There was no window in Sakura's new room for any illumination to seep in, so it was mere memory of sunlight which woke her up that morning like a makeshift internal alarm clock. Even in her groggy form Sakura immediately realized that she was not the only occupant of her room...In fact the shinobi was pretty darn sure that this trespasser had the audacity to be lying in her bed. Emerald eyes went from dull and sleepy to aware and alert in no time at all, even her body grew tense in preparation to take out who ever it was in her room. Yet her mind and body relaxed just as quickly as they had tensed when her watchful eyes landed on long blonde hair. Although confusion was the present emotion that now invaded Sakura, she wasn't too weirded out by Ino's presence.
The pale light purple rings under the 'intruder's' eyes was an obvious sign that Ino had been up all night. Guilt washed over her knowing that Ino had most likely stayed up comforting her even placing her in her room so that she wouldn't spend the night out on the couch. Sakura's face underwent a paradoxical expression as it paled and darkened at the same time when her mind fully grasped the situation. Not only did her friend place her in her room...But had also so kindly placed Sakura in more sleep like attire. 'How nice of her' was Inner Sakura's sardonic thought on the matter, a vein popping on her alter ego's head to further implicate the sarcasm in its statement.
All anger depleted from the schizophrenic the second her friend twitched. 'Ino-chan stayed up with me, made sure that I was ok...I probably fell asleep on her, so she carried me in here, she made certain I was at ease even when I was asleep by changing my clothes' Sakura drawled on while watching Ino's even breathing, the air going in and out of her lungs and mouth making cute noises as it did so. She couldn't help but giggle when a small bit of drool formed on the corner of the blonde's mouth. Doing the least she could do to return the favor Sakura moved a misplaced golden strand of Ino's hair behind the chunin's ear so it wouldn't irritate her nose. But the medic's sluggish movement was careless in doing so; the creasing of her fingers on the snoozing girl's face caused her to stir once more.
Pale pupil-less blue eyes reluctantly cracked open to reveal the surrounding area, which consisted of two guilty looking jade pools. "Ohayo" Ino said blinking away her drowsiness as she did so. Her memory wasn't as foggy as her roommate's so Ino wasn't surprised at all when she woke up next to Sakura.
"...O-ohayo Ino-chan" Sakura replied, a blush creeping over her cheeks. She honestly didn't mean to wake Ino up and currently felt incredible awkward now that she was up. "...Ano...Ino-chan" Sakura asked hesitantly after watching the cerulean eyes droop a bit , nearly falling back asleep as she did so.
"...Nani" Ino asked not fully sure as to what Sakura wanted at this ungodly hour of broad daylight.
"Umm...why exactly are you in my room" she deadpanned lightly.
"Simple" Ino stated before yawning "you asked me 'not to leave you alone' "
Sakura wasn't too sure as to what had just transpired, but she felt some...Kind of force slam into her chest at Ino's words. After answering the 'simple' question Ino let sleep claim her exhausted form once more, catching up on the slumber she didn't receive last night. '...What...What is this feeling' Inner Sakura asked. Sakura was on the same wavelength as her inner self for once, she too wondered what was going on inside of her. She tried in vein to question her other side but it too was confused by this.
All Sakura knew for certain was that this sensation wasn't a bad thing...It was endearing in a strange way. She felt the...What ever emotion it was, swell up again when she inched closer to Ino and cuddled the sleeping girl. Almost as if it were an instinctive nature for the other kunoichi to do so, Ino embraced Sakura and nuzzled her strawberry coated head.
...Just naturally Sakura's face lit a flame from the innocent body contact putting Hinata's blushing skills to shame. After several heart pounding moments she clamed down and relaxed, a shade of pink still tinting her cheeks when ever she cracked open an eye to sneak a peak at the blonde. Who was 'so damn adorable' from Inner Sakura perspective. After silencing the evading thoughts Sakura found solace in the quietness that was only disturbed ever so lightly by Ino's even snoring.
