To the many Sakura haters out there. Yeah, yeah. I get annoyed with her, too. Constantly. However, I am not going to make her quite so bad in this, I think. I am going to try to keep it sort of in character, but I may need to make her OCC just so I can tolerate her dumb pink-haired self. - - - - - - Nostalgia had swept over the two friends that afternoon. Story after story had transported Sakura and Ino back to times when jealousy had created a rivalry so competitive and bitter that, in retrospect, the girls were amazed they had ever been able to reconnect. But they had, though not without a lot of effort. Now they lay giggling, side by side, on Ino's bed. "Ino, I am so happy for you and Chouji! Though I have to say, I never in a million years would have guessed that you two would be dating." "Ha, Sakura, you are just happy for Chouji! Now you might actually be able to get with Sasuke because my gorgeous ass is taken!" At this, the pink-haired girl punched her blond counterpart in the arm. A little to hard—Ino was shoved off the bed from the force of the blow. "Goddamnit, Wide-forehead! You have to remember your strength! I'm gonna bruuuuiiiiiiise!" Rushing to her friend's side, Sakura immediately let the chakra pour from her hands into the already bruising arm. Ino sighed a little—healing big wounds often hurt, but this was pleasant. The chakra warmed her muscles, the heat from it boosting blood flow to the area. It would still bruise most likely, but Sakura's healing would keep it from being a bad one. "Sorry Ino-pig, I do forget sometimes." "Well at least you are a med-nin. Though you really need to watch it—one day you will kill someone with that strength and no amount of healing will help them!" Ino was kidding, but Sakura shook her head seriously in denial. "That will never happen. I may forget from time to time that I am strong, but never in battle—a cool head is what keeps a medical ninja—and my strength—in check. I will never hurt anyone on accident so much that I might kill them." Ino laughed and shoved her friend a little. "You need to loosen up, my friend! Why are you so serious?" Sakura didn't have an answer and so she shoved back. Pretty soon the two were laughing and rolling around until Ino sat up suddenly. "Ahhhhh, damn! I forgot I am going out with Chouji tonight! I need to get ready!" Sakura glanced at the clock. "You dork, you aren't going out with him for another two hours. What are you worried about?" Laughing, the blond haired girl began moving around the room, collecting items in preparation. "Oh, Sakura...one day you two will grow up and understand the mysteries of dating a boy. See, when a man and a woman love each other, very much, they sometimes---" "Ino, shut up! I know about sex! I just don't understand why it takes you two hours to get ready. And seriously? You and Chouji...are....you know..." "Having sex?" Sakura nodded. "Yes...I didn't really plan on us sleeping together so quickly—we've only been dating for a couple of weeks—but, I don't know...one thing led to another and we just...did. You know?" Ino began to brush her long blond hair out, facing her friend. A sigh escaped Sakura's lips. "No, I don't know. You know that!" "Well we never really talked about it. Remember pact number one of our new friendship? 'No discussing boys too much.' It was what got us into trouble in the first place! I didn't tell you about Chouji and I because I didn't know how you would feel about it. How do you feel about it?" Sakura's wide forehead furrowed as she thought about it. "I don't mind, I am just surprised. I mean, I think it is great that you and Chouji are dating, and while I certainly never pictured him in bed—ugh—I am glad you two are able to...express yourselves in an intimate way." "First—there is no ugh. Chouji has lost a lot of weight, and I will have you know he looks amazing naked. Second, did you really just describe fucking as 'expressing yourself in an intimate way?' You are seriously a dork, Sakura. And that leads me to ask you...how far have you gone? You know, with a boy?" "But we agreed not to talk about boys—" "Hush, I know. But we are talking about boys and now that I am in a relationship with one—a mighty hot one, I might add—I think that we can safely begin to talk about guys. After all, you aren't going to try and steal my man, are you?" Sakura stuck her tongue out and made a face. "God, no! Chouji is all yours, I assure you." That made Ino laugh. "I don't know, Sakura. You know how he has that jutsu where he can make parts of his body grow to immense sizes...?" "Shut up, Ino!" Sakura's face had gone white with shock. "You are kidding, right? You have to be kidding me!" "Of