persuading TenTen," I mused, un-aware of Iruka.

"Sakura," he yelled in an impatient tone. My head finally snapped up from my blank paper and pen. I wasn't aware he was yelling for me. I looked around embarrassed at his loud voice, waiting for the class to laugh, but the students were already gone. I glanced at the clock and it was five minutes pass. I missed the bus, but I bet Shikamaru was waiting for me, I hoped anyways.

"Sorry Iruka," I mumbled lightly while gathering my school supplies, and lightly shoving them into my small bag. He sighed before tapping the white board. I was too busy in my thoughts that I didn't even pay attention in class; actually I didn't pay attention to nothing this whole day. My conscience was biting at my back all night and day, whether to throw off this plan or not. I couldn't get to a conclusion; too many problems were clinging to each solution I came up with.

"We got homework Sakura, read pages forty three to fifty one. I doubt you caught what I was trying to teach," he assumed. I blushed in shame, ever since last night I've been on co-pilot. I have been thinking deeply about the scheme with Ino, and if I was doing the right thing or not. I'd have to bring it up with everyone, maybe TenTen could do it. She was so confident with her plan, maybe she could weasel it to success rather than me.

"Thanks Iruka, I was just tired. I promise to work better tomorrow," he smiled at my comment before I left the classroom. The halls were eerily silent once more, only the sound of my shoes tapping on the tiled floor. I exited the building with my head clear.

"Sakura," Shikamaru yelled from over the empty parking lot, not including his car and TenTen. She sat on the hood of his car with her cell phone out, texting away. None of them looked worried or troubled with guilt, like I was. I wondered if they were but secretly hiding it. TenTen giggled while Shikamaru gave her a weird look.

"Anyways, we're going to go to the aquarium today. You're going to come too, so says TenTen," Shikamaru told me without letting me reject. TenTen quickly hopped off the hood of his car and smiled. Visiting the aquarium didn't sound that bad right now. It would clear my thoughts possibly.

"It's going to be fun Sakura, so don't have such a 'troublesome' face," she sang while sitting on the passenger side. I gave a lop-sided grin before hopping in back. We started to leave the parking lot before I got an idea. What if I brought Ino on the trip, would that make TenTen understand my situation more? Ino would enjoy seeing the different types of fish as well. It would lighten my back from this burden too.

"Can we bring Ino," I asked hopefully. Shikamaru looked at me in the mirror while TenTen turned around with a frown. Did I say something wrong? One minute TenTen was happy, now she was irritated.

"Jeez Sakura," TenTen began, "I have to say you're whipped by her, just a minute ago you were frowning and now look, you're smiling just because the idea of brining Ino."

TenTen finished scolding me while I frowned. She didn't need to be so up tight about it. I had every right to bring Ino. It wouldn't hurt to bring her along anyways. It was TenTen's plan to get me close to her and use her, the thought of it made me feel even more terribly guilty.

"Well I have every right to bring her, plus it'll help us too," I retorted, hoping to sound tough. Shikamaru grumbled under his breath as he exited the schools' parking lot. TenTen scoffed.

"I'm starting to think you want more than just being her friend," TenTen retorted while still staring at me. Her chocolate eyes were bright with accusation. I was about to retort before I closed my mouth. I didn't like Ino, sure she was pretty but I didn't like her that way, not yet at least, even if I was fond of Ino I had every right to! I didn't like the fact TenTen assumed such things. I wasn't like some book she could read! What if I liked Ino? Would that be a bad thing? Of course not.

"So, what if I might like Ino more? I have every right to like her, and you can't stop me." I growled at TenTen. I could feel my eyes glaring intensely at TenTen. She stared at me before scoffing and turning around.

"Now Sakura, please don't yell. I'm already getting a headache," Shikamaru reminded while giving me a look in the mirror. It was a look of acceptance and a hint of amusement. Was he accepting the fact that I liked Ino, even if I didn't truly did? I wasn't sure why he would be ok with it, but then again, he didn't say anything bad about girls liking girls. I simply gave a grunt in his response before slumping in my seat. TenTen could be a drama queen today if she wanted. I didn't care one bit, but my eyes kept roaming over in the review mirror to steal a glance at TenTen's face. Each time I got a glance, she would be smiling while texting on her phone. I frowned. Who was she talking to? I never seen her happy by just texting to someone. It must be a very special person. The thought of it made me slightly annoyed, maybe afraid of being left in the dust. TenTen is my only Best Friend that I ever had, and I don't want to lose her.