Ino awoke that morning in a much different atmosphere then Sakura did. She woke up not because of some kind of obsessive compulsive disorder that forced her to awaken at the same time everyday. It was more like her body telling her 'get out of bed ya lazy bones it's past noon'. Upon waking up she felt abnormally cold for this time of summer, 'Well that's peculiar' Ino mused. It wasn't a physical form of cold if that made any sense, though there was a logical reason for that, a purple and red comforter was wrapped securely around her body almost as if she had been tucked in. She peeled the object of unnecessary warmth off of her and removed her presence from the bed. Making a mental note as she did so, '...Sakura's not here...' which cleared up any confusion she felt a short while ago. Ino walked out of the room which was visibly not hers due to all the scrolls containing hard to pronounce and even harder to understand medical terms, and trudged forward in her sleepwear. She wasn't too picky as to what she wore at night compared to how precise she wanted her outfits during the day resulting in the stylish girl wearing nothing more then boxers and an oversized T-shirt that once belonged to her teammate Chouji during the hours of the night.
Once she walked out of Sakura's room, the sunlight that pored through the large window in the living room stuck the very retina of the towheaded girl's azure eyes. Her presence was then noticed by Sakura who could hear Ino's loud cursing from the kitchen. Her friend then stumbled blindly into the kitchen and plopped down on an open seat stating very seriously "We need to get blinds for that sinful and immoral abomination" pointing a shaking finger at the oh-so-evil window. She fished her declaration by dropping her head down on the table with no intention to move it.
"Good morning to you too" Sakura said handing the visually impaired chunin a glass of orange juice.
Ino looked up at Sakura who looked a million times better then she did the pervious night. Then again with all the pretty spotted lights that blurred her vision Ino supposed that just about anything could have looked really good right about now. "Well someone looks awfully cheery this morning" Ino stated after watching Sakura hum a joyful tone while cracking a few eggs into a pan on the stove. Though it might have sounded like a sarcastic comment Ino was truly glad that Sakura was no longer mournful and miserable. 'Girls like my Sakura shouldn't be depressed like that'
The sound of a train coming to a complete and utter screeching halt blared though Ino's head after that last thought. 'Hold up...When the heck did I start calling dekochin 'my Sakura'. She observed Sakura carefully trying to find the cause of her unusual thought by watching the energetic girl who seemed practically gay as she pranced a round making breakfast.
Another obnoxious sound boomed in Ino's head as she then decided that she was banning herself from ever thinking about Sakura ever again. But alas images of the pink ninja flooded her mind ending with the very vivid image of the climax to their tickle fight the other day.
"Ino-chan, are you alright you look a bit feverish" Sakura commented at the redness that tainted her friends pale face. To make sure the girl wasn't running a fever Sakura placed her hand on the blonde's forehead to cheek her temperature.
"I'm fine, I'm fine" Ino said hastily swatting at Sakura' hand "...How...um how are you doing"
"Good" Sakura replied just as fast as Ino's previous statement. "Honestly, you really helped me out a lot last night" Sakura added to reassure her rival.
"That's good to hear" Ino said placing her head down on the table once more. Sakura giggled at Ino's antics and resumed to make eggs for their brunch. All the while a question loomed in both Sakura's thoughts as they pondered about what Ino was truly to them. Even though they fought over Sasuke when they were young, Sakura couldn't consider Ino a rival any more. They were friends again, quite possible best friends, but why did the title 'best friend' not seem to sum up what the blonde girl meant to her. Most surprising is that unlike Lee or Naruto, Ino was not some wannabe sibling. 'Ino-chan is someone who is truly dear and important to me...One of my special people...But something else'
"Watch what your doing!" Ino yelled to the mind-walking girl and pushed Sakura out of the way of the flames that came off of the frying pan which once contained eggs and now housed charcoal. "Mou...dekochin don't daydream while your cooking it's a hazardous thing"
"I...I'm sorry" Sakura stuttered casting a guilty gaze towards the ground.
