Story: Naruto, Flowers and Friends (all chapters)

Ino’s POV

Today at the family flower shop the fragrance of a hundred flowers filled the air. A breeze crept in, twisting around a figure in the shop’s entryway. It bared nothing but the scent of a girl in her bloom. Her fresh smell wafted in lovelier than the flowers themselves. She is the cherry blossom of spring.

She passed rows of metal vases that lined the floor. Each vase contained a specific assortment of flowers such as carnations, roses or hibiscuses in numerous colors. She paused behind the central display table in the middle of the shop, her visage wandering over the various the floral arrangements.

I hurried over to help her. “May I help you?”

She walked out from behind the display table, her gait feminine and delicate taking small steady steps. Her red Chinese style dress modestly covered her chest, cut down the middle by a jagged zipper. The rest of her dress flowed down to her knees slit up the sides revealing slender hips. She wore tight black shorts underneath her short cute dress. Her choice of clothes fit her slim petite figure.

“Ino?” she called out sweetly.

“Oh, Sakura! Long time no see,” I greeted her in a slightly condescending tone. “Have you come to buy flowers for Sasuke? You know, I’m the one he likes.”

“Sasuke-kun, he’s gone.” Sakura’s shoulders sank. Her large jade eyes dropped their gaze beneath her pink shaggy bangs parted down the center.

“I’m sorry, I forgot about that,” I apologized, dropping my hostile front. Poor Sakura. I shouldn’t have mentioned him. Guilt ate away at my conscious. I sighed, brushing aside the strands in her face.

“Thank you, Ino. Now I can see better.” Sakura nodded thankfully, moving past me to the counter. She leaned atop it her weight down on her elbows and head slumped over between her shoulders. “I couldn’t stop Sasuke-kun from leaving. Naruto tried to bring him back but failed. Now he’s injured in the hospital, along with Lee-san. It’s all my fault this happened!”

One hand formed a fist slamming it down on the countertop. It shook violently causing a vase of cosmos to topple onto the floor. “If only I wasn’t so weak.” Pain choked her voice.

“Don’t say that, Sakura.” I approached her, bent over to pick a cosmos, placing it in her palm. “Here.”

“A cosmos.” Sakura ran her fingers along its soft magenta petals. Her skin tone matched its hue, a pink-white peony with a perfect milky glow.

“See how beautiful it’s become?” I exclaimed, focusing on the cosmos in her grasp. “It was once a bud that never believed in itself because it bloomed later than the flowers around it. But now it’s become the prettiest of them all. Don’t you agree, Sakura?”

“I-Ino, thank you…for saying that.” Sakura raised her face, her cheek brushing against my arm. Its touch felt silky and smooth, and its texture perfect as porcelain. Tears swam in her large green orbs threatening to spill from their rims.

“Since we were young you were never confidant. Remember the day we did our flower arranging lesson?” I lifted a finger to her face letting a teardrop roll on to its tip. It glistened brightly like dew in the sunlight, that streamed in through the shop’s front window, staining its interior gold.

A shower of gold bathed us just like it did that sunset in a meadow outside Konoha. As Ninja Academy students we received our flower arrangement lesson as children. The atmosphere stirred Sakura’s memories.

“We picked flowers together,” she recalled. “I had no confidence and you said I was a bud. Have I really bloomed into a flower?” Her voice carried a tinge of doubt.

“Of course!” I replied. Our silhouettes moved closer fused in the golden glow. “When you returned the ribbon I gave you, you said ‘I’m no longer the girl who has been chasing you. With this forehead protector, as a female shinobi, I won’t loose to you.’ As you returned the ribbon, in that handshake I felt real strength. I knew then you started to bloom. Later on during our match I used my Mind Transfer Technique to take over your mind. Just when I forced you to announce your forfeit you fought back. Another you emerged and said, ‘Ino! If you don’t get out of my mind right now, you’re going to see hell!’ Who was she?”

“Inner Sakura… the real me,” Sakura murmured, resting her chin on my chest.

“The you who beat me, so stop feeling sorry for yourself, forehead girl.” I smirked, pointing at her wide forehead.

“Hey pig face, watch your mouth!” She sprang from my side grabbing the turtleneck of my shirt.

I laughed pushing her off. Our silhouettes broke apart. She landed poised in a fighting position further towards the display. Unmoving, unblinking, Sakura fixed her eyes on my motionless form. Her thin brows drew together in concentration. Pink lips tightened, edges turned down, manifesting her iron will. A powerful aura emanated from her uniquely feminine in feeling.

“What a strong fighting spirit! That’s the Sakura I know, the one that’s bloomed into a beautiful flower,” I said, falling back in a defense position in case she decided to challenge me.

As I said that her features softened with a twinkle in her eyes and the trace of a smile. Her countenance brightened like the sunlight in spring. She dropped her aggressive stance, shuffling over with the walk of a geisha. She stopped a foot in front of me, her knees slightly inward and hands clasped below her waist.

“I-Ino,” Sakura began quietly. “You said the same thing after our match. I cried because I felt so happy. It was the first time you acknowledged me as your equal. I knew then I became strong, like you.” Sakura gazed up at me in admiration.

“Sakura…” I paused, struck by her gaze. She truly worshipped me from the time we met. I became her world, her dreams and aspirations as time passed. Although our jealousy drove us apart, deep in our hearts we never let each other go. We clung to the memories that defined us as friends in the face of bitter rivalry.

The girl who was my other half poured her soul out. Feelings repressed all those years like water behind a damn broke loose flowing freely. “Ino, it was your words ‘there’s no meaning in a bud unless it blooms’ that gave me a reason to be stronger. My life, like a bud, wouldn’t have meaning unless I grew. If I bloomed into a flower like you, then my life would have meaning.”

“I changed your life that much?” I whispered, drawing her in a close embrace behind the counter.

She nodded backlit by a stream of red light. The sun sank lower on the horizon, its rays penetrated in lower through the window washing the shop in red now instead of gold. A soft rosy glow outlined her body, especially around her head creating the effect of a halo.
A curtain of shadow fell in the interior over her hair and face. I strained my eyes to catch the flash of her teeth and the gleam in her eyes as she spoke.

“I’ve come this far in life believing the words you said to me. ‘The bud might turn out to be a flower lovelier than a cosmos.’ I was the bud, and you were the cosmos.”

I shook my head and disagreed, leading her to the shop’s back door with an arm around her waist. “I think the bud has blossomed into something more beautiful than the cosmos could ever dreamed of, the cherry blossom of spring. I’m talking about you, Haruno Sakura.”

