::Thanks for the reviews!!!
::Right, on to chapter 6… okay, well this is mostly a flashback… brace yourself!
Chapter 6: Blooms In The Rain
"Goodnight Sasuke-kun." Sakura said.
He kissed her lightly and said "Sweet dreams Sakura." Before going to his own tent for a well earned rest.
Naruto was not his usual noisy self, you could tell he was deeply troubled. Once he got in his tent, you could tell he was deeply troubled. He won't be having a good sleep tonight.
"Ino! What are you waiting for? You heard Kakashi-sensei. We need to get some rest for tomorrow's mission." Kiba called out, as Ino was gazing dreamily at the blazing fire, leaning her back on the now sleeping Akamaru.
"I'll be there soon Kiba-kun." She replied.
"What are you thinking about, you seem to be wondering about something." Kiba asked curiously, sitting next to her, and putting his arm around her.
"Well actually, about the day we first really talked." She replied.
Three years ago, in the Yamanaka flower shop…
"Not that again Sakura, you can't be depressed over him forever. He asked for it, it was his choice. It's not your fault." Ino said to a depressed Sakura. It's been a week after the retrieval mission for Sasuke. She isn't getting over this anytime soon.
"But why did he leave?" Sakura said, sobbing.
"He's going off to get power to kill his brother, you know that. He probably thinks you'll just get in the way. Besides, maybe he doesn't want you to get hurt. Maybe, he wants to keep you safe." She replied. But it fell to deaf ears.
Sakura was too shaken, depressed, and broken. If only she listened, because Ino has guessed things right. Well, she was just left there on that bench, left with only a "Thank you." Who could blame her?
"Listen don't worry Sakura. He'll be back, we- all of us, will bring him back." Ino said, trying to comfort her bestfriend.
Sakura emptily stared at the roses on a flower display on the shop window, her green eyes no longer shone with her usual happiness. If eyes were the windows to the soul, her soul would be blank, it would be empty.
The blonde-haired Kunoichi couldn't think of anything more to say. She knows only time can heal this kind of pain. She'll be helping her of course. What are best friends for?
She recalls her affection for the youngest Uchiha. How could she have liked such a shallow, arrogant bastard? Enough even to put her and Sakura's friendship to an end because of their rivalry for him?
One thing's for sure. Ino doesn't like him anymore. Not after what he did to her best friend.
"Ino, I h-have t-to go n-now." Sakura said, tears now rolling down her cheeks.
"Okay, but take care of yourself. Don't worry too much." Ino replied.
The shop had an order of flowers to a customer three blocks away, which isn't really that far, considering she didn't have anything better to do, Ino decided to deliver the flowers herself.
Meanwhile, in the training grounds…
"Oi Shino! I'm tired! Aren't we done training yet?" Kiba called out to his teammate.
"Well, it is almost dusk." The Aburame replied, and walked home.
"Bye Shino-kun! Bye Kiba-kun!" The Hyuga heiress said, and began walking back home.
"Okay Akamaru. Let's go." Kiba called to his dog, which then began running quickly towards the town.
"What's gotten in to you?" Kiba thought, as he ran in pursuit of his dog.
Once the chase had led them considerably in the village, Kiba heard a loud shriek. Akamaru just bumped in to a blonde-haired girl, flowers now scattered the street.
"Oh, sorry. I lost control of my dog. It won't happen again." He helped the girl up, and noticed the Konoha headband tied on her waist. "Have I met you before? In the last chuunin exams right?" He asked, starting to pick up the flowers.
"Yeah. I'm on Shikamaru's team. You're the Inuzuka right?" She replied, brushing the dirt off her clothes.
"Yes. Oh, I'm really sorry about this. Say sorry Akamaru." He said. His dog then sat in front of the kunoichi and gave her the cutest puppy-dog-eyes imaginable.
"Aww. He's so sweet." She said, petting Akamaru.
"Hehe No one can resist that trick. Good thing it was the first one I taught you. It's saved our neck dozens of times." Kiba thought happily. "Can I help you carry these?" He offered.