"Don't brood over it so much" Ino said and took over cooking for the two of them. "Just be more careful next time." When an unsettling silence fell over the room Ino looked away from the stove for a brief second to sneak a peek at her roommate. The zoned out and dazed look Sakura had worried Ino deeply. "Oi earth to dekochin, you still in this galaxy"
The sound of Ino calling out to her snapped Sakura out of her inner thoughts, the pink haired chuunin made some sort of 'eeping' noise before looking at Ino's worried yet amused face. "You ok space cadet Haruno" Ino asked playfully.
"Yes Huston" Sakura replied in the same kidding manor. "I was just thinking" Sakura droned pausing only to ponder over her thoughts a little longer wondering if it would be a good idea to voice them or not.
"You think too much, that's why you have an overly large billboard brow for a forehead" Ino commented hastily trying to get Sakura to stop thinking what ever thoughts about Sasuke that she was pondering over. But to both girls surprise the intellectual ninja wasn't thinking about the Uchiha...Well at least not in the way either of them would have expected.
"Ino-chan...When did...when did you stop liking Sasuke-kun" Sakura asked hesitantly in case it was a soft topic for her.
Ino paused to think the question over and then replied in an annoyed tone "Do you mean to ask when did I stop pretending or when did I start to hate him"
"What" Sakura asked utterly confused by her friend's reply. Pretending...Hating...what on earth was she talking about?
"Sakura" Ino said and placed breakfast on the table. "I never really loved Sasuke" she confessed with a sheepish grin. The wave of shock hit Sakura like a chidori to one's chest. Ino never liked Sasuke! What kind of blasphemy was this bimbo blonde spitting out!
"But...But we were rivals fighting over him since childhood until the day he left Konoha. What do you mean you didn't love Sasuke-kun?" Sakura demanded using her monstrous strength to shake the table when it came in contact with her fist.
Ino gave a sardonic chuckle "Something I never really understood, before we became 'rivals' that is. Is why everyone thought I liked that emo child, yeah sure he is hotter then the sun. But has the personality of a block of ice. If you touch it for too long you get burned and god forbid if you ever lick the thing you'll be standing around in the freezing cold like an idiot for ages. The only reason I clung to Sasuke and pronounced my 'undying love for him' was for you"
"...For...me" Sakura repeated in a confused daze. Nothing that Ino said made any since.
"I've said it to you before Sakura you were too talented to wither away as a bud, which is why I gave you the ribbon and pretended to be a Sasuke obsessed freak" Ino explained in an all knowing voice as if the statement above was obvious.
"...Come again" Sakura asked not getting the general idea.
Ino sighed and rubbed her temples trying to think of a better way to explain her past actions. "Do you remember the exact day we became rivals" she asked letting the question linger in the air before saying "The day at the park we were on a bench underneath that big tree. From the moment we sat down I knew that something in you had changed...But I didn't know what. When you spoke to me about Sasuke, at first you were hesitant but then you became so serious when you declared us rivals for his affections. I knew then what had changed in you; the little crybaby girl I had befriended was gone. I thought that you had bloomed into an independent flower when you said those words so passionately. I didn't want to break that strong resolve you had, so I never told you or anyone that up until that moment that there was a rumor going around that I liked Sasuke"
"A...rumor" Sakura reiterated trying to grasp all this new information. It was kinda confusing when you figure out that what you thought you knew wasn't really true. So Sakura's bewilderment was quiet normal, in fact it'd be pretty weird if she wasn't puzzled by the hidden truth. "Then...Why'd you start chasing after Sasuke-kun if it was only a rumor"
Ino chuckled again but in a much lighter tone this time. "You don't listen very well do you? I told you I 'pined' over Sasuke for your own good"
"...Come again" Sakura asked once more.
"Ugh, you really are just as dense as your forehead" Ino stated placing her face into her hands.
"Well explain it more clearly then, I can't help it if you have the brains of a pig" Sakura retorted her confusion finally turning into a frustrated anger.