“You think I’ve become great? But I was always the one who admired you, who wanted to be like you, Ino,” Sakura admitted, as we exited out the back of the shop to its garden behind.

From the backdoor a cobblestone path opened, up cutting through a sea of grass. In the middle of the garden, it formed a circular walkway that enclosed a fountain. We strolled over across the path that led to the fountain sitting by its edge. Mist sprayed us from the jet that spurted up as twilight descended upon us. Shades of violet cloaked the land and colored the darkening sky. Only on the horizon did the last vestiges of light cling to the ending day. Soon it retreated giving way to night. Stars sparkled like celestial jewels adorning the moon herself. Her face, which was an elliptical silver disc, shined brightly on the earth. She smiled casting down a silvery beam of light upon Sakura herself. The cherry blossom of spring became a moonflower in the night.

Her beauty captured me in a feeling I couldn’t explain. My heart skipped a beat and I whispered in her ear, “Back in the Forest of Death, I saw how you changed, Sakura. When Sasuke-kun and Naruto were unconscious their lives were in danger. Instead of running away you risked your life to save them. You started to bloom in that battle.”

Sakura’s expression betrayed a hint of doubt. “You really think so, Ino? Back then I felt so weak. Sasuke-kun, Naruto, and Lee-san did their best to protect me. I was just a burden always in the way. I thought that time would be different. I needed to help the people I cared about. I decided to fight and protect them even if I died.”

“You stopped running away, Sakura. You were no longer the little girl who hid.” A smile crossed my face and I brushed away her bangs just like the time we first met.

She laughed recalling the past. “I was teased as a little girl and always covered my forehead. After you told me to show it off, I stopped being shy. In battle though, things didn’t change. I felt like my old shy self, too scared to act. That made so me weak I hated it!” Anger churned in her face and she forced herself to regain the most composed tone she could muster. “I couldn’t stand it. Not only was I weak but useless as well. Others always protected me while I watched safely from behind. During the Chuunin Exam I decided things had to change. I learned from Sasuke-kun, Naruto and Lee-san what I wanted to be. Strong like them.” Sakura spoke with a firm conviction glancing down at her reflection in the fountain.

I quietly planted my elbows down on fountain’s stone rim leaning over the water. Moonlight danced across in small waves that rippled out from the center playing in our reflections. I lost myself in the ripple’s gentle, undulating rhythm.

“Strong to protect those close to you,” I replied softly. “You knew those Sound Nin might kill you. Yet you fought and took a beating. I still remember the blood dripping down your face, the pain you were in. I thought about our friendship before we became rivals. And I realized how much I cared about you, Sakura. Then I jumped in to help you.”

My reflection edged closer and the two shimmering reflections joined as one. Droplets rained from the jet above occasionally breaking them apart.

“You protected me. Does that mean we’re still close?” Her eyes locked onto mine desperate for an answer.

I thought for a moment propping myself up on my arms as I sat up. “Of course, in spite of our rivalry. I was stupid for letting a thing like that destroy our friendship.”

“No, it was my fault, Ino.” Sakura disagreed letting her visage fall back on the water. “Because I was the one who broke off our friendship and said we should be rivals.”

“Sakura, it was something we both did,” I said, turning to face her. “You know what I’ve learned from this?”

She paused, blinking. “What?”

I positioned my chin on her shoulder and my breath struck her ear. “That it’s made our friendship stronger.”

The warmth of my words spread from Sakura’s ear to the rest of her body. “Ino, thank you for saying that!” She sniffled and emotion overflowed. “You’ve always tried to make me feel better, like that day we picked flowers.” Sakura threw herself at me burying her face in my breast.

I hugged her tightly, pressing my cheek to her head. “That’s what friends are for, right? Friends, like flowers, should not fight to be number one.”

“You said the same thing before.” Sakura smiled tearfully. “From now on, I want to be like a cosmos, in harmony with those around me.”

“Their so harmonious. That’s why I love them. Look around the garden,” I exclaimed, releasing my grasp on her

She rose to her feet surveying the garden. The full moon smiled brightly illuminating its entirety. Ivy grew in thick blankets over the outer walls. Its inner wall, a white picket fence, served more as a decorative device than to keep out outsiders. Climbing roses clung to sections of the fence in white and pink. A single massive banyan tree grew in the back, splayed up with its intertwining trunk, providing shelter as its large boughs hung low. Beneath the spacious canopy lay nestled a tiny cottage. Patches of cosmos clung to its base in hues of crimson, gold, pure white, magenta, fiery orange and lavender. Variations combining several types scattered the patches here and there.

The evenly placed petals of a single cosmos created the microcosm of an ordered universe. As a whole the cosmos existed peacefully, no individual flower dominating the other. Just as the stars sparkled together in their beauty, so the cosmos adorned each other. Sakura’s heart sang as this realization uplifted her from the chaos of the world. If she found peace it was here in this garden with me.

TBC

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *Sakura’s POV

For cosmos, the flower of harmony, night brings such sweet dreams. Their intoxicating scent soaked the air, heavy with impenetrable moisture. Dampness blanketed every inch of skin perfuming our clothes and hair.

"Doesn't it smell great here, Sakura?" Ino sat perched on the rim of the fountain with her left leg crossed elegantly over the right. Slowly the left rose poised in the air. Long and slender, every swell of muscle in her leg retained a perfect sense of delicacy, while she planted it down upon the cobblestone below. First the tips of toes touched, rolling onto the ball of her foot, then its heel with the grace of a dancer. Her right leg moved with the same grace as she rose to both feet.

"It's wonderful, I like it," was all I could reply, struck by her balletic movement.

No one besides Ino could maneuver with such lightness. With the inward flick of a wrist so delicate it could break, she might send a kunai towards her foe in a flash of electric silver. Not a drop of blood or a death scream from the target. She is silent, deadly and beautiful excelling light years beyond all kunoichi, female ninja, in Konoha. She is Yamanaka Ino.

"Did I show you my chocolate cosmos?" Ino asked, her gorgeous visage bearing down on me like the sun in midday.

I shook my head under her gaze. "No."

"Oh, then come this way," Ino invited, motioning towards the back of the garden. "We'll see who can get there faster!"

With her knees slightly bent and arms thrust up, the powerful springs of her legs uncoiled propelling her skyward. She straightened out stiff as a pole in midair far above my head. At the highest point of her jump, she snapped into a forward roll splitting the moonlight in two. For a moment, the lunar disc encircled her in a sphere of brilliant silver. Its aura became her own, as she sparkled like a dream in the celestial sky.

