When it was time for team practice and Tsunade showed up instead of Chouji and Ino, Shikamaru feared for the worst. After having the situation explained for him, he realized that it was the worst. Their team was over for good. According to Tsunade, Chouji had come into her office and requested to transfer to another village. When she explained that such a thing was impossible, he demanded another A-rank mission. She gave him an ambassador position instead that could feasibly last five years. He never said goodbye to anyone—he was gone. One of the conditions he gave to Tsunade was that he was never to be placed in a team with Ino again. The Hokage could not agree to that, because one never knew the situations that may arise, but she did promise to place the three of them on separate teams. For one of the few times in his life, Shikamaru wept. He sat there, in front of the Hokage and cried hard. She left him with his tears and his thoughts knowing there was nothing she could say or do that could make it better. He would have stayed there forever, it felt, had Ino not come and sat by him. She didn't speak for once, but just let him cry. It took a while, but finally Shikamaru ran out of tears. It was dusk, by then, and only the noises of the forest accompanied the two ex-teammates. "I don't want to know, Ino, what happened between you and Chouji." "Ok." "Ok." "What do you want to know?" She whispered, as if afraid of what he was going to ask. Shikamaru thought. There were, of course, a hundred things he had thought about that he wanted to know. But trying to vocalize anything at this point...God, he was so tired. And he had just been an innocent bystander. "I don't know, Ino...how do you feel?" "Tired. Beaten." "Yeah." "No, I literally feel beaten. Tsunade let one fly at me in her rage." Shikamaru looked at her. She had a swollen jaw. "She hit you!?" "When you fuck up some of her best ninjas with emotional drama, Tsunade does not take it lightly. Chouji left." "I know." "So did Sasuke. I just found out this morning when I requested to leave. She was furious and ranted about all of her ninjas wanting to leave and how Sakura and I were irresponsible and that this was completely our fault, which of course, it is." "Oh, Ino, why were you going to leave?" "Because this is my fault. I've hurt too many people. I can't stand it here anymore; I feel like I taint everyone I touch now. I've lost Sakura, Chouji...maybe even you." She said it softly, and then moved to get up, but Shikamaru wouldn't let her. He reached out quick and pulled her in close, wrapping her in an embrace that held so much feeling, so many unspoken words that it caught Ino off guard. "You stupid girl, you could never lose me. You've dumped me, set me up in many dangerous situations...even broken one of my best friend's hearts. But you are also my friend, and right now I am worried about your broken heart." "Time will help me get over Chouji." He let go of her harshly, a scowl on his face. "Damnit, Ino. I am the one who is supposed to be closed off. Talk to me! You asked me what I want to know? I want to know about your feelings for Sakura! I want to know about that broken heart! I want to know what you plan to do about it!" Her big blue eyes, filled with tears, stared into his—they looked wild, like a trapped animal. It scared him to see so much...so much longing in one tiny girl. Her face scrunched up, as if she was trying to keep all of her insides form exploding out. In a sense she was, but she failed, the levee broke and out exploded her heart. "I don't know, Shikamaru! I don't know how I am supposed to get over losing someone I never even had. I don't know what I am supposed to do with this need to see her, to tell her how I feel, but too scared of her answer. Hell, she is so angry at me right now that I would be surprised if I ever got the chance to speak with her again. My heart...it feels like it is drawing in, growing smaller with the pain. It squeezes so tight, Shika, so tight and—and I feel like I can't breath! And I start thinking that maybe I don't deserve to breathe any more. How can I make any plans when I feel like I am stealing every new breath I take, every minute that I am alive?" Both of them were a bit dumbfounded and silence wrapped around them, a blanket of comfort in the wake of Ino's confession. "Shika...I'm sorry. I know I should talk about this. To you. To her, even. But for all of my intuition, I can't feel out this situation. I can't tell how to make it better." Ino, who had always been a leader, needed someone to tell her what to do. - - - - - - "DAMN! IT! DAMN! IT! GOD! DAMN! IT!" With each syllable, Tsunade punched another hole in her wall. It wasn't until Sakura felt the building tremble a little that she got worried. "Er...Tsunade-sama? You...You are about to bring the whole building down on us." One fist flew through the wall. Her other fist was poised and ready to fly, but the Hokage paused and finally took a deep breath. "Sakura, if you kill someone because of this...this thing going on between you and Ino--" "It is between Sasuke and I—" The glare Tsunade shot her let Sakura know she needed to shut her mouth, and quick. "Like I said, between you and Ino... I will personally kick your ass out of Konoha. Both of your asses if I need to." An image of Tsunade literally picking Sakura up, kicking her in the behind and sending her sailing over Konoha's walls passed through Sakura's mind. It would have been funny if she didn't think that was exactly what Tsunade had meant. That woman seemed capable of anything. "I'm not going to kill anyone." "I have no choice." "Uh, no choice about what?" Tsunade took another deep breath. She knew this was big, but she really did not have a choice. "Sakura, you