"Alright clean out your ears cause I'm only trying this one more time" Ino sighed just as frustrated as Sakura. 'Damn you Uchiha, even when your not here you still find some way to annoy me' "I chased after Sasuke to keep your resolve up. You seemed meek again after we became rivals you would watch Sasuke from a far never actually going up to talk to him. I didn't like seeing you wither away again so I would flirt with him blatantly...But only when you were around to see us"
At this point Sakura butted in to ask "Why"
"To make jealously rear its ugly head of course; I knew I flirted enough it would irk you to no end. It would force you to step up to the plate. After all you wouldn't want to lose to your rival now would you? And it worked as long as I played the role of a threat to your relationship with Sasuke you had the confidence to claim him as your own and fought for him. You would only wilt away if you liked him from the shadows, so I tired to bring you out into the light to bloom" Ino replied.
"So all those years you were just looking out for me even when I yelled all those horrible things at you, and hated you...You were trying to help me" Sakura asked after catching the drift of Ino's tale.
Ino pondered over it for a while and said "For the most part yeah...I mean there were a few times where I got caught up in my acting and said some pretty mean things too. And I suppose every now and then I would daydream about Sasuke and me...But it wasn't really Sasuke and me if that makes any sense"
"It doesn't" Sakura deadpanned
"See I took Sasuke's body and fused it with the personality of the person who I really had a crush on. Like I said earlier I'm not blind the guy is hot and sexy, but he wasn't...Warm like this other person"
"Oh" Sakura said in an amused tone "And who is this other person" she asked leaning forward ever so slightly, actually interested in what Ino was saying.
Ino picked idly at her breakfast which had long lost its warmth and was very much cold and soggy; a cherry tinge flowed across her face as she did so. "N...N-no one special...just a really nice and caring guy that's all" her voice gaining a higher pitch the longer she spoke.
"Uh huh" Sakura said not at all believing that this 'warm person' was just a fling. "Sooo...Where'd you meat him"
Ino tired to hold out as long as she could but could feel her control over the conversation slipping, and tipping the odds to Sakura's favor. "He...He was in our class too"
"Really now" Sakura asked raising an eyebrow, trying to picture every male in their grade. Inching forward again she coyly asked "is he a member of rookie nine"
"Who knows" the pink faced girl replied turning her rosy colored cheeks away from alluring green eyes.
"Ino-chan" her interrogator said in a stern almost accusing tone.
"Yes alright yes he's a member of rookie nine" Ino revealed, absolutely humiliated by this point. "Now can we eat breakfast in peace?" She dung into the aged food too embarrassed to notice the flavor was totally bland due to the time that had passed since it had been fresh.
"Is he a good ninja" Sakura continued determined to make her friend to crack. The only guys in their class left were Naruto, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. Omitting of course Sasuke who she had already denied having feelings for.
"Why dose it matter" Ino asked a sour taste forming in her mouth when she spoke. Whither by the topic or her food was unknown.
"Okay then. Was he one of the five...well six if you count Lee-san, that went after Sasuke-kun" .All redness vanished from Ino's face and a dark presence took it's place, it also took control over the kitchen area making Sakura think she had crossed the line with her questions. But she had to know. Who was it that Ino liked, and why were they more special then Sasuke-kun? What made this person more desirable then the Uchiha prodigy? "Ne Ino-chan did they go after Sasu-"
"Yeah they left to go retrieve that ungrateful punk...and he almost died while doing so!" she spat. The medic nin jumped at the now harsh voice Ino used. 'Note to inner self' Sakura thought while Inner Sakura sat down at a typewriter writing down the important note 'Never bring up the retrieval mission of Sasuke-kun around Ino, for it is a very touchy subject' Inner Sakura finished her typing just as the typewriter made a dinging noise 'okay' she agreed giving the real Sakura a thumbs up.
The thoughts of Lee, Naruto, Kiba, Neji, Chouji, and Shikamaru in the hospital after the mission failed was present in both chuunin's minds while there conversation ended for the time being. Sakura could now rule out Neji and Lee as being Ino's mysterious crush for they were a year a head of them leaving only Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Naruto left.
"They must have been very brave though to fight those sound ninja's" Sakura mused.