Shikamaru took a sharp turn while cursing about stupid drivers, slamming me out of my thought, before driving smoothly again. I glanced out the window out of curiosity. The sky was a grand blue today, reminding me of Ino, again. She has been infecting my mind, but was she infecting it? Or was she purifying my mind? It didn't feel bad to have her in my head, not at all. I smiled happily, remembering yesterday's events. Those memories also reminded me of what relationship Shikamaru and she held. It didn't seem like it was a boyfriend and girlfriend situation, or Shikamaru would've given me a glare for me liking Ino, at least I think.

"Plus Sakura," Shikamaru began. I made eye contact with him through the mirror. "She has a school board meeting."

I nodded softly. TenTen giggled loudly, breaking me from my thoughts. What was with her? She sounded like a little girl. This person must be something to have TenTen so…peculiar today.

Shikamaru sighed, as if reading my thoughts and deciding to answer them," Oi TenTen, who are you talking to?"

TenTen flinched, as if just noticing she wasn't alone. She brought up her hand to scratch her cheek, which looked red in embarrassment from what I could see in the mirror.

"No one that you would know," she uttered while another text was received. A certain song popped up, one of TenTen's favorites. She only gave that song to special people, though I made her put a different song for me. I didn't like her newest song she loved. It had an annoying beat to it, something about superstar and woman something. I didn't quite care.

Shikamaru gave a dismissing grunt before focusing all of his attention back at the road. I shuffled in the seat before leaning against the door. I wonder what Ino was talking to the school board about? Was it about the newest rules or something? I continued to muse about Ino's day. Yes, she very so indeed took over my mind. How easy she was able to wiggle herself under my skin, and beginning an un-curable disease within me. Was it a disease or a blessing? I wasn't sure.

"Sakura look at the Jelly fish!" TenTen pointed her camera at the tank and took a picture. The aquarium wasn't packed with people today. I preferred it that way too. I watched half amused at TenTen's mood. Once we got here she forgot our previous barking, because she dragged me inside with a sprightly smile.

"TenTen," Shikamaru said with a bored tone, "we've seen all the fish now, let's go." He said while walking towards the exit. TenTen continued to snap photos like she never heard him. I wondered how many photos she took. She ran over to another tank to flash photos. I rolled my eyes and averted my gaze somewhere else. My eyes soon caught something interesting.

A bold yellow sign stood in front of an entrance. It said, 'No Flashing Cameras or Sudden Movements'. It sparked my curiosity on why we couldn't. I started walking over towards the secluded room. TenTen was yelling at me to come back while Shikamaru ushered us to hurry. I continued into the room without hesitation. I wondered what type of fish or thing that was in this dimly lit room.

The hall way to the room curved in at a generous angle. After a few more steps I saw the light of the water, its reflection played lazily on the wall, coaxing me to come closer. I rounded the corner to see a lone tank with a floating leafy thing inside. I raised an eyebrow before coming closer, entering the circular room.

Once I was closer I could finally tell what I was observing. It was a Leafy Sea Dragon, and no, not a monster, but the Seahorse specie. It was a beautiful sandy yellow with its natural camouflage leaves waving in the water. The Sea Dragon was beautiful. Its leaves acted like a mane on a lion, but neatly scattered on its body. I was at awe at the Sea Dragons majestic appearance. Soon I was suddenly hit with a feeling of sympathy. It was all alone in the room, without a partner or other fish, a dull room with dim lights. The Sea Dragon had small seaweed and a factory made rock in its tank, besides that it was almost completely empty. I put my fingers on the stainless glass, much different from the grubby glass out in the hall where little kids put their sticky hands on the glass. This tank was completely spotless, like no one ever came in here. I stroked the tank before circling it. I wonder how it felt to be all alone without visitors, and without anyone else to keep you company? It must be very lonesome.

"Oh wow!" TenTen exclaimed while she brought up her camera to snap a shot of the Sea Dragon. I quickly swatted the camera down onto the ground with a frown. TenTen was about to scream at me for being so reckless before I interrupted.

"The sign out there clearly said that no flashing cameras were allowed in here," I barked. I could feel TenTen's mood change.

"Well you could've said that instead of slapping my camera to the ground," she muttered while walking past me. "You seriously over-react."

I felt my frown weaken. I did over-react, but I didn't have any excuse to say it wasn't my fault. What was I thinking? I just wanted to make sure the Sea Dragon wasn't hurt anymore. Was it even hurt in the first place? I gave a lop-sided smile before walking towards TenTen, who was looking inside the tank, to look at the Sea Dragon. I leaned on the tank while crossing my arms. I assumed it was hurting from being so alone.

