She never wanted to go through something like that again.
Ino felt terribly guilty all morning, and moped around the store instead of helping her mother organize flowers. She didn't have much of an appetite either and excused herself halfway through lunch.
"You need to eat," her father boomed heartily, "if you want to be a strong kunoichi and make your dad proud!"
Ino nodded listlessly. But she wasn't really listening. She mumbled something unintelligible about training.
"Ino, your father is right," her mother reprimanded, "Training isn't all there is to being a shinobi."
Ino nodded again, but left the table quickly when her parents weren't paying attention.
"Where are you going?" Inoichi called after her.
"I'm going to go take a walk," Ino said simply. So she had no choice but to follow through.
Somehow, she ended up standing by the edge of the cobblestone road watching the sky hazily shift from blue to a fiery, misty orange. But she was not paying much attention to the sunset. Instead, she could see the pink-haired girl, who sat in the middle of the road, sobbing quietly. Ino approached hesitantly, trying not to startle her. She slipped beside the girl soundlessly. She did not notice, so Ino cleared her throat and twiddled her thumbs nervously. She felt a fresh wave of guilt and remorse when she saw that the poor girl had bruises on her arms and a shallow cut on her face.
"You're the one who always get picked on and called forehead girl, huh?" Ino asked, breaking the silence.
The girl jumped violently, her eyes darting around with the look of a caged animal. When she was aware of Ino sitting directly in front of her, she blinked in surprise. Then she hiccupped, wiping her eyes with her sleeves. "Wh-who are you?" she asked tentatively. She did not seem to recognize her from yesterday's incident, Ino decided, feeling comforted by this fact.
"I'm Yamanaka Ino. What about you?"
"I'm…Sakura," she whispered hoarsely as more tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I can't hear you, speak up." Ino said encouragingly. The girl narrowed her eyes in annoyance.
"Haruno Sakura!" she yelled, gazing up at Ino tearfully.
"That's better," Ino grinned, trying to coax a smile out of her. Her face fell when Sakura continued to cry. Ino leaned forwards and poked her on the forehead. Sakura stiffened.
"Your forehead really is big," Ino marvelled, "No wonder you cover it up with your hair." She mentally smacked herself when Sakura's sobs grew louder in volume.
"Sakura, right?" she asked. The other girl nodded sadly. "Come here tomorrow, too. I have something for you."
Sakura stared disbelievingly after Ino as the latter stood up and prepared to leave. "Wh-what?"
But Ino had already gone.
-:-
"What is it, Ino-chan?" Sakura asked shyly, trying to peer over her shoulder. Ino held the object behind her back and shifted so Sakura was unable to get a good look. Her eyes twinkled playfully.
"Shh, close your eyes," she said. Sakura obliged, and Ino stepped forwards and brushed the loose strands of pink hair away from her forehead. Then she tied the red ribbon expertly on top of Sakura's head. She moved back to inspect her handiwork and nodded in satisfaction. "There, you're cuter this way, Sakura."
Sakura opened her eyes and stared at Ino for a long time. Her hands moved to her forehead, then the ribbon, then back to her forehead. Her lips trembled ominously.
"B-but –"
"It's yours now, I'm giving it to you," Ino explained.
"But…my forehead," Sakura mumbled. She hung her head in shame.
"You only get picked on because you hide it," she said comfortingly. "You're cute, so don't be afraid."
Sakura gave her a watery smile. "Th-thank you."
Ino smiled back, her heart expanding with joy for her newfound friend. "Now don't get all teary-eyed on me, Sakura-chan," she teased.
Sakura's lower lip trembled more violently. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and she stepped forwards and impulsively gave Ino a hug. Ino was startled, but she hugged her back and patted her on the head awkwardly.
"Ino-chan…"
"Come on! Let's go!" Ino grinned, motioning to Sakura to go with her back to the village. Her new friend followed hesitantly, stumbling over loose pebbles once in a while causing Ino to dissolve into fits of giggles. Sakura flushed in embarrassment and eyed Ino reproachfully. But eventually, she joined Ino and their combined peals of laughter gave them both a new sense of hope and friendship.
-:-
Sakura was perched on an overturned flowerpot in Ino's back garden, watching Ino clipping flowers and arranging them by colour. Sakura fingered a beautifully-trimmed rose and her gaze lingered on the creamy petals for a long time.
"Ino-chan, you're so talented," Sakura breathed, staring at her handiwork admiringly.
Ino laughed. "Not really. So what do you like to do, Sakura?"
"M-me?" she asked timidly, carefully placing the rose back on the ground.
"Of course, silly! What are you good at, or proud of?" Ino enquired.
Sakura looked down. She picked up a fallen cherry blossom and began to play with it self-consciously.
"So?" Ino prompted. Now she was genuinely curious.
"I…" Sakura mumbled, "I'm not good at anything, I suppose."
"But everyone must be good at something," Ino insisted.
Sakura shook her head stubbornly.
"Fine, if you're determined to think that way," Ino said, a sly smile forming on her lips, "then I'll teach you how to trim these flowers, and then you can't say you're not good at anything."
Sakura stared wide-eyed at Ino's mulish expression. Then she began to smile. "Thank you Ino-chan," she whispered.