"Yeah" Ino agreed a grin plastered across her face at the thought. "Not many people would call him that cause of his attitude and general attributes...Then again a lot of people have underestimated his power...Even me" Ino spoke getting a sappy yet sad look on her face.
"Underestimated" Sakura asked that fact didn't help much seeing as any of those four boys could have easily been underestimated; however only one of them stuck out to Sakura.
"Yeah, you wouldn't believe the number of people who label you as a loser just because your grades were low as an academy student. I mean come on that was a while ago even then, besides grades aren't really all that important" Ino ranted.
"A loser with low grades huh" Sakura questioned smugly. Ino opened her mouth to continue but Sakura's overly smug look caught her attention.
"What are you thinking about over there" Ino asked while raising one light-colored eye brown not liking at all the look her best friend was giving her.
"Oh nothing, just I think I know who your secret crush is" She said slyly earning a very fearful look from Ino.
"Why say it like that, it's not as if I still like em' now or anything" Ino replied in an annoyed tone. It was Sakura's turn to raise a brow at the statement, not at all convinced that Ino no longer held feelings for him.
"Right...So you don't like Naruto at all" Sakura asked very much sure that he was the brave underestimated idiot that Ino liked.
"Of course I don't like Nar...u...to" Ino started out very much flustered but ended out ending her sentence with a quiet black and confused expression. "How the heck did you get that hyperactive fool out of this conversation?"
"So it's not Naruto" Sakura asked and tilted her head to the side. 'Well that's one down only three more to go' Inner Sakura mused checking their former teammate off the list of four.
"Of course it's not that fashion designed reject. What kinda of man let alone a ninja runs around it bright orange! I'm surprised the enemy don't see or hear that loudmouth coming miles before he actually gets there" Ino stated.
'She has a point' Sakura's Inner self agreed. Uzumaki Naruto was a guy that took a long time to tolerate let alone understand. Given that Ino hadn't spent too much time with the other blonde it was understandable that she didn't like him. "Okay then...Shikamaru. He's on your team so you'd had to have developed some kind of strong feelings for him over time.
"Yeah" Ino huffed. "The strong feeling of annoyance, you talk about Kakashi-sensei being lazy. Shikamaru has no motivation what so ever, hell if it weren't to 'troublesome' he'd just go and get himself killed on a mission" Ino said matter-o-factly.
"Alrightly, so if it's not Naruto-kun or Shikamaru-san...Ki-"
"Before you even think about dog breath it wasn't him either" Ino scoffed at the mere idea of the Inuzuka child and herself. This tid bit of information confuddled the heck out of Sakura who thought she was out of options.
"...But at thought you said he was in our grade" she asked having forgotten fourth candidate
"HE IS!" Ino shouted. After giving Sakura the fright of her life Ino clamed her famous anger down before admitting "It was Chouji alright" Her face was completely red when she turned away from Sakura once more, not wanting to look at the expression on her face. True it was a long while since she had thought about her teammate in such a manor, but no one truly forgets their first real crush. Remembering those long forgotten feelings for the Akimichi boy made the blush on Ino's face even redder.
Confused the pink haired girl blinked her eyes and said the ninja's name once more "Chouji" after opening and closing her eyes for good measures Sakura and Inner Sakura burst out into a crazed laughter at the thought of the beautiful and thin Yamanaka Ino and the unattractive and fat Akimichi Chouji as a loving couple. The insane duo were silenced rather quickly when they realized that Ino wasn't kidding, and that the blue eyed blonde was glaring quite intensely at the pair.
"Err...Sorry. But Chouji was the brave and underestimated ninja with low scores that nearly got killed when trying to bring Sasuke-kun back home" Sakura asked not at all believing this to be true.
Her question didn't lighten the mood or Ino's glare at all. In fact Sakura felt a slight killing intent directed at her...this wasn't going to end well.
