She couldn't remember speaking, or getting up, or following Ino outside, or the walk back to her place. All Sakura knew was that here she was with her friend, and here was her chance to propose her idea to Ino, but the words kept lodging in her throat. Sakura didn't have to try for long, however. Best friends tend to have the ability to read each other's minds, and Ino had the added bonus of super intuition. "You want my help again, Sakura?" The pink-haired girl lowered her eyes. Of course Ino could figure it out, Sakura wasn't good at hiding her emotions. "Hai." Sakura waited, but when Ino didn't reply she knew her friend was waiting for an explanation. This was it. She took a deep breath and worked hard to gather the little courage she had to confess. "I...I can be with Sasuke now, but...when I am...I can only think of the times with you. When I cum...I'm remembering those times. I know we were just supposed to be practicing...Hell, we shouldn't have even been practicing like that, but it was so...so good. It was incredible, Ino, to have that experience with you, and I don't think that anything Sasuke and I do together will ever compare to that." The two girls looked at each other. Their faces were like mirrors, but if one was to compare their hearts, they would see Sakura's racing with the fear of her confession whil Ino's was tempered and calm. When Ino still hadn't spoken, Sakura began to panic. This was a bad idea. What was I thinking, saying such things? What is Ino going to think of me know? Oh God... Just when Sakura couldn't take the silence any longer, Ino spoke. "I feel the same way, Sakura." Ino had spent her time with Chouji in similar turmoil. The blond couldn't stop herself from thinking about, playing and replaying those times she spent in Sakura's body over and over. She had remembered every detail of Sakura's body—the breasts, the curve of her friend's hip...how her own hands would look holding that hip, caressing a thigh. Ino had, through painful deduction, arrived at the truth before Sakura had ever appeared at her apartment. Chouji's presence was a painful reminder of that truth. Ino knew that she was in love. She was in love with her best friend. The best friend sitting in front of her, saying what Ino had only fantasized her saying. The happiness, the pure exhilaration Ino felt at hearing Sakura admit to sharing the same desires as her was pushing inside of Ino, trying to burst out of control. But the blond ninja had plenty of practice with controlling large emotions and she forced herself to sit still and wait for Sakura. The pink haired girl looked terrified and although Ino knew they would work on the details now that the truth was on the table, she did not want to move to fast for her obviously reluctant friend. "I can't believe you feel the same way, Ino. You don't know how hard it had been for me to come to you and tell you this—" "I know!" "---I kept imagining you would hate me, or thing I was crazy to think such things—" "Sakura, I know!" Ino could feel her heart beginning to race. "—And I just feel so relieved that you share my thoughts and feelings—" "Oh god, Sakura, me too—" "Sasuke and Chouji will never have to find out—" "I kno—wait, what?" Ino stopped for a second, staring at Sakura in complete confusion. "Um, Sakura, are we talking about what I think we are talking about?" Sakura was so excited that she hadn't caught the complete confusion on her friend's face. "Well, of course it will take some working out, Ino. Chouji would be curious if you were at my house all the time and Sasuke would be sure to find out if you were always in my closet, but I think that maybe once a week or every two weeks shouldn't be too suspicious—" "Wait, once a week or every two weeks? Are suggesting that we—" "Keep up with our 'practice?' Of course. You even said you felt the same way. This way we can both get the sex we want without hurting our boyfriends. What did you think I was suggesting?" But Ino couldn't talk, she could only feel her heart falling to the floor. Stunned, she began to reply the entire conversation in her head. It was true, Sakura had never specifically said she wanted to be with Ino, just Ino... Ino had only heard what she had wanted to hear because of her own feelings. A flush from her embarrassment began to rise along with the taste of bile in her mouth. For a second, Ino thought she was going to be sick. "Ino...Are you ok?" But the blond's face had lost all color and Sakura had the sneaking suspicion her friend was going into shock. The medic in her immediately gathered chakra in her hands and she lay her fingertips onto Ino's temples, sending waves of comfort. "I'm sorry, Ino...I shouldn't have thought...I never should have asked..." Color was slowly making it's way back into Ino's pale cheeks. Her blue eyes fixed onto Sakura. She was caught up in the past, her mind reeling from the emotional impact