Weeks went by, and Ino still wouldn't talk to Sakura. Not after Shikamaru had officially broke up with her—at least that had been easy, since it was mutual. Not after Naruto had actually given his blessing to her new relationship—that had been an unexpected surprise. Not after Sakura had sent letters, flowers, phone calls and the like. Sakura could feel the immense absence of Ino in her life, and it just, well, sucked. Her new relationship was weird and intense and Sakura needed Ino to talk to, but the girl had locked herself in her apartment, only leaving to occasionally train. Sakura watched as Ino cut people out of her life until Shikamaru was the only one she would see and talk to. Whenever Sakura caught Shikamaru leaving Ino's apartment, he always looked so sad. And Sakura knew she was the one causing the sadness. She knew that breaking up with Sasuke was the right thing to do. It may not fully patch her friendship with Ino, but it would be a start, since that was where her betrayal had begun. But she couldn't. She couldn't leave him, now that she finally had him, right? Although...the fact that Sakura even considered leaving Sasuke bothered her. Her new boyfriend was tumultuous and moody. He wouldn't talk to her, not really. He would train for days and then, when she had gotten used to him being gone, he would show up in her room to kiss her with such fury that it eventually led her to sleep with him. Sasuke was Sakura's first. The whole experience...Sakura wanted so desperately to tell her friend about it, to hear Ino's words of wisdom, but she had lost her. - - - - - - Ino's parents owned a flower shop in town. Sakura had passed by it several times, knowing her friend would be in there, but had not had the courage to go in. However, she had overheard the Hokage talking about some dangers going on in the country where Chouji's mission was taking place. It was a gamble, but Sakura knew Ino would need someone to tell her, to comfort her. Taking a deep breath, Sakura walked in, carefully ducking behind some plants so she could spy and see if Ino was even in the shop. Sure enough, Ino was alone behind the counter, absentmindedly searching for split ends in the tips of her long hair. Searching within herself for strength, Sakura marched...well, tiptoed forward. "I-Ino?" The blond turned toward the voice and Sakura was greeted with a stare that was pure ice. "How can I help you today, miss?" "Ino...please. I need to talk to you." "Are you here to purchase some flowers? If so, we have a wide variety for any sort of occasion. What kind of occasion are you purchasing flowers for?" Ino was looking straight through Sakura, as if she didn't even see a person there. Sakura knew from Ino's hard tone that the girl was telling her silently to get the hell out, but she had come so far... "God, Ino, stop and listen—" "We have some flowers for apologizing, something you may need to do. They are the daffodils, over to your left." "I'm sorry, Ino—" "No? Oh. You need flowers for ultimately betraying your best friend? That is a tough one. See, if it was just a little betrayal, I would say some lilies or perhaps some irises. But you seem to have truly betrayed your friendship, and I'm sorry ma'am, but I do not think we carry any flowers for that." Ino pointed to the door, her eyes shut. But Sakura was tired. She had bottled up her feelings about that night, about Shikamaru and Sasuke, about everything for weeks and it felt like she would just crumple in on herself if she didn't talk to someone. When someone's feelings are that intense, that overbearing, it sometimes gives the person a desperate sort of strength, a last push for survival. Sakura felt is surge through her and she marched forward, in front of her friend, and she reached her hand back and slapped Ino across the face. Ino went flying back, being caught unaware. She crashed into a wall behind her hard enough to put a dent into the wood paneling. "GODDAMNIT, WIDE FORHEAD! ARE YOU INSANE? YOU ALMOST KILLED ME WITH THAT STRENGTH OF YOURS! AND MY PARENT'S SHOP? THEY ARE GOING TO KILL YOU!" Sakura reached out a hand to help her very irate friend up. "I'm not going to kill anyone with my strength, Ino. I knew what I was doing—" "YOU FUCKING SLAPPED ME!" Ino did, however, allow Sakura to help her up. Sakura, her hands firmly grasping the blond girl's wrists, kept the pull going, using the momentum to pull Ino right into her arms. Now she did use her massive strength to hold Ino, who was struggling, in a bear hug. "LET GO OF ME, TRAITOR!" But Sakura held on tight, ignoring Ino's wriggling. She buried her face in the soft blond hair and began a quiet mantra, barely a whisper. "I'm sorry, Ino. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for things to turn out this way. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Ino struggled, she fought, she wriggled and tried to escape for what seemed for forever but Sakura's grip remained steadfast and eventually, in exhaustion and defeat, Ino broke down in her friend's arms, relaxing into the embrace. Sniffling, she spoke through tears. "S-Sakura...how...how could you?" The pink haired girl reached a hand up to stroke her friend's head, soothing her. "I know. I'm sorry. But it really did not happen the way you think it did. Can we please talk now?" After a long silence, Ino finally answered. "Yes." - - - - - - "So he broke in, told you he loved you after years of being a jackass, and then planted a kiss on you?" "Yes." Ino took a deep breath. It hadn't been easy to hear. So many things about the situation hurt. The fact that Sasuke had, in fact, chosen Sakura over her and every other girl in the village was a large part of it. She had thought she was over Sasuke and her competitiveness with her fellow pink-haired shinobi, but she felt the hurt at losing. She felt something else, too. Her intuition sensed that Sakura was distraught over something, but wasn't telling her. "Sakura, what else? I know something is gnawing at you." Sakura winced—she knew Ino had the ability to guess at people's emotions, but she hadn't been ready to confess this secret. She was afraid Ino would be angry all over again. "I...um...I'm not sure how to say it...but..." She inhaled, hoping for the best, if there was a best. "Sasuke and I had sex." Silence filled the room, but from Ino's wide eyes, Sakura gauged her friend was in shock. "You...you had sex with him?" Ino's heart hurt, it was beating but oh god, it hurt. "Yes." "I need a moment, Sakura." The blond girl stood and walked out of the room before her friend could see the tears running down her face. Why did her chest hurt so much? Why was her heart beating so hard, so fast? She felt sick to her stomach, like someone had punched her and she was finding it difficult to breath. She knew, should have known, it was going to happen but hearing had made it real and Ino realized how completely unprepared she was. The worst part of it was not knowing why she was so upset. I need to support her. She is my friend. I am happy for her. I AM happy for her. I can do this. Steadying herself, she walked back in, sitting across from Sakura, whose face was twisted with worry. "Ok. So...how was it?" Even through the pain, there was a girly side of Ino that wanted...needed to know how the great Uchiha had been. "I don't know! I mean, we've done it a couple of times, but..." Sakura shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "Details, Sakura! I know you are new to this sex thing, but when girls talk about sex, they give juicy details! Was it romantic?" Sakura laughed, then. Ino appeared to have had a complete emotional turn around. Now, as far as Sakura could see, Ino was her friend again, naughty and curious. "When has Sasuke ever been romantic?" Ino laughed as well, her eyes sparkling. "Fair enough. But tell me, did her seduce you? Kiss you everywhere? Make you swoon? Make you cum?" The last part of Ino's questions made Sakura turn a very bright shade of red. "Ino! Please! It...it wasn't like that." Sakura looked...almost sad, and Ino got scared. "Sakura...he didn't make you do anything, did he?" "No! No. I did...I do want to. It just...it isn't what I thought it was supposed to be like. And I have no other experience, so I can't compare it, or even explain it. It just..." Ino nodded. Her first time had been like that, as well. But only the first time. It sounded like Sakura's troubles in bed were a continuing problem. "I don't know what to say, Sakura." A blush of red spread from Sakura's neck up to her face. "I...I wanted to ask for your help, actually." That piqued Ino's interest. "Exactly how am I supposed to help you with this?" And Sakura told her. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - It was dark and cramped, and Ino had been crouching long enough that her left foot was numb from lack of blood. How did I ever let Sakura convince me to do this? But she knew how. It hadn't taken much convincing at all. After all...what girl in Konoha would refuse an offer like this, if the ability was hers? Ino rationalized it easily. I'm helping her out. This will help me understand what she is going through. The small space in the closet made her nervous, and she had trouble not making noise. The moment would be on her at any second, she knew. She and Sakura had spent all day preparing for it, practicing over and over until they had it down. At first there was some resistance in Sakura, but as she got used to it, she admitted that...well...she kind of even liked it. Something about that, about the control and the fact that Sakura had actually enjoyed it...Ino's throat felt dry. But now, after