Sakura sat in the garden of her parents' home soaking in the delicate sunlight in the early morning hours. The wind rustled the chimes above the back door. She had traded in her usual street clothes for nothing more than a loose camisole and a pair of old, faded shorts. The cool wind grazed her skin as she reclined further in her chair. All night she had been up filling through the many and various forms needed to finalize her marriage annulment as she listened to her parents argue back and forth for what seemed like hours about whose fault it was for allowing her to go through with the marriage. It had been tedious and slightly painful, even more so with her mother continually popping into the kitchen and peering over her shoulder, but it was finally done. It had been tedious and slightly painful, even more so with her mother continually peering over her shoulder, but it was finally done. She set it out of her mind to focus on carving out this single moment in the day wherein she could forget that past couple of days and simply relax. It was working well for some time before her thoughts ran wild again. I can't wait she thought. I have to see him now. She tapped her fingers against the arm of her chair, debating whether or not this was a good idea. No, I should leave him be for now. Her loneliness still lingered, and she thought of who she could drop by to see for a lighthearted chat. I could go see Ino, though. She collected herself from the chair and tiptoed quietly passed the glass door to get dressed.

Only a person or two came in and out of the door to the flower shop. This was usually a busy day of the week from them, but apparently business had slowed in the past months. Through the window she could see her friend staring boringly at the pages of a magazine, flipping with disinterest as she smacked bubblegum at the counter. "Ino!" Alerted at the sound of her name, Ino hastily looked up from her magazine and saw her friend politely waving to her as she entered through the door. "…Sakura?" She straightened her back, lazily lifting up from the edge of the counter, and stared inquisitively at Sakura as she happily bumbled past the many displays of flowers to greet her at the counter. Sakura's smile began to dim as Ino continued to look at her with a curious irritation. "What?" Sakura questioned.

"What do you mean 'what'? You just left for your honeymoon like, what, three days ago? What are you doing back here already?" Sakura let out a slight sigh, now past the initial devastation the question brought up. "It's a bit of a long story." Sarcastically folding her arms, Ino smirked as she leaned against the back wall. "As you can see, I've got the time."

"Perfect," Sakura smiled. "Can I take you to lunch?"

…

At the café they sat sipping coffee easing into conversation.

"I'm having the marriage annulled."

Ino nearly choked on her coffee, and stammered, "What?!" in between forceful coughs. Sakura slid her a napkin from across the table to dab her mouth. "I'm having the marriage annulled."

"But you two literally just got married! Like, literally a couple days ago! What happened?"

As Ino wiped the drips of coffee from the corners of her mouth, Sakura nervously folded her hands and tapped her thumbs against the table. "You know, Sasuke and I never were right for each other. But I couldn't see that until…well, until after I married him." Sakura bowed her head shyly as she searched for the words to convey the actual finality of their relationship without directly saying why. It was still vastly uncomfortable for her, even when divulging the information to her best friend. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she caught Ino's attentive glance. "It's a little hard to tell you right now. I feel like a total moron. But, suffice it to say, Sasuke…he never loved me. And I don't love him. And I have to move on." Comforted by the warm steam of her coffee cup, Sakura felt a pair of soft hands pat the top of hers. "Sakura," Ino sighed, "I'm really sorry. I thought you two were…y'know, finally happy together. Whenever you want to tell me the details, you know you can."

"Thanks, Ino." As she retracted her hands. "I just wished I had listened to Naruto."

"Naruto?"

"Yes. He tried to warn me on my wedding day but…I didn't listen to him. We got in a fight and, well, he stormed off. I haven't seen him since then."

Ino's face burst with blankness as the sudden realization hit her. That must have been why he was so bummed when I first saw him. Huh. "Ino?"

"Huh?"

"Are you all right?"

"Y-Yeah, fine…why?"

"Oh, nothing, it's just you made kind of a strange face when I told you about Naruto."

"Oh, did I? Never mind that, what were you saying?"

Sakura leaned in closer over the table, cupping her coffee cup in her hands as her voice perked with excitement. "I wanted to tell you."

Her friend reciprocated her movements, moving in and hushing her tone. "Tell me what?" Sakura bashfully began, flustered by her own thoughts. "I…I don't know why it took me so long to see what was always…right there in front of me. I was just so enamored with Sasuke that I just…didn't see much else. It was like nothing else existed but him. So I never really noticed all the small but grand gestures before me. I really wish it hadn't taken me so long to understand this, but…I need to prove to him that I care about him. And I worry about him. And I miss him. And well…that I, you know…love him."

Ino sarcastically rolled her eyes, acting as if she was thinking. Sakura's gushy speech went straight over her head. "Geez, who are you talking about, Sakura?" Sakura playfully tsked as she shyly shrugged. It wasn't like Ino to be willfully oblivious.

"I'm talking about Naruto!"

Ino abruptly withdrew from the table and, in half-feigned, half-real shock, dramatically placed a hand over her heart. Sakura continued. "I'm going to prove to him that I can be there for him like he has for me." Ino snickered and coyly shook her head. Sakura immediately became defensive.

"What? What's so funny?"

"It's just…why are you always competing with me for the same guy, Sakura?"

"Wha…What are you even talking about?"

"First Sasuke, now Naruto—"

"Wait, What?!"