When she returned to earth the fleeting dream seemed to end. She somersaulted down, alighting with a feathery touch, as if carried on a mystic wind. Green grass stirred where she landed in front of the cottage, a good thirty feet in that single bound.

I remained breathless, thunderstruck by her acrobatic display of skill.

Ino pirouetted around, stopping halfway to face my direction. "Well, what are you waiting for, forehead girl? Hurry up!" Her cry echoed through the garden above the splashing fountain and chorusing of insomniac crickets.

"A-alright, pig!" In a twinkling, the distance between us closed the distance between us closed to one yard. I had burst into a few short sprints, invisible to the untrained naked eye.

Her eyes the shade lapis lazuli, went wide with shock. "What speed! How'd you do that, Sakura?"

"It's all about chakra control, Ino. The faster you use it, the quicker you move," I explained proudly, tapping a foot on the cobblestone. "When I trained with Kakashi-sensei, he said I excelled in it. I did my best to improve on it, cause I'd never be strong like my teammates."

"You're strong in here." Ino leaned forward poking me in the chest. Then she pointed to my forehead, adding, (I’m not very good with grammar, but, maybe the ‘a’ in And should be lower cased since there’s a comma after adding?)"And you're still just as brainy!"

I countered, teasing her back with a smirk. As my expression changed I drew nearer until a foot divided us. At least I appeared to be confident.

Ino returned a grin of her own and closed in. A sweet aroma lingered around her mouth, hitting my nose in a breath of scented steam. Her lips the color of red cosmos parted and a whisper escaped teasing, "That's what makes you cute, Sakura-chan."

Her hands cupped my cheeks. Her dainty fingers splayed out and their phantom tips danced over my trembling lips. They parted slightly, betraying an unknown inner acceptance. Cosmos lips brushed against my mouth. My tongue darted out tasting their honey wine flavor. Euphoria swept my soul and time stood still. I lived in the moment capturing it like a butterfly. All too soon, a breeze blew by returning time to its normal flow.

"Ino, YOU kissed me!" I gasped, grabbing her by the wrists.

A rosy hue flushed her fair cheeks. "You're cute. That's why."

"B-but!" I shot back with surprise. "We're...we're both girls!"

"So?" The trace of a modest smile played across her lips as if mocking me. She shrugged it off and a girlish laugh rang out, clear like the peal of bells.

Any hints of modesty vanished as she snaked out my grasp. She walked along the cobblestone path that continued to the back of the garden. A crisp wind fluttered the hem of her purple dress, tussling through her platinum blond hair. She tipped her head up, rendering her profile in soft relief against the starry sky. Moonlight showered down in a stream of luminous silver, transforming her into an unearthly beauty, a celestial gliding through her moonlit garden. Light glinted off the jet of water spurting up from the fountain, its every droplet raining down in the pool below like a cascade of watery jewels. And it turned the lawn into a sea of luminescent grass between ivy walls. Then it fell on the bushes and trees. And turned their dewy leaves to shimmering emeralds.

The wind that tussled her hair breathed into my ear. "Go and follow her," it seemed to say.

Moonbeams peeked in from the awning of the banyan tree, illuminating the stony path ahead. I strolled over it to Ino under the canopy. Its heavy boughs swept the ground in a low hug embracing the two of us.

"Look, Sakura. Those are my chocolate cosmos. " Ino sank down onto her knees in rich, freshly tilled earth.

Dew kissed the cosmos's maroon petals, tinged by purple and brown, the hue of dried blood itself. They glistened like the richest velvet, with an eye almost black as midnight. Their foliage clump reached three feet in height, in a tangled growth of wiry stems that upheld each bloom. Each clump was chock full of bobbling blossoms, which caught a pleasant night breeze.

A fragrance that mingled with both cocoa and vanilla wafted to my nose, and smelled of the finest dark chocolate ever made, teasing my senses beyond sweet torture. The very thought made my blood sugar rise in a heartbeat.

"I love chocolate cosmos," exclaimed Ino, stroking their silky smooth petals. Passionate eyes burned with admiration, as thickly lidded lashes closed lightly over them. Her nostrils inhaled their delicious scent. She said as if enraptured in a dream, "They are beautiful at night when no one is around because they smell their best. They're also elegant, graceful and strong." She showered the cosmos with an affectionate gaze brighter than the sun at noon.

"They are special to you, aren't they, Ino?" I asked quietly, kneeling besides her, awed by her depth of reverence.

Ino gave a deep meaningful nod and her voice brimmed with hope. "I see them as the ninja I want to be. Not just any ninja, a kunoichi who is skilled and stealthy, but most important of all, elegant." The mere mention of that word caused a smile to cross her face. "The most elegant there is."

Ino's lilting words crept across the nape of my neck, just ahead of her gentle hands caressing my naked shoulders. Flesh quivered in ecstasy as a sudden wave of rolled over, a minute little swell nonetheless enticing. Urging the senses to explore a world unfathomed, in the arms of a goddess unknown, a lady wrapped in moonlight.

"This is for you, Sakura. My very best friend," Ino said in gratitude. She rose softly to her feet like a bud that sprouted up, reaching gracefully toward the night sky. As she stood up the full moon's glow encircled her head in a misty shroud of light. Once again, its aura became hers, and the stars brightened her countenance. In her palms joined together, turned up to face the heavens, she offered me a gift precious than diamonds: a chocolate cosmos with a red ribbon tied around its stem.

"Ino, it's your most precious flower and my old ribbon!" I cried, springing up to my feet.

"I'll put it on you, like we did as kids. Come inside my house." Ino guided me to the porch steps with a thoughtful arm around me.

I paused before the steps of the cottage porch. Ino continued up. My sight misted over with tears flooding in my eyes. The image of the lovely cosmos twiddling in my fingers blurred. She must of thought about me every night holding that ribbon in her hands. All those years I envied her as being smarter, stylish, and better than me when in reality, deep inside she still cared.

"Hey, forehead girl, what's up with you tonight?" Ino muttered in an irate tone, with crossed her arms, glaring down from the porch's wide expanse.

I shed a few tears, allowing the darkness to cloak my sad visage. "I've been thinking."

"You always do, Sakura." Ino chuckled, half joking, half serious. "So come in and we'll discuss it over tea."

I said no more and followed.

TBC

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sakura's POV

Ino's light feet carried her up over gently sloping stairs, made of mahogany wood, a deep red brown in color with a lovely finish. Its agreeable scent mixed with the chocolate cosmos's in a cool night breeze. The smell spread penetrating every molecule of air under the cottage's long porch, sheltered overhead by a low sweeping overhang.