The Sea Dragon swam over towards the opposite side of the tank, looking at us cautiously. TenTen started tapping on the glass. I gently grabbed her finger and put it down, "They don't like that. It's like me poking your head all the time."

TenTen stuck her tongue out at me while staring at the Sea Dragon still. "That thing doesn't look so interesting," she spoke quietly. "Un-like the other Sea Horses in the hall."

I remembered the other Sea Horses. They were in smaller tanks but with partners, un-like the Sea Dragon. I turned around to put my hand on the tank, feeling the coolness of the water through the glass.

"I think its better," I added while observing the golden dragon. It was very unique but beautiful at the same time. I didn't see why TenTen found it dull.

"I shouldn't be surprised," TenTen spoke in an amused tone while turning around and heading out. I blinked in confusion. I turned around and walked after her. I felt sort of bad for leaving the Sea Dragon all alone again, but I had to leave.

"What you mean by that," I inquired towards TenTen while tagging behind her. We were rounding out into the hall. She shrugged.

"Well you like Ino, who is weird like that Seahorse, so why should I be so surprised?" She clearly stated. I frowned and crossed my arms. We started heading towards the exit.

"Hey, that isn't even funny," I said with serious tone. She giggled at my sudden hostility towards her. She waved it off with a hand while she opened the door and walking out, lingering on the handle for I could get out easily too.

"I found it funny, so lighten up." She smiled while getting in Shikamaru's car, who was bored from waiting. I hopped in the back with a smile of my own even if TenTen was slightly annoying she still made me smile.

Shikamaru nagged us for being slow until TenTen lightly smacked him across the head. He shook his head before starting his car and driving away from the aquarium. We dropped TenTen off first, since she was the closest before heading towards my house.

"Hey Shika," I asked, "Can we go pick up Ino and give her a ride?"

He smiled softly. I wasn't sure if it was from me being considerate or how hooked I was with her.

"I think she would prefer to walk home, but I can drop you off there and you can walk her home. Does that sound any better?" He suggested. I smiled back at him, answering him with an obvious yes. His plan sounded much better than my idea. We arrived at the school and I got out of the car with a quick thank you, Shikamaru drove off once I reached the doors. I opened the door before remembering to ask Shikamaru about a better plan to go against the Elders. I groaned in dismay at my forgetfulness. I would just have to ask him tomorrow. I entered the eerily quiet building, the only sound being my feet against the tiled floor. The school janitor even hurried to get out of here. I giggled before covering my mouth, my chuckle echoing through the halls. That wasn't creepy at all. I hurried my pace to find the meeting.

My first guess was the auditorium. I quickly entered the metal doors as quietly as I could, afraid to attract any attention. Once inside my mouth was agape, every row of seats was taken up by council, Elders and other school influences. On the stage was Ino, giving a speech in such a melancholy voice. She spoke without any exuberance like when she was at the park with me, but she was still pretty on stage. Her eyes were stone cold, losing all innocence she had. Her voice may have been dull but it held confidence and authority in every word she spoke. Others nodded while some raised their voices to question her.

"The rules of this year have been qualified and ready to be submitted into the new rule manuals." She spoke. An elder raised their voice to question her about something, I couldn't hear what though.

"Yes, all the new rules that the staff and Elders suggested have been applied to the list and accepted." She answered back. I saw a group of people nod at her answer. I continued to stare at Ino. She was like a different person than I thought she was. She was back into the stuck-up person I use to believe she was. She turned back into the President, not Ino.

I watched until the meeting was over, still stricken by the sight of Ino so different than yesterday. Her smile was nowhere to be seen or her innocence, just the empty shell every student thought she was. It wasn't until the people started passing me that I moved out of the way, and out of my thoughts. Some Elders looked at my hair with contempt in their eyes. It truly wasn't my idea of having pink hair. One stopped and spoke something in another language. I tilted my head in confusion at the old lady. She snarled before saying a word that I understood, "Worthless."

I was about to tell the old women to stick it between her legs until Ino tapped on my shoulder. Her eyes were animated again with a soft smile tugging at her lips.

"You saw the speech, didn't you?" She spoke in a steady, but vibrant voice. I nodded. Her smile perked up.

"I thought so," she added while walking out the steel doors. I quickly followed behind her, not wanting to stick around. We walked in silence. I was still thinking about her facial expression at the meeting. It wasn't like her current one which was smiling and full of energy.