of what Sakura was asking. Sakura didn't want her...at least not the way Ino wanted her pink haired friend. Sakura just wanted satisfaction. In Ino's mind, she saw the two of them sitting in the grass during a kunoichi training assignment. Sakura was almost crying because some girls had yet again made fun of her forehead. Oh, but Ino had shown those girls! Sakura's eyes, those luminous green eyes...they had looked at Ino with such adoration...such love. Ino looked into her friend's eyes now. They were still the big, green eyes she remembered, but instead of love or adoration there was only need. It hurt Ino, in those quick moments, more than she had realized. She had already prepared herself—after all, it would have been completely unrealistic for her to believe Sakura would have ever returned her feelings. But god, the hope, the faintest hint of hope just moments before that it might have been mutual, it had been enough to open the floodgate in Ino's mind and heart and now everything threatened to break loose. Again, she saw them in the grass, so long ago. Ino had been holding a flower, a cosmos. It was beautiful, and Ino had cheerfully made the comparison between herself and that white flower. Sakura had looked on in awe, and then turned away in sadness. "If you are a beautiful cosmos...then what am I?" "You are a bud." Sakura had been a bud, a tiny bud for the longest time while everyone else had bloomed and flourished. Ino finally began to refocus, seeing her friend's...no. Her love's eyes filled with concern. Well Sakura, you finally bloomed in the most beautiful of all flowers, and now everyone sees it. Including me, the first to ever believe in you. And I can't even touch you, not really. It was the only way, and Ino knew it. The only way she could ever remain close to her friend. And it was going to tear her apart, bit by bit... But the most beautiful flower of all was worth it. "Ok, Sakura, I'll do it." - - - - - - - - - - - The weeks passed quickly for Sakura. It was true that practice made perfect. She and Ino had their technique down. And the sex...well, Sakura had never felt so alive in her own skin. Sasuke seemed to truly enjoy the improvements. He believed her more, it seemed, when she said she pleased him—after all, he was now "pleasing" her two or three times a week. Yes, though the initial plan had only been once every on or two weeks, Sakura found herself craving Ino's cohabitation more and more. Sakura merely had to keep asking and Ino would eventually give in, coming up with tons of excuses for an ever-understanding Chouji. It was the best of every world, and Sakura's life was almost perfect. Almost. Two things were bothering her. They were small and she was not quite sure how to fix them. Tsunade had once taught her that intimate relations were a natural booster to ninja chakra. It made sense, because not only was it a physical exercise, but often a mental one as well. Plus, with all of the pleasure endorphins being released, the body's chakra system replenished itself at almost triple the normal speed. Knowing this, Sakura was hard-pressed to figure out why, if she was having contant amazing sex, her chakra seemed to be depleting and her concentration...well, all of the focus and control she was famous for seemed to have vanished overnight. That wasn't the only thing nagging at Sakura. She saw Ino, and although her friend seemed happy enough, always laughing and joking with her, Ino seemed...not all there. For a girl as quick and bright as Ino, and with such mental capacities, most people would not have noticed the subtle changes. But Sakura saw them, and it worried her. Ino's eyes didn't focus, didn't seem as sharp as they used to. And she was getting hints of dark circles, as if she never slept. Ino had lost a little weight, and the girl did not have much to lose in the first place. Sakura spent all her time thinking about her friend, trying to make sure things were ok, trying to keep Ino happy and her spirits up. She found she really liked caring for Ino. She just hated thinking that she was the one causing Ino harm. No, Sakura, Ino wouldn't let you push her around! After all, this is the girl who used to fight you with everything she had! If Ino had something wrong, she would tell you. These were the things Sakura kept telling herself. But as each week went by, she couldn't help but wonder if her friend was in some way suffering. And Sakura's own work was definitely suffering. If she didn't get a handle on the situation soon, Tsunade would be sure to notice. - - - - - - Morning light was just beginning to stream in through the window when Ino shivered awake. It was warm in the room but her body was covered by a thin sheen of sweat. It was the fourth or fifth time that night she had woken up. Her dreams...they were becoming more real. Real enough that often, for hours after she had been awake, she couldn't remember