From the cottage's porch, its front door opened welcoming visitors into a cozy, dimly lit living room. To the left a fireplace beckoned, built and decorated in gray-tan colored brick. Inside it's charred interior, split alder wood stacked in a crosshatched pattern burned, giving off a sweet aroma. Firelight danced hypnotically in red-orange fingers, casting heavy shadows that flickered like phantoms off white painted walls.
I warmed my feet by its flame, kicking off my sandals onto the woolen rug below. Heat crept up my legs and up my entire body to the tips of my fingers and the top of my head, as I reclined back on a comfortable sofa to the further to the right of the living room. I let my lids shut and relaxed to the sound of fire crackling in quick, frenzied snaps.

A soft tapping on the hard floor was heard beneath the crackle, inaudible to the average human ear. It sounded more like the touch of a feather barely brushing the ground. That's how light she stepped, nimble and deft as the wind.

Her arm faced up to the ceiling, balancing two teacups delicately atop a black lacquer tray. With her back held straight and head up high, she bowed with the graceful air of a courtesan, offering me tea.

My thumb and forefinger closed in around one of the fine china cups lifting it from the tray. I supported its bottom of it with my other free hand, bringing it to my mouth. I sipped the tea in small, steady gulps and a pleasing steam filled my nostrils, the delightful scent of jasmine.

"Thank you, Ino," I whispered, above the rim of my cup.

Ino replied with a nod seating her self beside me. She crossed one leg over the other, setting the tray on a low lying table to the side of the couch, where I left my cosmos with the ribbon tied around it.

"What were you thinking about, Sakura?" Ino asked, raising her cup to her chin.

I swallowed and fixed my sight on the hypnotic dance of flames. "About what a great friend you've been," I admitted shyly, feeling myself crawl inside. "As kids I was never confidant and everyone...liked you."

"Isn't it obvious, forehead girl?" Ino laughed proudly, cocking her head to the side. She set her teacup down on the table, next to the flower and tray, and teased me with a nudge in the arm. "Not only am I beautiful, but elegant as well."

"Ino, you pig! Don't rub in it!" I put my cup down on the floor and dived swiftly at Ino.

Like a predator thrashing its prey, the impact slammed her down flat against her back on the sofa, knocking out every ounce of wind. Pinned beneath me, I felt the rise and fall of her chest, lungs gasping desperately for air. Her hot breath hit my lower jaw, the air strong as a wind tunnel, slipping in under my dress collar and blowing across sensitive skin hidden by the base of my neck, just above the collarbone. Flesh shivered and tingles spiraled up and down my spine in pleasurable torment, throughout every limb, the tips of the nerve endings in each strained past the utmost limit, above and over the edge of oblivion. Consumed by my senses, abandoned by all defenses, my lips parted in helplessness unable to utter a sound.

A playful smile broke over Ino's fair features as she tilted her head up towards me, face only a hair's breadth from mine. "Can't fight back?" Ino jested, with the tinge of mischief in her voice unmistakable as day.

"Ino...I" Only a few raspy words spilled out from my throat, over the heated crackling of flames.

"Oh, I get it now. You were thinking about this, weren't you, Sakura?" Ino's smile twisted into a wick grin.

As Ino said that, a charred log in the fireplace coated with a thin layer of ash, tumbled down in a blaze of orange-yellow flame, and sparks flew out from the embers trapped beneath. They glowed like fireflies in the night, their glare reflected in her eyes, aflame with passion. She raised an arm, which was cast in fiery shades, up around my neck pulling me closer and our bodies pressed together.

"A-about what?" I stammered, as the muscles in me tensed atop her weight, fighting the barrage of overwhelming sensations that left me breathless.

A feverish battle lost as the last of the embers died down and she whispered in a low voice, "This," and her lips rose up to meet mine in a deep searing kiss that melded us together as one, for the souls within us touched one another.

"Sakura...I..." Ino's mouth gaped wide open but no words came out as she lay there under me.

I released all resistance, resting my weight atop her, my chin on her chest, listening to her beating heart. It raced in anticipation, holding in it years of deep-seated feelings. "Tell me, Ino," I said into her ear.

Leaning her head back on the sofa, she turned it so we stared eye to eye. Her penetrating graze reached deep into my soul to its very depths, and from that place, she uttered, "Sakura, I...love you," in the most passionate soulful voice a mortal could live to hear.

Tears brimmed in her eyes, turning her blue irises into watery depths I could drown in. It took all of the strength in her heart and soul to say that, a deed more brave than any act a shinobi warrior might hope to perform on the battlefield.

"Somehow, I knew," I admitted at last, squeezing her hand in mine.

She lifted my hand in hers up to her chest. "How?" Ino murmured, staring down at our hands.

"You always bothered me about Sasuke-kun," I said, weaving my fingers between hers, clasping our hands in a knot of prayer.

"I couldn't stand to see the two of you together." Ino sniffled, her grasp tightened and heartache churned in her expression, her eyebrows drawing together.

"I'm sorry, Ino," I apologized, torn apart by her pain, gazing at her thoughtfully. "You felt left out."

Ino inclined her head giving a wistful nod. With a slow cumbersome hand she reached for her cup on the low-lying table to the side of the couch, sipping her now lukewarm tea. "Even though you were with him, you two never got together," she managed to say

"It wasn't meant to be," I sighed regretfully, feeling myself weighed down by heavy feelings, likened to a burden the soul must carry. "Sasuke-kun never cared about love. Only revenge. So much that Naruto couldn't stop him from going to Orochimaru."

There mere mention of his name made me want to cry. The boy I loved plunged into the darkness of no return. Somehow, when he fell, my heart did too. Love is foolish and hardly rational. Maybe that's why people die from broken hearts. And Sasuke broke mine. It hurt like a knife that stabbed me, leaving a wound might never heal, even beyond death into the eternal future.

"Don't blame yourself, Sakura," Ino implored me desperately, placing the teacup in her other hand on the tray nearby. She took my cup positioning it beside hers.

"I can't help it, because I couldn't stop him!" I cried, suddenly seizing her from behind. I grabbed her the same way I did Sasuke before he left, reliving that agonizing moment.

The scene of Sasuke departing that fateful night played itself in my memory, showing itself to Ino as sorrow sown across my face. In a pain-choked voice, I struggled to speak, "Ino, when Sasuke left he told me, 'Sakura, my path is different from yours and Naruto's. Thank you for everything you've done.' After those words, he knocked me out, and I awoke on that lone, cold bench the next morning." Abandoned and alone, what else could make a person suffer so much?