"No need, I can handle it." She answered.
"But really let me help, it's the least I can do."
"Well, if you insist."
As both of them make their way to the customer, the sky grew darker…
Ino knocked on the door, and delivered the flowers to a sweet old lady.
"Right. Now that that's done, would you like to hang out or something?" Kiba said.
"Why not? I'll be bored and it's not like I have anything better to do." She replied.
"Okay. So, where do you want to go?"
"Errm… you decide."
"Okay."
They made their way to a nearby sushi bar, about a block away.
"We're here. I hope you don't mind sushi, it's almost dinner anyway." Kiba said.
"No problem." She replied. She was a little hungry anyways, mostly because he always ate very little.
Once they found a suitable table, Kiba ordered for both of them.
"So, what's your team like?" Ino asked.
"Well, Shino is very silent and secretive he also sulks a lot, I guess it's also in his nature, though he and the bugs can creep you out at times too. While Hinata, the Hyuga heiress, is very shy, and she always seems to blush when Naruto is around. Two weeks ago, while Naruto's team were training near ours, and he called out her name, and asked her is she wanted to get some ramen later. Hinata couldn't even answer. She fainted. So… What about yours?" He replied.
"My team? Shikamaru's the lazy-ass genius that thinks anything is troublesome, and Chouji never stops eating, he even brings stashes of food on missions. But we can manage. They aren't so bad once you get to know them." She said.
Their food arrived, and Kiba noticed that Ino was hardly eating.
"What's the matter? Don't you like it?" Kiba asked.
"No, it's not that." She replied.
"Then what is it? Are you on a diet or something?"
"Well…"
"You're thin enough as it is."
"You don't know anything. Guys wont notice me if I'm fat."
"You girls think too much about how you look. Besides, changing yourself, and fighting with your bestfriend just for a guy is stupid."
"So I'm stupid now!?!" She screamed.
"No, sorry. It's just that you don't have to force yourself to get thin for a guy to notice you."
"But it's true."
"No it's not. What do you think I'm doing?"
"Oh…" She was unprepared. His lips caught hers in a light, short kiss. "Well, this is interesting… a guy never noticed me like that before today. Maybe I was just looking at the wrong guy. Besides, Akamaru is pretty cute, and he's kinda sweet too." She thought. "Well, thanks for the sushi, it was great. I gotta go home."
"Okay. But let me walk you there." Kiba said.
"Okay. Thanks." Ino replied.
Back to Sakura…
Sakura made her way home, tears still streaming down her face, sadness could be sensed in her spirit… as if the skies were feeling her pain, it rained. Now she was cold, she was wet, she was broken. And only one person could ever heal her wounds… the same person that caused it.
On the streets of Konoha…
"Oh no. It's raining again." Ino said.
"Here, take this." Kiba said, taking of his fuzzy jacket and handing it to her.
"But, what about you? Won't you and Akamaru get wet?" She asked.
"Don't worry about us. We can handle it."
"Thanks." She put it on, it was very comfortable, and it didn't even smell like dog, even if Kiba did have a habit of putting Akamaru in his jacket.
Soon enough, they reached Ino's house…
"Thanks again… Kiba-kun." Giving him back his jacket and hugging him tightly. "…for everything."
"You're welcome. See you tomorrow!" Kiba said.
"Yeah, sure!" She said, going into the house.
And Kiba started to make his own way home…
"Well, Akamaru. You turned out to be a better dog than I ever thought. Great job!" Kiba said to his dog.
Akamaru barked happily.
Back in the present…
"Yeah that was a great day." Kiba said, yawning, he was sleepy already.
Ino was already sleeping, Akamaru's soft fur was like a pillow. Kiba just gazed at her and stroked her beautiful long blonde hair and kissed her on the cheeks as he too, fell asleep under the stars.
::What do you think?... PLEASE REVIEW!
::This chapter is sorta like a filler… I wanted to add more Kiba-Ino to the story, and add a short part of how Sakura felt after Sasuke left. That part is pretty important in this story…
::Thanks for reading!