what had been real and what had just been in her mind. Images flashed through her mind at a rapid pace and to fight in impending sense of panic, Ino concentrated on sorting out fact from fiction. And image of she and Chouji in the local market appeared. Real. But then Chouji changed to Sakura, and Sakura's arm was around Ino's waist. Dream. A kiss, full and soft, slow, tongue...Ino did not need to even imagine the pink hair. Definitely dream. Practicing with Shikamaru and Chouji. Real. Shika had Chouji trapped in his shadow. Ino was working on getting inside of her lover's mind before Chouji could jutsu himself large enough that Shika couldn't have full control over him. Real, real, real. A tongue, licking the underside of her breast...she shuddered. Torture. And Dream. Chouji must have sensed her unease because he rolled over and threw a protective arm over her. He was trying to help her, soothe her the way he always had. And months ago, Ino would have snuggled in closer and fallen back asleep. Now she wanted to scream at him. DON'T TOUCH ME! She wanted to bite him, punch him, hurt him, anything to get him to not touch her. The contact was making her skin crawl. But she willed herself not to move, to slow her breathing and to pretend as best she could to seem asleep. What is happening to me? Everything was out of control. Her thoughts, her body, even her behavior. She was snapping at Chouji and Shikamaru more and more. It shamed her. They were her friends, the ones who, aside from Sakura, knew her the best. One was a former lover and the other her current, and they were doing everything they could to keep their team united and strong and Ino, well, she was certainly making their jobs much more difficult. Sakura. In her mind, her friend's name repeated, each time growing simultaneously loving and spiteful. After all, it was Sakura she loved, more and more each time they connected. When she was inside of her, she now had time to sift through some of Sakura's memories. She found, surprisingly, that she was in the girl's memories a lot. Even when they had not been together in the physical sense, Ino discovered that Sakura had long used her as an influence and a challenge. A couple of times Ino, already knowing the outcome, had attempted to re-arrange Sakura's thoughts. But it had no effect. She could remember her father explaining their family justsu to her. They could suppress another's spirit for a long enough time to control their bodies. If they wanted, they could communicate with the person whose bodies they were in telepathically while inside. If they had practiced, they could study the maps of people's memories and see what they had seen, felt what they had felt, etc. But they could not change or influence a person's current thoughts or emotions. That was entirely spirit, and Ino and her family could never take over a person's spirit, only their body. Still, Ino tried sometimes, each time disappointed when Sakura would continue to pine away for Sasuke. God, what have I gotten myself into? Her father had mentioned something else, of course. The family jutsu could be practiced for speed and accuracy, as well as for building endurance and the ability to suppress the spirit for longer periods of time. But it consumed not only a great deal of chakra. If done too much, the mind could slowly begin to lose control. Thoughts, reactions, emotions...they ran the risk of taking over. Ino knew she was close to the edge. Somewhere, she realized that she had allowed herself the hope that if she continued the "practice" with Sakura would...well, a variety of things She had hoped Sakura might sense Ino's desire. Or even fall in love with Ino in return. But if anything the regular sessions were only helping Sakura to become more and more infatuated with Sasuke. Sometimes it even seemed as if Sakura forgot it was Ino, not Sasuke making her body feel the way it did. Chouji tried to pull Ino in closer, but she shook off his arm and got up, moving to take a shower. His touch made her want to vomit. And that physical sickness, that instinct, tore her heart apart. I'm losing it. - - - - - - Lounging under the sun and watching the clouds, the two friends sat in silence. Well, almost silence. The crunch of Chouji's third bag of potato chips was beginning to worry Shikamaru. Chouji had eaten the first bag slowly, but his friend had gained momentum and was now shoving chips into his mouth at an alarming speed. Shika had not seen Chouji eat like this...well, since right before Ino and Chouji had begun to date. After that Chouji had sworn off chips in order to retain the slimmer physique he had finally achieved. "Chouji, slow down! You aren't even chewing anymore. You are going to choke, and I'm not medic." Chouji looked down at his hand filled with chips as if he was seeing it for the first time. His eyes grew wide and he threw the chips in disgust, frantically wiping