"See, Sakura? It wasn't your fault," Ino replied sympathetically, running a hand across my arms that embraced her, her fingertips light like a feather ghosting over.

From her touch warmth spread throughout my body, as a feeling of genuine love and tenderness. It healed some of the anguish, leaving me calmer. In a low quiet tone I said, "Do you really...think so?"

She nodded, turning in my hold to face me. "Sasuke-kun made his own decision, Sakura."

"You're right, Ino. I did what I could." I clung to Ino, breathing in her very presence.

"What if he never comes back?" Ino smelled my sweetly scented hair, running her fingers through with the softest of caresses.

"I don't know if..." I buried my face in the crook of her neck, with both arms tight around her, our bodies pushing against the back of the couch. "If I could live without him."

"Me too. But we're got to be strong." Ino summoned an inner will that strengthened her words, firm and resolute.

"I...I know. I'll do my best." My head slipped out from between of her neck and collarbone, my cheek brushing against her bare shoulder, my lips traveling lazily over her silken flesh that quivered.

Ino's fingers uncurled in my hair, her lapis colored eyes widened reflecting my image, and a low whimper escaped chasing away all worries.

"I can do my best because of you, Ino." I cupped her face in my hands and blew a thin wisp of hair from her eyes.

Ino's visage brightened and her gaze penetrated the darkness like a shaft of light through the clouds.

TBC

Chapter 4

* * * Sakura’s POV

“Thank you for everything, Ino-chan,” I said, in front of the living room door by the entryway. It’d been a long time since I called her that as that suffix represented a closeness and intimacy between best friends.

“Are you leaving already?” Ino shifted into a sitting position on her couch, her gaze filled with a longing that penetrated my soul.

I nodded regretfully, placing a hand on the knob of the front door.

“Before you go, I want you to wear this…” Ino grabbed the chocolate cosmos with the red ribbon tied around its stem off, placed on the tray to the side of the couch. She swallowed her pain, tightening her muscles there, as well as every sinew of her body.

I saw past the mask of composure she struggled to wear because I knew she’d really miss me. How could I just leave the girlfriend who confessed her love for me from the deepest recesses of her being? I at least had to acknowledge her feelings.

“Ino, can you put this on me?” I said, referring to the ribbon tied to the cosmos she held.

“Sure, Sakura,” Ino invited, gesturing to me. “Come upstairs. I have a mirror in my room.” She pointed to a stairwell cloaked in the shadows between the extinguished fireplace and front door.

She extended a hand, I laid mine on hers clasping it. Her warm touch guided me through the darkness upstairs. From the narrow set of stairs, we emerged in a small dimly lit hallway. Ino stopped at one end of the hall, opening a door. It slowly swung open on old rusty hinges, revealing its interior, shrouded in a curtain of darkness.

“This way,” Ino said. She released her grasp on me fumbling around in the dark. A jingle was heard as her hand pulled something besides her bed. A weak light illuminated the area around her casting the rest of the room in an impenetrable shadow. What I could have discovered about Ino from seeing her place in broad daylight was obscured. I did smell the fresh night air blowing in through a half opened window and the flowers kept in here.

“Stand here and close your eyes, Sakura,” Ino said, leading me to her dresser with a mirror atop it. Atop it cosmetics and accessories were strewn about including lipsticks in every shade of pink, red and plum. And let’s not forget the mascara, lip liner, and eyeliner.

I sighed, shutting my eyes in front of Ino’s dresser. If only I could be as ladylike as her. She was the envy of every girl in Konoha, with her refined sense of elegance, superior skills in ninjutsu, and unparalleled proficiency in the traditional female arts such as flower arrangements and tea ceremonies.

As I thought, Ino ran her pale slender fingers through my hair. “So smooth and nice. Are you growing to grow it long again for Sasuke-kun?” she teased me, sliding the ribbon over the nape of my neck just under my hairline.

I shivered at the sound of her voice and the ribbon brushing against my skin. What was I supposed to say? I’d never been this close to anyone else, least of all another girl. I couldn’t believe she kissed me minutes before on the couch downstairs. I didn’t think rationally at that time, allowing my emotions to control me. Before I felt sad, lonely, unloved by Sasuke and worthy because of that. When I visited Ino’s flower shop, all of that changed. She made me feel confident by saying that I finally bloomed into a flower, no longer the shy little girl who hid my wide forehead behind those awful shaggy bangs.

She helped me accept myself little by little when she gave me that ribbon long ago. Teaching me that true strength is protecting those close to you by caring for them. She clung our friendship in the face of rivalry by keeping me in her heart. And her feelings for me dissolved those old bonds of hate. When the world turned its back on me she came into my life today making me feel important. But greatest of all…loved.

“Hey Sakura, open your eyes. Do you like it?” Ino asked, tying the ribbon in a bow atop my head.

I did so and glimpsed at the reflection in Ino’s mirror to see our two images embracing as one. Above my shoulder her eyes widened revealing a sense of excitement in their blue-green depths and her light pink lips curled up in a slight grin.

I titled my head lower brushing my cheek against hers. “Looks like the same way on me as it did before, Ino,” I said quietly, uncertain when it came to my appearance.

“No, I think its even better,” Ino whispered, kissing me deeply. Her voice became softer, its cadence low and gentle. “Because you’ve become a beautiful flower.”

Her apparent desire made me go red, as I felt the very blood in my body rush under every inch of skin, especially in my face. “Ino! I…” I cried, stiffening in her arms.

The moment I faced Ino, that spark in her irises turned to fire. Her hands slid further down my back and her delicate fingers splayed out slowly sending a tingle up my spine and back down. “Sakura…” The echo of my name got caught in her throat, choked behind a row of perfect white teeth and lips pressed shut tight.

That light touch of hers made me feel special in a way I never experienced, which I only dreamed of with Sasuke. I finally found that feeling but with another girl. People say a girl should only feel that way around a boy, and if she doesn’t, is that bad? I don’t want others in Konoha to know because then they might not like me. That’s why it must be kept a secret.

“Ino, please don’t tell anyone,” I begged, feeling my shoulders sink in shame.

“I promise,” Ino replied and a sweet smile crossed her lovely features. She broke away sitting on the edge of her bed. “Come, Sakura,” she called aloud, extending a dainty hand.

She beckoned to me as if she offered a cosmos with her inner wrist turned out, the palm of her hand facing up, and fingers held close together. She inclined her head towards the floor at an angle, gazing up at me through half lidded eyes and out from under thick black lashes. Her expression called to me in silence.

If this was anyone else besides Ino I might leave, but not her. She lured me closer possessing the charm a flower has over a bee. The dim lamp on the dresser next to the head of the bed emitted a faint glow, lighting Ino from behind. The backlighting outlined her exterior form and cast shadows over the interior of her body.

I paused by the foot of her bed, leaned over, titled her chin up, kissing her on the forehead.

“Sakura, you…kissed me,” Ino said in surprise, brows raised, eyes wide and mouth gaping open.

I blushed, looking down. “I…I felt like it. Is that…okay?” I asked shyly.

A playful cheer rang out and her voice found its freedom once again. “Um, of course. It’s what I’ve always wanted.” Then she fell silent, dropping her visage in return. “Well, for a long time,” she added nervously.

I sat beside her on her bed, hearing her words reach my ears. “For how long?” I dared to question.

“I guess since I realized Sasuke-kun couldn’t be mine.” She held her unto breath during an inhale sighing as she breathed out.

“He wasn’t mean to be with either of us,” I said, feeling my heart start to heal from the emotional wounds he inflicted. “Maybe because we were supposed to be…together.”

“Together.” Ino’s face glowed vibrantly like the sun smiling upon me. “That’s something I always wished for.”

“Me too.” Since Ino shared her inner thoughts, I decided to open up too. “I’ve thought about things I’ve never done, but…wanted to.”

“Like what?” Ino blabbered, without thinking.

An even brighter blush tinged my cheeks a ripe tomato red.

“Oh, I get it.” Ino smirked, stifling a laugh.

“Wha-what’s so funny?” I demanded, pouting.

“Well, I’ve had certain dreams about you.” Ino chuckled a bit. “Getting close and all.”

“I used to think about it, a lot, with Sasuke-kun,” I admitted, scolding myself for the fantasies I played in.

“Sasuke-kun is gone.” A wave of sadness drowned out her joy for a single second.

“But you’re here, with me, Ino,” I reassured her, hugging her tightly.

“Sakura.” She spoke in that deep soulful voice when she confessed her love for me on the couch downstairs before.

“I mean it, Ino, I do,” I cried, squeezing her harder. “Just promise that you won’t leave me like Sasuke-kun. Because I…I love you…” I held her the same way I did Sasuke before he departed in a grasp never meant to last.

“I’d never leave you, Sakura.” Tears welled in the rims of Ino’s eyes.

“Do you mean it?” I murmured, lightening my grasp.

“I…do!” Ino cried as if her very life hung in the breath of her words. “And I want to show you…”

I knew at that moment in time I could trust her with the entirety of my life baring with her an intimacy shared with no other living person.

“…How I feel.” A tender ardor clung about her, emanating from the life force in her aura.

Never have I felt so much love and passion from another human being. I could truly say now was the happiest in my life, having found true love. Not from Sasuke but the girlfriend dearest to me since childhood. The time to share my life with another person would finally happen in the spirit of true love, in an experience I’d cherish beyond the grave.

TBC

Chapter 5

* * * Ino’s POV

Sakura laid back on the down comforter of my bed sinking in softness and a relaxed expression passed over her dreamy countenance. Short wisps of pink shoulder length hair fanned out in all directions, in magical tufts and waves like an angel’s wing on snow.

A few strands light as a spider’s thread wove their way around her thin elegant neck, hair tips crossing just above the hem of her dress collar. Its fabric, the shade of deep wine in the darkness contrasted strongly against her white, almost alabaster skin. Somehow the dress’s crimson brought out any color her complexion might have had in a faint rosy glow. The soft tones that carved her matched perfectly the pale pink hue of cherry blossoms, right at the dawn of their flowering in spring.

As I neared, the scent of roses clung in the air about her. Perhaps it was from the flowers outside. A gentle breeze blew in through the open window by Sakura, bringing her smell to my nose. I shut my eyes, breathing in its entirety. Slowing down, I did my best to live each moment fully, relishing the time spent together, just Sakura and I.

I crept over on all fours, sinking in the bedspread, with the rise and fall of each foot and hand, drawing ever closer, vigilant not to wake her. Only a single foot divided us, an intrusion from time and space. Time and space had divided her from Sasuke, hurting her very deeply. I wouldn’t let it do the same thing to her now. Poor Sakura. She’s been through so much pain, abandoned by the boy she loved. I don’t want her to feel lonely or sad ever again. That’s why I have to show her just how much I care. Now, in the moment, with thoughts once imagined, part of a dream but now sweet reality.

“Don’t…leave me,” she murmured half asleep, tossing towards the window, away from me onto her side.

She must have fallen asleep when I crept over, fearing I’d wake her. I placed a light touch on her shoulder that faced away. Her entire body quaked beneath me, like a cornered animal below the jaws of its prey. I pressed down a little harder, feeling her body calm down. Her breathing slowed, deeper and normal. She rolled languidly on her back, opening one eye, then the other. Still half shut, gazing out tiredly.

“I dreamed that…Konoha was…attacked.” Sakura’s features stiffened. “And everyone left me.” Then her gaze fell to the foot of the bed and the dresser on the other side of the room.

“I…I’m sorry, Sakura,” I replied, reclining on my side next to her, bending one arm under my neck for support. Extending the other towards her, I planted my index and middle fingers on her lips. “What did I say before?” reminding her tenderly.

“That you’d…” She searched hard for the words. “…Never leave me, I-no.” Her voice dropped, softening as she said my very name, breathed in low and labored syllables.

“And why is that?” I prodded, running my fingers from her mouth across her cheek, along her smooth round jaw line, down to the bottom of her chin.

Sakura shivered, mind racing, unable to speak. I shifted a few inches nearer, now completely beside her. She turned onto her side again, facing me directly. Her arms, pressed against the comforter, were held in close toward her chest, with hands clasped together like an angel’s in prayer. Moonlight streamed in, causing her skin to stand out whiter, washing out the rosy tones her dress might have brought. Lightening her hair and dress to complement the paleness.

In her eyes the moonlight sparkled, forming little silvery twinkles that danced across the deep green pools of her irises. Further in her wells, under the glimmer of light, in her soul a yearning hid beneath. Quelled by the fear of what others might think. The fear of loving how you truly want to. I want to help her overcome that. I want to because I love her. Just say it, Sakura. Say you love me, and I’m yours! I cried within.