course I am kidding you. And nice try at changing the subject, but you never answered my question. How far have you gone with a boy?" A blush crept up Sakura's face until her skin was pinker than her hair. "I...uh...I've never kissed a boy." "Now you are the one who is kidding." "No, I'm not. I was, you know, saving my first kiss for Sasuke. But then he left and I got so focused on my training that I forgot about boys, about kissing and such." "But Sakura, that was years ago. Sasuke is back in the village, and you are on his team, and besides, there are plenty of other guys around. You know, Chouji isn't the only one who got hot with age. Hell, even Naruto isn't that bad looking! And he is so obviously in love with you. Have you ever considered him?" "I, well...no... I just. I. I don't know. I don't know!" Ino looked at her flustered friend. Sakura was bright red and squirming and although they were friends now, Ino sensed that this subject was a delicate matter and that she should let it drop for the time being. Besides...although she did not admit it to her friend, she still had some feelings for the dark haired Uchiha. Hell, she had trouble admitting it to herself. When he had returned to the village, Sasuke was no more open than when he had left. Especially with the females of the village. Ino made a decision to let him go, to move on. A decision that was made easier by her teammate, and new lover, Chouji. Still, even with her repaired friendship with Sakura and new boyfriend, a small bit of her heart yearned for Sasuke. Sakura had not had success with him, and secretly...Ino was a little glad. "Look, Sakura, we don't have to talk about this now! Help me pick out what panties to wear tonight! I want Chouji to be so hard he—" "Ino! God, have you no decency? Morality? A censor on that filthy mouth of yours?" "Oh Sakura, if you only knew the filthy things my mouth can do—" Sakura punched her friend again, shocked at the perverse innuendos. "DAMNIT, WIDE FOREHEAD! SUPER HUMAN STRENGTH, REMEMBER! NOW THIS WILL BRUISE FOR REAL, AND I WAS GOING TO WEAR A SLEEVELESS DRESS!" - - - - - - - - Later on, back at home, Sakura sat on her bed trying to meditate. Tsunade had taught that if she could learn to clear her mind and focus she could create greater amounts of chakra in herself, at least temporarily. It was a handy trick to know-- especially before a big surgery or a new mission. Tonight however, she could only replay the conversation between Ino and herself over and over. It had been hours since the discussion had taken place, but she could still feel herself blushing over Ino's obvious shock at her own lack of sexual experience. At twenty years old, was it really such a big deal that she had never kissed anyone? Training hard for the past few years, she and other shinobi had never really talked about such things. In fact, other than glimpsing Kakashi-sensei's pervert books, dating never entered her own world of the ninja, at least not early on. She had assumed everyone else was the same as her, inexperienced. But judging by Ino's pure surprise, Sakura realized that, once again, she was behind everyone else in her life. Growing up in a village with so many ninja families had been difficult for her. Though they were all her friends now, she remembered watching Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, Sasuke and even Ino develop their own unique skills quickly. Naruto had always been the screw up that made her look good in comparison, but even he had surprised everyone with his own talents as a ninja. Over and over again, Sakura had disappointed herself and her teammates by being a burden, by not being able to help. More often than not, her lack of talents almost jeopardized missions and lives, rather than contribute to them. Tsunade had changed that. While her chakra control and strength, as well as her superior healing abilities were direct copies of the Hokage's, they still made Sakura a more valuable ninja. It seemed she could actually benefit the teams she went on missions with instead of hold them back. For the first time in her life, Sakura was actually contributing instead of being a nuisance and a burden. For the first time, she was almost an equal with her fellow shinobi. Well, until tonight. But instead of meditating, all Sakura could see that that initial look of utter shock on Ino's face. Once again, Sakura was behind all of her fellow ninja's. And this was not something Tsunade could teach her or she could study in a book. It made her stomach churn and her skin crawl. Curling in a ball, Sakura began to cry softly until she fell asleep.
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