"Yeah that's right, Chouji busted his arse to bring your oh so loving and dear Sasuke-kun back to Konoha! He. Chouji is the sweetest guy around and almost died on that mission! He's such a gentle guy that you wouldn't think him capable of beating one of those cursed sealed monsters but he did. He kept on pushing forward not thinking about himself but his friends and how much they depended on his victory" Ino's thunderous and loathing voice became soft and caring so quickly that Sakura wondered if she too suffered from some sort of split personality disorder.
"...He didn't even think of himself when he took that red pill. Oh he knew that'd he probably die, but he didn't care as long as he stopped that sound bastard from getting to the others. Chouji...Yeah he's chubby but dose it really matter, you need a lot of body to hold that big heart of his" Ino looked oddly unhappy after she described the man of her dreams leaving Sakura quiet worried on her behalf.
"I'm sorry for ever thinking less of him" she apologized. It was very unprofessional of her to do such a thing. Chouji had been mortally wounded and could have died very easily after such a battle. It took the best medical ninja of all history to revive the genin and it was a long while before he was in a stable condition. Sakura cursed her self mentally while Inner Sakura hit her head repeatedly against a wall. How could she have forgotten that Ino had waited 8 long hours to even look at her teammate after the mission was over. He was in such a critical condition that not even family members could visit him. Sitting their wondering if he was going to live or die had to have been painful, utterly nerve racking. And here she just insulted him in thinking that Chouji wasn't worth liking
'We are so stupid' Inner Sakura stated somehow escaping the mind of Sakura to sit on the kunoichi's shoulder and pat her head sympathetically.
"You should be" Ino hissed.
'Yep we are total idiots' the chibi version of Sakura mused while taking a large swig of a sake bottle that just happen to be laying around. After debating the idea around with her drunken inner mind Sakura asked one more question that could possible anger the already seething girl even more. 'Eh go for it either she'll kill you by hand, or slaughter you with the murderous intent pouring out of her eyes ...Either way we're screwed' was Inner Sakura's intoxicated thought on the matter.
"Then...If you liked him so much then why'd you say you 'used' to like him. Don't you, still harbor strong feelings for him" Sakura asked bracing herself after each word she spoke for the throttling of her life.
No noise could be herd in the apartment which scared the crap out of Sakura, she became even more frightened when with out any words said Ino stood up. The blonde took her plate and emptied into the trash and said in an emotionless tone "Cause girls like me could only dream about being with a sensitive guy like that...Chouji's way out of my league. Besides even if I did try to win him over someone's already beaten me to his heart. I couldn't try to take him away from them so I just gave up"
That voice...Sakura had never heard her friend ever carry such a depressing tone. If it weren't for the fact that she saw the empty words fall from the chuunin's mouth she would have never recognized it. 'Well look on the bright side hiccup at least we ain't dead yet'. No but Ino certainly looked dead. Sluggishly Sakura became aware that her legs were carrying her towards the waste bin and the girl who stood next to it. She wrapped her arms around Ino, very much like the way her friend did for her the previous night. Hugging her securely as apposed to a tight hug, saying words that help shake Ino out of her shell of a state.
"Hey, I truly never meant to overlook such a great guy. Leave it to you to find a diamond in the rough. Who cares if you can't have his love as long as you still have his friendship, which probably means a lot to both of you. It's all okay in the end isn't it?"
Blue eyes faded from pale to bight as if being awoken from some sort of trance. "Yeah, you're right" Ino said confident in Sakura's words. She hugged the smaller girl back thankful that she had such a wise friend. "Besides who needs a stupid guy in their life, they always end up being wooed away by someone else or run off chasing some unrealistic dream. It's their loss anyway for not having us in their life, and we don't need em' in ours right"
Sakura giggled at the renewed Ino "Right"
"Heh thanks dekochin, I can always count on you to be there for me" Ino grinned, still keeping a tight hold on the girl.
"That's what friends are for buta. Besides I should thank you for helping me out last night" Sakura said squeezing the blonde even harder.
"Well what else are best friends for" Ino asked lighting the grip around Sakura's waist hoping that the pink haired girl would do the same to her ribcage.