After walking towards Ino's house for a few minutes I gathered my courage up and asked. "Why are you so different with the Elders?"

Ino stopped walking and looked at me with an inquisitive look, but she already knew the answer. She sighed in defeat while looking up at the sky.

"I just feel like I need to look half dead, like them, and not show my personality, because they wouldn't appreciate it. They always want business talk, no small talk. It's just un-necessary I guess," she spoke quietly before looking in front of her and walking again.

I didn't understand why she couldn't show some happiness in her speech. Was it a sign of weakness for her? I wouldn't know. I always thought happiness was a good thing and not bad. I know sadness is a sign of weakness. Was the roles reversed for Ino?

"Are you happy with how you are right now?" I asked, trying to get an answer to my questions. I started walking after her, un-able to see her facial expression. She didn't answer right away.

"I don't know." She said in a monotone voice. I frowned.

"You don't sound too happy," I replied, trying to coax more out of her.

"Is it that obvious?" She asked. I finally caught up with her walking. She still had that smile on her face. It was only till now that I saw it was a fake smile. She gave me a few of those smiles before, like when I gave her the cookies. She probably felt embarrassed or the cookies were horrible.

"For me anyways," I answered. She didn't reply back to me about it.

I wondered if she was hurting. Why was she hurting? I couldn't tell why she was hurting without information. We walked in silence while I mused and Ino enjoyed the walk. We got to her house faster than I wanted. She stopped at the gate and turned towards me.

"Good night Sakura," she answered with another fake smile. She was good at faking that smile. I wonder if she used it with Naruto, Nana and her mom.

"You can tell me what has been bugging you if you want," I suggested with a soft voice. Maybe too soft for my liking, but she didn't seem to mind. Her eyes widened for the briefest moment before going back to their usual state.

"I'll pass on that offer Sakura," she answered. Her voice turned cold again. She turned around and entered the code for the gates to open. What was wrong with her today? I didn't question her any further, but put my hand on her shoulder. The gates creaked open while she stood still.

I didn't know what compelled me to put my hand on her shoulder, or my next action. She turned around in bland confusion. I pulled her into a friendly hug. She looked like she needed affection.

I felt embarrassed for hugging her without permission. It was un-called for but I didn't know what to say, or do to cure her sadness. I know she is sad, but I didn't know why, leaving me helpless. I couldn't say anything to comfort her, but a hug always helped. My mom always hugged me when I was feeling horrible and it always made me feel better.

Ino's body was frozen in the spot while hugged her. She was either frightened or surprised, either way I didn't like the reaction but I continued to hug her. I wanted her to feel better and a hug seemed like the brightest answer.

"Cheer up," I said while hugging her. My eyes were fixed on the space between her and the gates. She had the chance to run away from me and close the gates, but she didn't. She stood their, slowly registering my hug.

"Okay." She gave me that answer and it was the only one I needed. She hugged me back. It was a fierce hug than I thought she would do, but it didn't matter. I was helping her feel better, even if it was only slightly. She continued to hug me and I could feel her evenly breathing, signaling that she wasn't crying.

She soon let go and I let her go too. She didn't look me in the eye but turned around and walked into the house. I didn't say good bye or feel any regret. I walked my own path back to my house, un-aware what Naruto witnessed.

I felt that there was no need to say good-bye. She knew that I was aware of her sadness, her only weakness, but still fought to hold in back. She actually wasn't totally open to me like I thought she was, but I didn't care. Her hug was still in my mind. It was a fierce but softly placed hug. I loved it. I hope she liked mine too. Then she left me in the cold without a good-bye and left.

But I didn't need a good-bye and neither did she. For some slight reason I felt that we didn't need to say good-bye now. It was apparent in our hug what we were saying. I was telling her to let it out or I'll just go and see her tomorrow. Her hug told me she won't tell and she'd love to see me tomorrow.

Words weren't necessary for that moment. I stopped as rain began to fall, drenching me. Would words be needed when I told her that I was –suppose- to be using her, and she didn't want to see me anymore, would any good-byes be exchanged or a hug? Or would we depart without any words or actions, only memorized by our simple minded decisions.

A/N:

Ok, Ok I know I'm slacking ALOT, but Softball started. Though that cannot be my only excuse, the rest I blame my laziness. I got the story line of DS in my head again, but with more wicked twists! Once I finish this up (four more chapters to go!) all my attentions averts back to DS for sure. Hope you liked this chapter!

-Shay

P.S Reviews are loved.