are fired." A moment passed with Sakura's face screwed up in thought. "I'm sorry, Tsunade. I misheard you." "No you didn't, you are fired. It isn't just now, Sakura. It has been going on since you started dating Sasuke. Your work has not just gone down hill—it has become dangerous. You have no chakra control anymore, your thoughts are everywhere but here...you are a liability in the state you are in." Red crept up from under the pink-haired girl's collar. Fired!? She had never been fired. She had always been the best student, and now she was hearing that all of the things she had been the best at were making her a "liability." "I...am in no particular state, Tsunade. I am present and ready to work." "Don't make this embarrassing for yourself, Sakura. I will not repeat myself. Until you can prove yourself a reliable med-nin, I don't want you here." Tsunade did not wait for an answer. She pointed at the door and Sakura left without argument. Sakura was filled with rage. Ino had caused this, of course. She had lost the love of her life, Sasuke. Now she had lost the other love of her life—her job. Feeling the anger continue to mount, Sakura began running to her ex friend's house. Tsunade wanted her to figure it out? Fine. It was several minuets before Sakura reached Ino's front door, but the run and extra time had not helped her to calm down. Instead, a mantra had started in her head, her feet pounding the beat on the road—I-no's-fault. Its-all-I-no's-fault. Sa-su-ke.I-no's-fault. Her fist banged on the door. No one answered. She banged again. "INO! CHOUJI! OPEN UP!" Then she remembered that Tsunade had told her earlier about Chouji's extended mission. While Sakura felt bad for the boy, she was glad that Ino was suffering the loss of her love, too. After all, this was Ino's fault. She knocked some more but there was still no answer. Goddamnit, Ino. Where are you!? Sakura began running all over town, checking out restaurants, ramen shops, weapon shops, even Ino's parents' flower shop. But the blond girl was nowhere to be found. It wasn't until Sakura was trudging to her own apartment in defeat that fate guided a sign her way. Well, not so much a sign as a direct signal. Shikamaru passed Sakura on the way home. He was so deep in thought that he never even noticed her until she grabbed his shoulder. There was an awkward moment between the two of them. Sakura looked at Shika, who was trying not to look her in the eye. He knew something, and she knew that because he had always been so bad at bluffing. "Shika." "Sakura. I was just counting pebbles on my way home." "Home from where?" "Uh...a little practicing and a lot of looking at the clouds." "With Ino?" Again, he kept avoiding her eyes. "Uh, no. By myself." "Bullshit. Where is Ino now?" Shika looked at her closely. Sakura couldn't help feeling more suspicious as she saw him searching her face. "What do you want Ino for? I thought you were never going to speak to her again." This confirmed that Shikamaru was most definitely hiding something from her. Sakura knew she would have to be careful with what she said if she was going to get any information about of him. "I wasn't going to speak to her again, until I realized that she and I have a lot of...things...we need to discuss." Again, his eyes were searching her face. "What kind of 'things', Sakura?" "Shika, that is between Ino and me. I know that you were accidentally hurt by all of this-- but the things that need to be said don't involve any...third parties. It is about the future of our relationship." Now, Sakura had meant the future ending of their relationship but when she saw Shikamaru's face light up, she became confused. His amount of enthusiasm over two spatting girls seemed over-the-top. What was he keeping from her!? "She went home, Sakura." Turning, Sakura murmured a "thank you," but Shika held her back for a moment. "Don't hurt her, Sakura." His statement made her angry, but she held a smile on her face. Don't hurt her? She is the one who did more than hurt me—she destroyed everything good in my life. I am going to do the same to her, Shikamaru. But instead of voicing her thoughts, Sakura winked at the boy and nodded as if to say, "Ok!" And with that, she was off again. - - - - - An insistent firm knocking was coming from the door, but Ino refused to move from her position on the couch. It had been an exhausting day and she couldn't deal with anyone else. It was probably Shikamaru or someone else bringing her dinner, but the truth was she hadn't eaten in two days and the thought of a meal made her nauseous. She didn't deserve food. If she just didn't answer the door, then the person would give up and leave her in silence. But the knocks kept coming. And coming. God, go away! I can't see anyone. Just leave me alone! Still the knocks kept coming. And then, finally, Ino heard what she thought were the scrapings of someone leaving. Until she heard the key in the slot. The bolt clicking back. The knob turning slowly. "Hello?" "You should answer the door when someone is knocking, Ino. It is rude to leave them outside." Ino's blood turned to ice. Sakura was shutting the door behind her, locking the bolt back. Whereas before Ino's intuition had failed to direct her, at that moment all of her alarms were going off in clear warning. This was not going to be good. That was the last thought Ino was allowed to have. In the next moments, Sakura had stormed over to the couch, lifted the blond girl off the couch, and punched her in the gut, sending Ino through the living room. She hit the kitchen floor and slid. Sakura stormed over, bent over and began wailing. Her fists pounded SLAM SLAM SLAM until her knuckles were bloody and when she felt the blood trickling down her arm she stopped. She couldn't keep going. Where had all her anger gone? "Fuck, Ino." Ino had been laying on the floor watching Sakura unleash her fury. On either side of her head, fractions of an inch from her skull, were holes in her floor covered in blood from where Sakura's knuckles had split on the wood. Sakura had missed her on purpose, but seeing the blond just watching calmly as fists pounded around her had unnerved Sakura. She suddenly couldn't remember why she was even there. She knew it was because Ino was at fault. Sasuke had left her because of Ino. Except now, looking down at those huge blue eyes, Sakura realized something huge, so huge it terrified her. She wasn't...she wasn't sad that Sasuke was gone. She wasn't scared of being without him. She was...ok. Without him. Something wet hit Ino's cheek and she realized Sakura was crying. Slowly, cautiously, she reached a hand up to wipe away the tears from her friend's cheek. But Sakura turned away. "No. Don't." Ino pulled her hand down and waited. Sakura stayed where she was, hovering over the girl. Her pink hair was falling down, hiding her face, and she just leaned, slumping with both of her hands on either side of Ino's head. "Fuck." Ino remained silent. "Fuck. Fuck." Still Ino said nothing. "Why didn't you fight back? I...I could have hurt you. Fuck. I could have hurt you!!" Ino smiled faintly. "With your strength, Sakura, you could kill someone." The joke between them was said to put Sakura at ease, but instead Sakura just shook her head and punched half-heartedly once more into the floor. "Ino...this is all your fault, and you won't even fight back." "Whose fault this is...that is debatable. But no, I won't fight you, Sakura." "I need you to. I need you to fight me back." Ino looked, probing her friend's face for clues to what Sakura was feeling. She reached out, her mind and intuition feeling the mood, the emotions her friend was putting out. "Why do you need me to fight back, Sakura?" "To make it easier." Ino understood. It was easier when someone gave a reason. If she fought back, it would be easier for Sakura to hate her, to take out her hate on Ino. But she wasn't going to make it that easy for Sakura. Not after all they had been through. "Fuck, Ino..." "Yeah. Fuck." During all of this, Sakura still hadn't moved. She was close to Ino. Her body leaned onto her arms, slumping in emotional defeat. Her hair hung down so far the tips grazed Ino's nose. Ino was sure that Sakura was not aware of how close their bodies were. But Ino was aware. She was aware of the tips of hair that tickled her face. She was aware of the strong arms beside her hair. She was aware of Sakura's breasts, large (she took after her mentor so much...), heaving with the silent sobs that racked the pink girl's body. The heat...the tension. Yes, Ino was aware of how close they were. She couldn't help herself...she reached up again. "No! Don't. I can't forgive you." But Ino persisted, her hand gently gliding across Sakura's face, her thumb sweeping away the tears. She let her fingers dance lightly on the other girl's skin, tracing a line along Sakura's jawbone. When her fingertips moved down to Sakura's neck, the pink haired girl jerked back in surprise. "What are you doing?" Ino didn't care anymore, though. She grabbed one of Sakura's hands and tenderly began to kiss the swollen and bleeding knuckles. Sakura stared for a second before snatching her hand away. She clutched it to her chest as if she was protecting it from an animal. "Ino, what the hell are you doing!?" Ino sat up, forcing Sakura back on her legs, kneeling on Ino's lap. Ino moved her hand behind Sakura's head and grasped it firmly. "I'm explaining myself." With that she forced Sakura's head forward and caught her friend's lips. She kissed her hard, her lips crushing the soft ones pressed to them. Sakura moaned and tried to pull back, but Ino's other hand shot around, pulling her closer in. She wrapped her fingers into the soft pink hair, her mouth was hungry, desiring. She kissed and she kissed and Sakura moaned and softened, her futile attempts at resistance fading. As Ino kissed her, Sakura felt a flare. She thought she was angry—who the hell did Ino think she was? What was she doing!? But when Ino wouldn't let her go, when that mouth kept kissing her, kept...owning her, she realized the flare felt warm. It started in her stomach, and her heart was racing, and suddenly she felt so hot, like the room had become a sauna...she moaned into Ino's mouth. Sasuke had never felt like this. Hell, practice hadn't felt quite like this. This was hot. This was...real. Sakura whimpered a bit when Ino finally ended the kiss. Blue eyes looked at her imploringly, and Sakura knew what they were finding. Desire. It lit up her whole body. "Ino, I didn't know." Ino shrugged. "Neither did I, not until we were already too far into it." "Why didn't you tell me?" Ino thought hard. She worked hard to keep her voice steady. "I...thought you were in love with Sasuke. I wanted you to be happy. You want the person you love to happy, you know? No matter the cost." "So all that time you...when you were in me...inside my body..." "Yes." The realization was sinking into Sakura. It was as if a light had gone off, and suddenly her whole world had changed. She still felt lingering anger, but she realized it wasn't at Ino. It was at Sasuke, for treating her the way he did. More than that, it was at herself, for letting him treat her that way when something so good had been right in front of her. "but...where do we go from here?" Ino smiled. "We've practiced before, Sakura.It may not be perfect, and some things might be new, but the ideas are the same." She winked... and kissed her friend again.
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