Sakura did indeed loosen her tight hold on Ino's ribs and asked in a soft voice "Best friends huh" Ino nodded and placed her chin on top of Sakura's soft head. Sakura felt that strange emotion from earlier that morning consume her organs once more. "Ne...Ino-chan have you...Have you ever thought that maybe...Maybe were more then just 'best friends' "
Ino removed her head from Sakura's and looked at the small girl and asked "What do you mean" although her voice wasn't as shaky as Sakura's, Ino was just as nervous. She had thought about it...But wasn't sure if that was what Sakura was referring to.
"What I mean is...Do you ever fell that...Were more the friends or even best friends" Sakura blushed profusely after saying what she said, realizing what it sounded like she was asking. Ino blushed just as hard, they were still embracing one another and she could almost feel Sakura's soft breath when she whispered her question, due to the fact that their faces weren't very far from each other.
"...Y-yeah I think I know what you're asking" Ino replied losing any clam composure she had. "I've...Thought about it"
"Really" Sakura asked her red face brightening at her friend's statement.
"Yeah" Ino said softly she leaned forward touching her nose to Sakura's and the two girls giggled. They knew now, with out a doubt that yeah they were friends. Best friends as some people would label the pair. But deep down inside each harbored a feeling for each other that ran deeper then any friend ship could, that feeling...was love...true untainted pure love for each other. And the duo knew what that kind of love felt like the second their lips touched sending shockwaves through each of their bodies.
Butterflies and eagles were words that Sakura used to describe the feeling in her gut when she was around Lee and Sasuke. But when she leaned forward into Ino's caring arms and deepened the kiss. It felt like her own stomach had grown winds and was flying about spreading the joyous feeling of gaiety and warmth to every corner of her body.
'Was I cold before' Ino asked herself, because right now she felt so warm and tingly on the inside that she had to have been cold before so that such an immense wave of heat to affect her like it was.
The pair pulled away from each other rather reluctantly, but alas they both needed air so the quick parting was necessary. Sakura was the first to open her eyes and couldn't hold back a giggle when she saw the priceless look of bliss on Ino's face.
"Ino-chan" Sakura asked and placed her head on the taller girls shoulder.
"Mmmm" Ino was far to relaxed to fully respond, that and she doubted that she speak coherent sentences at the present time.
"I love you" Sakura said with out any hesitation.
"Yeah...I love you too" Ino replied. She couldn't help but notice her strong feeling for the other kunoichi.
"Really" Sakura asked moving her head off of Ino's shoulder and looked her eyes. Ninja's are trained to spot deception a mile away, and a persons eye's are like windows to their soul. If Ino lied to her Sakura would know in a heart beat.
"Really really" Ino replied and placed a quick kiss on Sakura's lips to seal her statement.
She passed; there was nothing dishonest about the look in Ino's navy windows. Sakura beamed she was loved, truly loved, by one of her important friends. 'Ino-chan isn't one of your important friends any more pinky' Inner Sakura said 'Ino-koi is your girlfriend now'
Sakura liked the sound of that...she also liked kissing her newfound lover. Sakura inched forward towards Ino's face, and Ino did the same as well. Both of them closed their eyes feeling as if they didn't need vision to guide them for their lips knew where they were going.
"SAKURA-SAN" was the sound that stopped the loving couple from snogging...that and the very familiar sound of their door being forced off of their hinges and collapsing on the ground. It took Ino all of three seconds to connect the two deafening sounds to a singular source.
"Lee-kun" she groaned. After heaving a great sigh she gave Sakura a sorrow look. 'Kami-sama Lee. Could you have picked a worse time to come busting our door down' Ino thought
'Death...kill...must kill...death to bushy eye brows' Inner Sakura said practically forming at the mouth with anger. Sakura merely nodded towards Ino who then went to investigate one the problem at hand.
"Ah Yamanaka-san sorry about the door, I spouse I have once again over looked my strength and have caused it to collapse one more" the ever so youthful Lee spoke.