all the practice and preparation, everything was ready and any second the plan would be underway. There was a noise in the hallway. Ino held her breath, resting her body so that it wouldn't make any noise when the time was right. She could see through the tiniest crack where Sakura had left the closet open. Ino only had a second, a fraction of a second, to do her job, but she knew it now and she was ready. Inside of her chest, her heart beat a million miles a minute, knowing what she was conspiring to do. The door to Sakura's bedroom opened and two bodies moved in. Ino's voice hitched. It was wrong, the wrong angle. Sasuke's body was there, holding Sakura's. They were kissing and she was moaning a little. Move, Sakura! I need to see you! As if Sakura read her mind, the girl used her body to move Sasuke's, switching with him so that her back was to the closest. Like they had practiced, Sakura began to pull her shirt over her head, using the cloth to blind him from what was about to happen. With a couple of seal formations and a muttering under her breath, Ino performed her family's famous jutsu... - - - - - - A/N: Sorry to break your reading hear, but for any sensitive readers, a bit of a lemon is here. You can read a little to understand what is going on and then skip to the next chapter when you feel uncomfortable! - - - - - - And then she was there. His hands...Uchiha Sasuke's hands were on her waist. "Why did you stop...?" He moaned, kissing her throat a little. Ino realized that she still had her shirt half-way over her head. Well...halfway over Sakura's head. Ino was inside of Sakura's body. Their practice paid off. Sakura had managed to subdue her inner personalities, keeping them from immediately kicking Ino's intruding mind out. They had padded the inside of the closet to catch her body soundlessly as her mind took control of Sakura's body. Ino couldn't believe it worked. Ino smiled. "Sorry, I guess I got a little distracted." Hearing Sakura's voice say her words gave Ino a sudden thrill. "SAKURA! HE IS TOUCHING ME!" Ino's personality screamed in excitement. "Ino, he is touching ME, thank you very much, now focus! I want you to tell me if tI'm doing something wrong when I have sex with him!" Inner Sakura was working to remain calm—it was not easy having someone else in control of her body. "I think I can keep you from being distracted." With that, Sasuke helped her out of her shirt, and then reached behind to undo her bra. When it was off, Ino looked down and realized, suddenly, that she was looking at Sakura's breasts. She flushed. Her friend's breasts were bigger than hers, and round, and...perfect. And right there. But there wasn't much time to ponder as Sasuke pushed her onto the bed. He immediately began undressing in front of her. He managed to go from fully clothed to nude in record time, and then stripped her of her pants, leaving them both naked. I am naked with Sasuke Uchiha. It was the kind of thing Ino—and every girl in Konoha—had imagined their entire lives. He was beautiful, she couldn't deny it. Even with her resentment of him, for his treatment of Sakura, for his rejection of Ino herself...she couldn't deny that, by all means, he was a stunning male. His body was long and slender but incredibly well muscled from hours of training. But...Ino wasn't getting turned on. By all means, she should have been wet at just the prospect of this encounter, but her she was, and there he was in all of his naked and erect glory and... She didn't feel turned on. It must be because I am in Sakura's body. Because I am doing this for Sakura. Remembering why they were doing this, Ino reached out Sakura's hand to grip Sasuke's and bring him down to her, planting a kiss on his mouth. He kissed her back, hard, biting her lip. "Ow!" Her lip was bleeding, slightly. "I didn't mean to bite you. I apologize. I am just...caught up in the heat of the moment." Sasuke's brown eyes looked into her own, and Ino got the uncomfortable feeling that he really didn't mean to bite her. That meant that Uchiha Sasuke might actually...be a poor kisser. "Don't worry about it...come here, let's try again." Ino realized though, as the kissing began, that Sasuke never improved. He was like most of the boys she kissed—too insistent, too fast. He fell into an almost rhythm with his kissing, like he would open his mouth on hers hard two times, on then on the third he thrust his tongue into her mouth, like a dart, like he was shooting to taste the back of her throat. The first time it happened it had caught her so off guard she almost sputtered and barely had time to recover before the thrusting tongue came in again. One, two, three, thrust of tongue. One, two, three, thrust. Ino finally managed to catch up with him. "Is this what kissing him is always like?" Ino asked Sakura. "...Pretty