the residue from his fingers. After, he flopped back, holding his stomach in a way that worried Shikamaru. "Chouji, are you doing ok? You've been weird all afternoon." Groaning Chouji rolled back toward Shika. "Yeah, I'm ok." He hefted himself up, but he was so full it took a great deal of effort. God, how had he ever gotten around when he had been fat before? "No, wait. I'm not ok." Shika knew he didn't need to say anything. He cocked an eyebrow at his friend to let him know that he was listening, and waited. "It's Ino. She has changed in the past few weeks." "I've noticed that, too, Chouji." "She is so irritable! I keep trying to be sweet to her, giving her distance, but she is pushing me away. No, not just pushing me away. It feels like she hates me, like she doesn't want to be near me. I can't stand it, Shika! I don't know what to do!" "Maybe she just needs a little space." "Space? I give her more space than I'd like. Hell, she spends three or four nights at Sakura's house all the time! I barely even sleep next to her, my own girlfriend!" "Three or four nights a week? That is quite a bit." Especially when Sasuke stays at Sakura's apartment almost every night. But Shikamaru didn't voice his thought. Chouji was too worked up enough to even begin to worry about Sasuke. "Chouji, if it is ok, let me check in on Ino. Maybe it is some troublesome girl thing." Chouji dropped his head in his hands, curling in tight. Concerned, Shikamaru put his hand on his friend's back and patted it reassuringly. "Don't worry, Chouj. I'll find out what it is." "I'm not doing this cause I'm worried..." "No?" In a second, Chouji was up and sprinting to the nearest bush. Shika managed to hear "I was doing it because I'm going to be siiii---" Chouji began to vomit up all of the chips he had been eating. - - - - - - - There wasn't any time! Ino had arrived only minutes before Sasuke was supposed to arrive. Sakura swept her friend up into the closet without so much as hugging Ino hello. "Sakura, what the hell?" "He will be here any minute, Ino!" "You said to come at this time! What the fuck?" "I know, I know. But he changed our plans, and I need you in the closet, NOW." Ino felt wroth with Sakura. Not only was this rude, but Sakura was dehumanizing her. Ino knew what she was then, merely a tool for Sakura. Her friend wasn't even talking to her! She wasn't the one who had to keep lying to a good man, a good boyfriend at home, or who had to spend hours on her knees in a closet or...Ino's rage began to take control of her and she walked back out of the closet. "INO! WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING? HE IS GOING TO CATCH YOU?" "Catch me doing what, Sakura? Sasuke will see your best friend, visiting you in you apartment. And he will see your best friend leaving so that you two may have all the alone time together you want. All you seem to be able to see is your only tool to get off walking out the door." Ino stalked downstairs with Sakura on her heels. "Wait, Ino, don't go. Stay! Talk to me. I don't understand what is wrong!" Ino wheeled around to come face to face with Sakura. "This is wrong. What we have been doing is wrong, Sakura. It is lying, and cheating, and you...you don't even care about me anymore! You only care about Sasuke and your next fuck. I'm through with it. Since you have forgotten, I am going to remind you: I am going home to a loving and amazing boyfriend whom I have lied to and treated poorly for to long all so you can fucking cum." "No! It isn't like that, Ino! Just come back upstairs! Please. This...this will be the last time, I promise." "No. Eat it, Sakura. I'm through." "Am I interrupting something?" A cool voice came from behind Ino. Ino saw Sakura turn a bright red, saw her friend's eyes flash with fear. No, not just fear. Full and complete terror. Ino turned around and faced a calm Uchiha Sasuke. "Hello, Sasuke!" "Hello, Ino. Am I interrupting? What is going to be the last time, Sakura?" When Ino realized Sakura was standing mute behind her, her mind raced. Even in her rage, she was working to protect her flower. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. You seem to have caught the end of a girl tiff. See, I loaned Sakura a very special blouse of mine and she ruined in while washing her clothes. She was asking to borrow another dress so that she could impress you, but I am angry about it. Since you are here, I will continue on my way. Sakura, when you use things of mine, please learn to respect them and not treat them so carelessy." Ino added a bit of venom to her final word, fully making her point to Sakura, who whimpered quietly. Sasuke's eyebrow was raised and Ino was not fully sure he bought her lie, but she was not about to hang out long enough to find out. Nodding at the Uchiha, she walked out of Sakura's apartment. Let her deal with him. Without me.
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