"Mou Lee-kun can't you be a bit more aware of your surroundings" Ino asked placing her hand on her forehead and shook her head. "That's the fifth time you've broken it since we've moved in"
"I am sincerely sorry for my destructive actions. As punishment I shall complete 300,000 push-ups before my next visit" he vowed with the flame of passion burning in his eyes. Lee finished his energy filled statement with his trademark nice guy pose and for the second time that morning Ino went blind due to the light that reflected off of Lee's pearly whites.
"Lee-san I think we would appreciate it more if you just stopped breaking the door" Sakura stated when she walked out of the kitchen.
"Ah Sakura-san your angelic face once again fuels the passion in my heart" Lee cried.
Ino and Sakura gave each other a rather sheepish look. How exactly were they going to break this too Lee?
"Umm...Lee-kun" Ino began. But the passion fueled shinobi didn't hear her.
"While on a mission in the Grass Country I spotted a very rare sight indeed. An object that came so very close to matching your beauty, even though nothing on this planet can compete with you in such a field I felt compelled to bring it back here as a gift for you. Please accept it as a token of my affections for you Sakura-san" Lee exclaimed and presented Sakura with the most exotic bouquet of poison ivy she had ever seen.
"Umm...Lee-san there lovely" Sakura said and noticed that Lee's fingers that had been left un-bandaged had a reddish tint to them. If she didn't accept the flowers from him she would probably hurt his feelings. 'Then again if we do accept them will get stupid poison ivy all over our hands...I dono about you missy but I have plans for these fingers later tonight'
Ino saw Sakura's distressed look and took matters into her own hand. "Look at the time! Sakura you'll be late to work at this rate" Ino said and winked at Sakura.
"Your right Ino, gosh where did all that time go? Lee-san I'm sorry I have to run. Thanks so much for the flowers. I'm sorry I can't treat your hands right now but I'm sure Ino with her extensive knowledge on plants can find something to get rid of that poison ivy. Right Ino" Sakura asked and mouthed the words 'thank you' to Ino
"That's right, better hurry now or Tsunade-sama will chew off your head again" Ino said. 'No problem' she mouthed back.
"Poison ivy" Lee repeated and upon saying those words realized that his hands felt as if they were on fire.
"Yeah, Lee as lovely as those flowers are they're a form of Poison ivy. I have some ointment in my room that should clean that right up" While Ino kept Lee busy with talks of various toxins and herbs, Sakura made her sneaky retreat from the apartment. She caught Ino's eye before she stepped over their door and blew her partner a kiss. Her lover caught it and held her fist close to her heart.
"That's very interesting Yamanaka-san" Lee proclaimed "So what you mean to say is that like roses a lot of flowers have thorns just not all of them are as visible as others" Lee asked.
The sound of Lee's voice broke Ino from her trance. "Err...Right Lee, in this case the flowers you brought back are indeed breathtakingly gorgeous but they too have 'thorns'; the poison ivy" She recovered quickly.
"So I see. Thank you for the ointment Yamanaka-san" Lee said
"No problem Lee-kun" Ino replied.
"Well then I suppose I shall be off" Lee said before he left however, the tai-jutsu genius fixed the door so that it was once more useable.
"Ah leave the door open Lee-kun" Ino said quickly. If Sakura wasn't here there really was no point in Ino staying in the apartment by herself.
"Are you leaving as well" he asked kindly.
"Yeah, I figured since I don't have any missions coming in for a little while I should probably train for a bit" Ino wished she could have shoved those taboo words back into her mouth. She had mentioned the worst possible thing to say around Rock Lee. Training. The fire that blazed in Lee's eyes made every muscle in her body ache.
"Yamanaka-san if you wish I can aid you in your training" Lee said in such a way that Ino knew there was no backing out of. 'Dear lord what did I ever do to deserve this kind of cruel and unusual punishment'
She was then dragged away by Lee who was positively beaming at the thought of a new sparing partner.
'It is going to be long...and very painful day' Ino mused.
A/N: Yay I finally made them admit their love for each other! W00T! I actually thought that I was never going to be able to finish this chapter. It's longer then any other I've done by far. I hope you guys like it. So please review and tell me what you think.