much." Inner Sakura sounded despondent. "It isn't...it isn't good, like kissing you was. I kept expecting it to be like that time we practiced, but he never is as...as good as you were." Ino caught her breath. What does she mean? Does she compare everyone's kisses to mine? But she didn't have long to consider Inner Sakura's words, because something abrupt happened. While she had been talking to Inner Sakura, Sasuke had used his knees to spread her legs apart, and then, right on one two three thrust, he...shoved himself into her. It hurt because she hadn't been ready. He hadn't even reached down to see if she was wet. Sasuke plunked his body down on her, his chest crushing hers and making it hard to breath while he fucked her. Fuck was the wrong word...Sasuke was humping, his hips moving awkwardly, his cock slipping in and out of her. He moaned into her ear and although his voice, husky from lust, was incredibly sexy, Ino couldn't get over the complete awfulness of what was happening. "Oh god, Sakura, is this what it is always like?" "No, sometimes he likes to turn me over and do it from behind." Inner Sakura offered. "But he still just lays on me while my face is shoved into the bed." "Why do you let this happen? No wonder you never cum!" "I don't know what to do! Remember, that is what you are in my body for! Show me!" Ino wanted to sigh, but she couldn't without giving anything away to Sasuke. She reached her hands up and grasped his hips and then squeezed her thighs together, ceasing his humping and pulling him out of her. "Uh, Sasuke?" His scowl of frustration took her back. "What? Why did you stop me?" Ino had to bite her tongue from yelling something along the lines of "Because you fuck like a beached whale." Instead she said, a little forced, "Because I'd like to be on top." Sasuke's eyebrows rose and he blushed. His scowl turned to a smile of pleasure. He got off her and lay down on the bed, his cock sticking in the air, waiting. Ino moved up, swung a leg over him and straddled his waist. "See, Sakura, this is more like it. I—I mean you can actually breathe now that his body isn't crushing you." "I like this better!" Inner Sakura was paying close attention. "You know so much, Ino!" Shifting her hips, Ino lowered herself slowly onto Sasuke's cock, causing them both to moan. "See, this is more like it." "What are you talking about, Sakura?" Sasuke propped himself on his elbows, looking up at her. Shit. Ino had meant to voice her comment in her mind, but apparently she had said it out loud. "Er...See? Changing things around could be fun! We could try new stuff out...that we both might like." Sasuke groaned and lay back down. "I never thought you to be an adventurous kind of girl, Sakura...but I like it." Ino breathed a sigh of relief—he didn't figure out that something was different. She then focused on the task at hand—teaching Sakura (and Sasuke, as he seemed to be clueless) about how to get Sakura off. Leaning back, Ino began to rock her hips. She worked to find a spot in Sakura's body that felt good. Sasuke's hands reached up and gripped her hips hard, pushing his pelvis up. She grinded back down, and he let go a little, letting her relax again. She started over, trying to find a rhythm, a spot that would feel good. Sasuke moaned and shifted, enjoying the pressure she was putting on him. But apparently he did not like Ino being in control, because he gripped her hips again, changing the rhythm. Ino gritted her teeth and pushed back down, trying to show him that she was on top and in charge. But he just began moving his pelvis, fucking her even though he was below, pulling her down on him. Ino got pissed, and rocked back, fighting to be in control of the motion, and she was about to tell him that he needed to let her do the moving when— With a gasp, Sasuke's body tightened and he came in her. He rolled over, spilling her off him and onto the bed. Leaning over, he kissed her briefly on the mouth. "Sakura, that was amazing. You were like another person. You are right, we should shift things up every now and then." He moved to get out of bed, looking for his clothes. As he pulled his pants on, he spoke again. "I have to train early, so I think I am going to head home so I can get a good night's sleep." His shirt was on, his sandals. As he swung out the door, she could hear him say, "See you tomorrow!" Releasing her jutsu, Ino crumpled into the closet. Her body was so sore and numb that she had to crawl out. She gazed up at Sakura, sprawled naked on the bed and looking exhausted from having her personality suppressed for so long. Ino was too dumbfounded to think about the awkwardness of the situation. "Oh god, Sakura, you poor thing."
Back to Practice Makes Perfect Index - Back to Naruto Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction