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.
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