“Ino-chan…” Her girlish voice carried the latent desires expressed in her soul, through barely moving lips, glistening in the moonlight. She lifted an arm above her head, placing another on her stomach, crossing one leg over the other. Smiling sweetly, no longer an angel but my enchantress, from whose lure was no escape. “Come here,” she cooed softly.

I inched over, feeling our arms pressed together on the bed. The warmth between us intensified, heated to a new level, like flames spreading over every expanse of skin. In Sakura, it burned down to the very base of her spine, where the primal life force resided, awakening its desire. Now kindled by it, she came alive, slowly at first, then fully with a bright glow in her eyes.

Her eyes, no longer a subdued jade green, burned like fiery emeralds. Blazing a path from head to toe that ran along the planes of my face, down the neck, across the heart, over the stomach, around thighs and legs. Taking in my image, she smiled. Head slightly lowered, a giggle escaped her, still the Sakura I’ve come know and love.

She wound her arms around my neck, pulling me close, her breath hitting my lips as her mouth descended on mine in a deep searing kiss, scorching me to the core. She broke the kiss for a moment whispering in my ear. “Ino, I love you,” in the softest passionate voice a person could muster.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. “That’s what…I wanted to hear, Sakura.”

Sakura pressed her face to mine, her arms holding me tighter. She slipped a hand between our bodies, reaching up to wipe away my tears. Her touch felt light as a feather, hot with emotion at the same time. I knew then she shared the same feelings as me.

“Sakura, I’m yours,” I said breathlessly.

Hearing this, she grinned. “Then tell me, Ino-chan. About those dreams.”

“Dreams?” A blush rose in my cheeks. How should I describe them? If only I found a way to tell her.

Perhaps nature heard my plea. A nightingale alighted on my windowsill, his soulful song penetrating the silence of the night.

“Dreams are like how he sounds.”

“Then…take me there, now.”

Somehow, the nightingale’s song guided me. I closed my eyes, feeling his music flow through me. Drawn into my senses, I forgot all other things as Sakura became my world and I became hers. Every movement was fluid, a dance of the divine in cloaked in material bodies.

I kissed her deeply on the lips, telling her how much she meant to me. Tears of joy threatened to spill from the rims of her eyes, but never did, as her emotions manifested in hot kisses down my neck. In each kiss, she poured out her deepest feelings, drowning me in love. As I kissed her back, I felt myself sinking into it.

Lying beneath me, between kisses, she reached up tugging at the ribbon, which tied my hair in a bun. White-blond hair, bleached lighter by the sun, tumbled freely past my shoulders in Sakura’s round face.

“It’s gotten so long,” Sakura said, burying her face in my hair, breathing in its scented coils.

“Mm, I know. Now what about yours?” I asked softly, lost in her kisses.

“Want to see?” she teased, breaking away from me.

She stood in front of the window bathed in a shaft of moonlight. Once again, washing out the rosy tones in her skin. She raised an arm, taking out the ribbon I tied in her hair. It fell in wisps and layers about her face and chest. The red fabric beneath her long feathery locks slipped lower, until finally, the entire red cloth fluttered towards the floor, pooling around her feet. Clad without a single stitch in full beauty was her delicate little figure, a goddess in the moonlight. The scent of roses about her smelled lovelier, and the nightingale sang ever sweetly.

“You’re so…beautiful,” I gasped. I could hardly breath. I never imagined the sight of her to be this wonderful, stealing me back into a dream again. “Want to see me?”

A modest smile broke out over her fair features. “Yes,” came her hushed reply, under the nightingale’s magical song.

With eyes shut, by the foot of the bed, I faced away. I trembled from the cool night air hitting my arms, as I pulled at my arm coverings. The coolness licked at my neck, then slowly down my chest, and entire body, with purple fabric slid off, settling by my feet. I felt myself, bare and unclad shake from the cold. Sakura hugged me from behind me driving out the chills, for her touch warmed me. Her beauty flooded my vision. Her voice sang in my ears. Her love melted my heart.

TBC

Chapter 6

* * * Sakura’s POV

In the cool night Ino took me under her comforter. Holding me in a lovers embrace, her arms wrapped around me like angel’s wings, to guard me from the darkness. As the nightingale’s sweet song laid my soul to rest, Ino stirred. She moved over me, pressing deep kisses down my neck, and under my jaw nipping at my flesh. The sensation of hard teeth grazing delicate skin made me gasp, my head thrown back as a low moan escaped.

“I-Ino…” I cried, tangling my hands in her hair, white blond, thin silky locks lightened by the sun, drinking in its warmth during the hot day.

“Sakura,” Ino whispered, her breath in my ear, heating its shell inside, down to the recesses of the canal. “What you want?”

“That dream,” I replied, my mind and body lost in sensations, consumed again by a fire burning through me. “Your dream.” What’s a dream for if you don’t live it?

Ino settled on her side covered from the shoulders down, with one arm pillowed beneath her head, the other lain across her chest. “You sure, Sakura?” she asked, voice tinged with fear.

I nodded and held her close. “Yes!” With you and only you.

She understood. Any hesitation Ino felt melted away when she kissed the dip in the base of my neck, running her hands over my arms, along each curve and muscle. I took a deep breath, falling into our dream spiraling down. Plunging further into the senses, where one’s spirit comes to life in the flesh as they connect to another, knowing they are more than just their body. Seeking Oneness beyond the physical, reaching new states of the mind, when the soul soars up toward heaven. I was taken there as my body reached new states of awareness.

* * * Ino’s POV

In my explorations I discovered new landscapes. The flat plain of her stomach was soft and pale, an alabaster white pure as a field of freshly fallen snow. Further up, the snow covered plains sloped up slightly, forming smooth rounded hills. On each of them grew a flower, tiny buds ready to burst into bloom, their hue the color of cherry blossoms. Beyond gentle hills, pink buds and snowy plains, her neck rose up elegant and proud. A warm flush tinged it in rosy tones, hinting to a hidden inner excitement, of journeys unspoken and senses experienced for the very first time. Discovering what it meant to be human in love, close to one another.

In this discovery, my sight wandered to her chin, finding thin lips, turned in each corner as a soft smile rose. Her eyes were halfway closed, green like emeralds, cast down in a meditative gaze. She seemed to look deep within and out at the same time, as if aware of both the inner and outer realms. I was her outer realm, the one outside who wanted to know her. And make her happy. Leaning over, I claimed her lips in a kiss, bringing a glow of joy, a brightness on her face.

“Ino, I-I love you,” came her whisper, escaping parted lips.

“Sakura, I…” An utterance caught in my throat.

“It’s okay. I know,” Sakura replied, laying a finger over my lips.