Ino glared unbothered at Sakura whose eyes were wide with shock, brow crinkled in an expression of confusion and surprise. "Well, when you left for you honeymoon, Naruto was a damn wreck. I bumped into him in town the morning after. We got to talking, I took him out to lunch. We had a very nice time. And we're going out again tonight." Sakura stammered, surprised by both her friend's confession and her sudden attitude. Ino smugly smirked.

"I'm not going to lose to you again, Sakura."

"This isn't a competition for me, Ino!"

"When have you even liked Naruto?"

"When have you?!"

"Dammit Sakura," Ino exclaimed, quickly catching herself. Her voice lowered to a dulled growl. "He's not just some puppy who's going to keep following you around! He can't wait on your every whim or change of heart!"

Sakura pulled back from the table, her back stiffened by Ino's harsh words. Ino sternly glanced from side to side to avoid not noticing any strangers attempting to latch onto their not-so-private conversation. "And without getting into all the sordid details, he told me about you two's past…indiscretions. After the war?"

The very mention of the war spiked Sakura's nerves, and she felt her whole body nervously twitch. Oh my…why would he tell her that! Oh, no, why would he tell anyone that?!

"You should know better than I do that deep down he's so lonely. And sensitive. He's so used to being written off but he still cares so much. He cares about you the most. You have to know that, don't you? That forehead of yours isn't so dense you can't comprehend that?"

Sakura felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She lightly held her fingers to her forehead and parted strands of hair over her face. It had been so long since she'd seen Ino's temper flare up, she had forgotten how truly unruly she could become. Days of their rivalry as genin flashed raced through her mind. Ino only rolled her eyes.

"He's not a ragdoll you can keep tossing around and prodding and poking when you feel like it. It's tearing him apart."

The emphasis on her last sentence felt like a knife to her throat. Sakura swallowed hard and stared uneasily at her friend. "Ino…I—"

"Look. If you really care about him, you'll leave him be. You'll let him move on. You'll give him his space. He deserves his own happiness, y'know."

For a brief moment the two women sat at the table, unnervingly still. Neither looked at the other as they sat reflectively. It was as if they were each in their own world. A million thought raced through Sakura's head as she processed the mouthful her friend had given. Breaking their awkward silence, Ino dug in her pocket for space change and laid it flatly on the table.

"I have to go. I'll see you around, Sakura."

Ino gathered herself from the table with a flourish, and coolly strolled away. Alone at the table, Sakura sat, gape-mouthed and anxious. After all this time, she never imagined that Naruto may have fallen for Ino, of all people. It was simply a thought her brain refused to process, a horrible and twisted paradox that was never even theoretically possible. Her eyes began to twinge, sensing the burning sensation of another batch of scathing tears. She dropped her chin to the upright palm of her hand and covered her eyes with the other. It was as if the energy had been drained from her once again, and she no longer had the energy, or the desire, to find a private place to cry. She let a few rogue tears escape the corners of her eyelids before she slowly lowered her head to the table, resting between her folded arms. Stop crying…stop fucking crying! You're in public for heaven's sake! No matter how harshly she demanded it of herself, she couldn't stop herself from weeping. It came like the bursting a floodgates: violently, and all at once. Doing her best to stifle her body's shaking and heaving, she tried to disregard the stares of an odd person or two that was surely looking at her. Her desperation often got the best of her, but there was no time more inconvenient than now, as she wiped her tears along the inside of her sleeve. Though she had only erupted for a minute or so, her eyes and nose were red and puffy as if she had been crying all day and night. She was slow to rise from her chair, delicately arching her head to avoid the certain, uncomfortable glares from other café patrons. Unfortunately, she caught the disapprovingly glance of an older couple. The lady grimaced in sympathy while the older gentleman merely shook his head. I need to get out of here. As she began to rush off, she realized she hadn't paid yet, and quickly stashed an excessive yet suitable amount of bills into a confused waitress' hands.

…

She sat on top of the mountain away from the quiet evening buzz of the village. The clouds above her began to dissipate, and the soft glow of stars filled the night sky. Sakura sighed and directed her gaze back down towards the streetlights that sat outside. She couldn't think of anything other than Naruto walking the street arm-in-arm with Ino. She imagined the flirtatious way that Ino would grip onto his arm, lean her head against his shoulder, and laugh at his jokes even if they weren't funny. It drove her mad. Of all the people to make Naruto feel special, she never thought it would be her best friend. Of course, Sakura never thought she herself could be the one to make Naruto feel special, and that was what was always peculiar about Naruto; the most indiscriminate of all people were the ones to make him feel loved. The very thought broke her already delicate heart. Although she wanted to cry, she was fresh out of tears as well as the energy. Feeling defeated, she flopped back down onto the gritty slanted rock of the mountain. She found no solace in the night sky. What if the kindest thing to do…is to let him go? The thought invaded her head without warning or invitation. But she struggled to disagree. What if he really is happy with Ino? Why should I interfere? Her ankle bounced anxiously off her bent knee. No… Naruto never gives up, especially on those he loves. That's his ninja way, he's always dumbly yelling about it to someone. She craned her neck to the side to get a last glimpse of the village. Then that shall be my ninja way too. I won't go back on my word.