Sorry but I HAVE to give shout outs to:
Dudtheman& A True Dreamer: For your random choice of chapters to review. Unpredictability is something I adore.
Jay-Jay12393: For reviewing everything in one go.
And, of course, one super huge thanks for the ego-boost to Bullwinkle's Lady. One of my favorite authors to stalk-err, watch out for likes my story. If that doesn't make a young authoress feel cool then I don't know what will. How young? Thats up for debate but I like to think of myself as young on the inside but I digress.
So, uh, seriously this was totally worth revealing my stalker tendencies... Hmm, I don't think Bullwinkle was aware she had a stalker...
Anyway, this is a bit on the serious side but hopefully it goes back to being light-hearted next chapter.
"Fucking Sasuke!" Ino cursed.
"...I thought Naruto was lying about that." Sakura admitted as she let up her attack.
They were sparring and Ino had been particularly vicious in her attacks. Sakura didn't mind too much, it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Although... she may have gotten a bit carried away when she added a little chakra into her fist when they had already agreed to strictly use taijutsu.
And consequently breaking Ino's arm in retaliation.
"About what?" Ino grumbled, shooting a quick glare that Sakura brushed off.
"About you using Sasuke's name as a curse word." Sakura answered.
"Well... I'm really starting to hate Sasuke. Everything he does, I think he does to piss me off. Especially when he knows that he's cutting in between the time me and Naruto spend to together." Ino explained as she let her chakra mend the broken bone. Luckily it wasn't shattered so it would only take a couple minutes to fix but she sat on the ground, legs crisscrossing to make herself comfortable while she did so.
"...Naruto and I." Sakura corrected, avoiding the statement entirely and gaining a sudden interest in a speck of dirt on her glove.
"So, uh, how'd you guys get together, anyway? Last time I checked the only times you guys even talked was when the Rookie 9 gathered together and next thing you know I walk in on you guys half naked." She asked after a moment of careful avoidance on the Sasuke subject.
"After Asuma-sensei died, Naruto was a... he helped me out with dealing with his death I guess." Ino answered with a shrug. And he had. Ino had been more concerned with trying to remain in her own bed that to mourn her sensei. As time passed, she began to apprentice under Ibiki and just didn't have time for herself.
That year mark was already getting pretty close, now that she thought about.
"Oh." Sakura looked a bit put out. That wasn't at all what she had expected but she'd been busy with Sasuke's return and trying to integrate him back into Team 7 which was nearly impossible with Naruto gone but suddenly blinked when she realized something.
"Wait, you guys have been together that long?" Sakura blurted.
"Yeah I guess." Give or take a few months. It appeared that the first time they were technically together was when they kissed but to her it was ambivalent especially when she thought back to all those moments they shared together. The fact that a lot of those moments consisted of nothing more than waking up in each others' arms was what made it so amazing. She couldn't imagine another way to start her day.
"Wait – then does that mean you sleeping- sleeping over at his place isn't relatively new?" Sakura asked, slightly scandalized.
"Uh, no." Ino answered, standing and straightening her rumpled clothes as she pretended to not pay attention to Sakura's muttering. In retrospect, Ino could understand Sakura's distress especially the way she had to find out. But really, it was stupid to assume that some people were better suited for others just because they went well together.
They were shinobi. Assassins. They did all the dirty work and that changed people whether they knew it or not. Not to mention the life expectancy really wasn't in their favor. Most ninjas were willing to find comfort wherever it was offered (sexuality be damned) and as ninja they weren't about to do what civvies thought they would. And Sakura was thinking like a civilian when it came to relationships.
"Oh. How many days during the week do you spend the night?" Sakura asked, losing gas. Ino was so casual about sleeping with her teammate. She was taking the joy out of the gossip.
"Every night." Ino answered truthfully. She couldn't understand Sakura's insistent need to know everything about their relationship (granted it wasn't like she wanted every detail and to Sakura, it did seem to come out of the blue) but she figured she owed her sort of best friend the truth.
Sakura choked on her own spit by the flippant answer and turned to look wide eyed at Ino.
"What?" Ino snapped.
"So your living with him!" Sakura yelled in a high pitched voice.
Ino opened her mouth to protest when she realized there was no argument to attest to that. Her wardrobe was at Naruto's place. Her food was at his place. She spent her free time (what little of that she had) at his place.
The last time she was at her own place was to go get some books and scrolls because Naruto was on a mission and she needed something to do. Then she took them back to Naruto's place.
"Oh shit, I am." Ino said aloud. There was another two seconds of feeling utterly stupid before Ino shrugged it off and back into the village.
"Hey- where are you going?" Sakura called out in confusion.
"I'm getting the rest of my stuff and taking it to Naruto's place."