A softening in her eyes told me she understood. Sometimes the deepest of emotions are those beyond expression, joined by feelings in the heart. The feelings in both of our hearts drew us closer as the sun touching the earth when it sets. Driven by them, I bent over letting my lips meet hers. Under the touch she gasped, her lids tightly closed, as she looked deep within. Pink hair framed her sweet girlish face, swept away in pleasure. She almost forgot about me until her eyes opened halfway, yearning for my intimacy.

Excited by her want, I grinned pulling her against me. Our bodies grew warm with passion’s heat, pressed together in a tender embrace, feeling love enflame us. A single fire blazed out from both of our hearts burning brightly within and without when we gazed into each other’s eyes. I saw my reflection in her jade green orbs. She saw hers in mine, a dark aquamarine. Jade and aquamarine mirrored one another with our reflections staring back.

“Sakura, I can…say it,” I uttered breathlessly.

“Say what?” she teased back, cupping my face in her hands.

“It’s a secret.” I grinned, diving under the covers.

“Oh, Ino. Tell me!” Sakura insisted, wrestling underneath to join me.

Under the tumble of blankets I pinned her down beneath me. “Not until you beat me,” I countered back.

Suddenly, she surged up from behind knocking me flat. Kicking the blankets partly off, she pinned me down in reverse, holding my wrists above my head.

“Now, you’d better tell me, Ino.” Pleasure flared in her grin.

“I love you,” I replied lustily, letting my head roll to the side and twisting my hips to entice her.

First, surprise broke out. Then desire shot through as her visage ran over me. She cocked her head, lowering her body on mine. “Oh, you’re just teasing me.”

I chuckled, pulling my wrists out of her grasp. “No, Sakura, I’m not. I’ll show you.”

“Just try to,” she taunted playfully, grabbing me tightly.

“Alright, I will.” I smirked, rolling over atop her. This time, through love, and not fighting I could finally prove myself to her. I wasted no time allowing all ambition to rise, possessing me from the core.

An unspoken fire had always burned between us. I always thought it was our jealousy over Sasuke. But with him gone, I think I’m starting to truly understand things. I was jealous because I felt she no longer wanted me, no loved me. Feeling hurt, I didn’t know what to do, or how to tell her. So I started grabbing Sasuke from her in front of her eyes any chance I’d get. It was the only way she paid attention to me, even if it was negative. I guess that’s how jealous I really was. Perhaps the more jealous a person becomes, the greater their love must be towards that particular person.

It was her affection I longed for all those years hurting inside cause it wasn’t mine. Sakura wasn’t happy either pouring out her heart for a boy that never returned her affections. Sasuke probably just saw her as a friend, or a teammate at most. She wanted more, and that’s what left her wounded. Somehow, that wound in her remaining, and the wound in me from being neglected gradually healed over in our new relationship. I would like to tell you how that final healing took place.

“Sakura, I love you…cause I’ll never leave you,” I said to her through words.

Through my actions, I did my best to show her how I felt. My lips danced a trail of sweet kisses from her lips to her chest, planting a gentle kiss on each sweet nub. Moving down the gentle slope of breasts to the flat plain of her stomach, I found it to be a familiar landscape. It felt silky and smooth, flawless without blemish, white as freshly fallen snow. Not cold but warm alive and tender, hot with life and passion.

Feeling her life force sparked deeper feelings held within me, building inside during our years apart when she was all I thought of. That inner wellspring of emotion finally broke free this very moment, flowing like a boundless river, deep feelings throughout every atom of my being, down in the strata of my soul. I truly came alive with some happiness unlike any other.

Sakura must have felt it in the sacred dance between us. In new landscapes and forms discovered beyond that snow covered plains, hidden valleys were found. Flowers once concealed finally opened their sweet petals to spring’s fresh air. Hummingbirds whirred nearby, delighted by such beauty. A fragrant scent lured them in. Their thin tongues darted out from between long delicate beaks into open blossoms. Reaching inside, loving tongues coaxed out sweet nectar that sparkled like diamonds on dew drenched petals. Filled with the vigor to fly once again, the hummingbirds departed, having tasted the finest divine ambrosia, experienced by the senses in joy, pure intimacy and love.

Snowy plains, once tranquil and silent heaved up as they melted in the sun. Slopes leading up to hills shook slightly breaking free of restraint and stillness. Young buds once dormant in winter blossomed to their fullest announcing the coming of spring. Alive with passion, all of the earth’s bodyscape erupted with a fury buried inside, from the depths of her very soul.

Alive and free, Sakura sprawled out on the bed, breathing heavily and coated in sweat. A smile rose on her blossom pink lips. Her jade orbs, sparkling and alive like emeralds in their depths, danced with joy.

Lying beside her, I cupped her cheek in my hand. Her round fair face softened under my touch. During our dance a silent message had passed between us, an exchange between hearts through the soul and body as one. We knew each other’s hearts, having flied high in spirit. Some might call it dreams. Some might call it heaven in the throes of passion. I called it love. Our love. Sakura’s and mine.

Rolling over onto her side, facing me, she laid a hand on my cheek in return. Her curious gaze shined brightly. In a soft voice, barely audible above a whisper, almost dreamlike she said, “Ino, you really love me, don’t you?”

I could only nod in return, feeling my face brush against the bed sheet.

“I…I never thought anyone would.” Sakura cast her sight downward at our feet avoiding eye contact as she spoke.

“I always…did,” I finally admitted, hugging her tightly. Tears welled in my eyes. “But couldn’t say it.”

“Ino-chan, it’s not your fault,” Sakura replied gently, casting her visage back up. “We were rivals then.”

“Are we…still?” I asked sadly, releasing my grip on her.

Sakura shook her head, pulling me back in our embrace. “No, I don’t want that. Ever again.”

A wave of relief washed over me. “Me too. I’m so glad you said that.” I settled in her grasp. “But what if Sasuke-kun returns?”

“Don’t worry,” Sakura reassured me, resting in my arms. “We’ll be friends. I just hope Naruto can bring him to the light.”

“The light,” I murmured softly. “I think he will.”

“What do you mean?” Sakura questioned.

“Well, they are friends aren’t they? Like us,” I explained to her.

“Sort of.” Sakura thought deeply. “Naruto is the light, wanting to save Sasuke, the darkness.”

“Then we are flowers,” I decided, thinking about how we blossomed in our journey together.

“And friends too.” Sakura kissed me tonight, falling asleep in my arms.

“Yes, I think that is what friends are for,” I whispered, drifting off to sleep.

TBC

A/N: