Twelve: Reconsider

Author's Note: I'm not sure 'meniscid' is a word. In fact, I'm pretty certain it isn't. And if it is, it shouldn't be. I'm referring, of course, to the meniscus – remember that from science class? The curve that shows up on top of water when it's in a tube. Oh, I miss the good old days, when 'science experiments' required nothing more than a graduated cylinder and tap water. I don't think I'll ever be able forget that word: in grade nine science class we had a quiz, and the answer to the bonus question was 'meniscus,' but I couldn't, for the life of me, remember the word. And it was right on the tip of my tongue! So I agonized and agonized over it for about 15 minutes, and then time was up. And when someone finally said it, I swore to myself, never again.

Wow, this story just took my neologism virginity

Perhaps it doesn't quite fit as snugly into the description as I hoped it would? I think it requires some sort of pronounced curving effect (a concavo-convex effect, if you will! Which makes no sense to me... isn't that a little like saying right-left? But alas... concavo-convex is really a word) which may or may not be present in this sort of situation. But we can just pretend. I love make-believe.

Sakura opened her eyes for about the tenth time in a minute, frustrated by her inability to fall asleep. She was tired enough that the rock that seemed to dig into her back no matter which way she twisted or turned wouldn't have been enough to keep her awake, but she had other things on her mind beyond her own physical discomfort. Sakura pushed herself into a sitting position, moving clumsily hand over hand, fingertips whispering against the tent fabric. She glanced over at Tenten's still form, a shapeless lump in the darkness; the brunette was either asleep or doing a very good job at pretending to be. As for Sakura, she'd had quite enough of pretending for one evening.

Cool air filled her lungs as she stepped out into the night, blinking in shock at the brilliance of the moon, three-quarters full and completely unobscured by cloud. The entire forest around her was still, though not silent. She felt as if she could hear every creak, every rustle, every groan of the trees around her. It was soothing, calming. For the first time in a very long time Sakura didn't feel like her heart was a stone in her chest, nor did it feel like her mind was afire with the ache of horror. The forest inspired in her nostalgia, the familiar routes of memory tracing paths through her consciousness, comforting her, welcoming her. She felt…

…like I'm back home…

Sakura set off through the trees at a meandering pace, trailing her fingertips across tree trunks when she passed close, half-closed eyes flicking back and forth between the movements of nocturnal creatures that crossed her path. She ducked low, avoiding a spider web illuminated in all its labyrinthine glory, straightening slowly when she saw the glittering expanse of a pond spreading out before her. She stepped away from the trees and paused, staring at the water. It was almost completely still, the reflection of the moonlit trees fluctuating gently.

Sakura bent low, her fingers working at the buckles on her shin guards before she loosened them enough to slide her feet free from her boots. The ground was cool and damp when she stepped up to the edge of the lake, her feet leaving perfect footprints in the soft mud. She raised a foot over the water, lowered it, hesitated a moment—

-- exhaled slowly –

-- stepped down.

The water took her weight, seeming all but solid in a queer, liquid way, as if she were walking on a thin skin, on warm ice, a meniscid surface. Her steps were easy after the first, as if walking on water was the most natural occurrence. It was, of course, second nature; rigid self-control and impeccable chakra manipulation had always been her talent. But it had seemed like it had been years since Sakura had had the confidence in herself to walk on water.

It was nice.

The pond was quite small, and within a dozen steps or so Sakura had reached the exact centre. She simply stood there for a long time, staring up at the stars, at the moon, at the silhouetted treetops caging her in. Her gaze dropped to the water beneath her feet, glittering and opaque in her own shadow. She let a grin twist its way onto her lips, self-satisfaction and the old stirrings of pride and accomplishment. She pivoted on a heel, turning back to the shore.

Ino was there, her hands hanging at her sides, staring across the pond. The moon had caught her in an ephemeral glow, her hair was stark white and the blue of her eyes was startling in the night, even at that distance.

Sakura blinked.

Her legs suddenly sank into the water to the knee, stopping only she caught herself on her hands, chakra flaring briefly, almost visibly, setting the water into frantic intersecting ripples. Her face burning in shame, Sakura scrambled back onto the surface of the water and made her way back to the shore.

Ino was standing in the mud, and Sakura pulled up short when the blonde bent to retrieve one of her boots, throwing it over to her so that she didn't have to step into the mud and get her feet dirty before putting them back on. Sakura struggled briefly to pull her wet foot into her boot while the blonde waited with the second one in hand, nimbly catching it when she had finally gotten the first on, and then she was stepping off onto the shore.

Her feet on solid ground, Sakura crossed her arms briefly before consciously uncrossing them again and letting one drop to her side. "Ino," she said quietly, not knowing what else to say.

"I didn't mean what I said," Ino began, her voice low and even, controlled, emotionless. "I don't think you're a coward."

Sakura thought Ino was beautiful when she apologized.

"I know how hard it is not to run away," she said. "And I also know that you're not one to do that sort of thing."

Sakura felt her throat tighten and averted her eyes, ashamed.

"I've seen you stand up to your fears before. I've fought with you when we thought it might be our last battle. I remember you always pulling through when things got really ugly, and I know that you'll be able to pull through for us all again."

Sakura turned back to the lake, blinking away unbidden tears, the fingers of her left hand covering her mouth.

"I just don't understand why you ran away from me," Ino whispered, not trusting her voice not to break.

A tiny sob hiccupped its way out of Sakura's throat and tears burned her cheeks. She glanced at Ino, found she couldn't look the other girl in the eye, and dropped her eyes again.

"Did I really frighten you so badly?" Ino asked her. "Did I really hurt you so much?"

"No," Sakura whimpered.

"Then why did you leave?"

Sakura shrugged and shook her head, helpless. "I didn't think… I just…" She wrapped her arm around herself, bit her lip. "I don't know."

"I thought I made you happy," Ino prodded.

"You did." Then, an afterthought, her voice distant, distracted: "You do."

"Then why?"

Sakura looked back over the pond again. "I just needed time." There was a long pause before she met Ino's eyes again.

"Did you find enough of it in Suna?"

"Too much," Sakura admitted sadly.

"Then what?" Ino asked her, her gesture as vague as her words, palms open, upwards, catching the moonlight in delicate fingers. "I don't---" she began, but Sakura didn't let her finish.

"I missed you," she admitted, tears streaming down her cheeks. "So much," she quantified.

"I wanted you to come back for so long. I was so desperate," Ino told her.

"Here I am," Sakura whispered, her eyes locked on Ino's.

"Here you are," Ino agreed.

"Take me back," Sakura begged her.

There was a pause, a sudden space between the two of them that deprived them both of breath, taking them away from everything around them: the horrifying realization of the imminent watershed represented by a single uttered word.

"Okay," Ino murmured, her voice so small as to be almost inaudible, her reaching fingers intertwining with Sakura's.

But when she kissed Sakura, nothing was forgotten.