BOUND
Chapter 9
The sky is clear, the trees are green, the flowers are blooming and the children are playing and singing. The melody, the rhythm, they call upon me and my head starts bobbing. I felt my body dance along with the music, my heart racing and pumping then voices are calling… “Ino…”
“Ino?” Blue eyes began to take in colors as Ino was pulled from her world, “Are you alright Ino?” then the blonde woman heard another voice, almost rattled, “Should I call a doctor? I’ll call Hokage-sama!”
“I’m a doctor Mrs. Yamanaka!” Sakura replied a little loud for Ino’s taste, it was evident that the voice used was laced with worry and apology, “Come on Ino…don’t scare me like this! Ino!” Sakura called out louder and she started shaking the blonde woman’s cold face.
Ino’s eyes then blinked and tracked the pink haired woman’s face, “Sakura…” she said weakly,
“Oh God Ino, you scared the hell out of me!” the smaller woman said, but she dare not hug the still stunned woman.
“I…I had a bad dream…bad dream…”
Mrs. Yamanaka who was watching frowned, “Bad dream? You were asleep? But you’re eyes were open!” she said in bewilderment.
Ino looked at her mother, “I had a bad dream…”
Sakura winced and then pursed her lips before speaking, “Does your dream have anything to do with me telling you that I’m the father of your baby?”
Ino looked at Sakura surprised, “Yes…how did you know?”
Sakura looked at Mrs. Yamanaka who rolled her eyes.
“Well the fact that Sakura did tell you that she is baby Ino’s daddy?” The older blonde Yamanaka said
Ino eyed Sakura and the pink haired woman knew that the event earlier will repeat again, “Don’t faint!” Sakura said extending her arms to Ino to prevent the taller and stunned woman from a probable fall.
“I’m not going to faint!” Ino shouted then she stood up and points an accusing finger at Sakura, “Lying is so beneath you Sakura! I didn’t know that you’d resort to saying such horrible thing just to get me to believe how sorry you were!”
“But I’m not lying!”
“Shut up!!!”
“INO PLEASE!”
“NOOOO!” Ino shouted one final time before she turned and ran away from the pink haired woman and into the inside of the shop…which is Mrs. Yamanaka’s house of course.
Sakura slumped her shoulders, “I’m not lying.” She said defeated
Mrs. Yamanaka has no choice but to sigh and face Ino, “You’re not lying?” she watched Sakura nod her head, “Okay…I’ll believe you.” She said smiling.
Sakura looked at the older woman surprise in her face, “You believe me?”
“Well I have to. I’ve known you since you were little and I know that you won’t hurt anyone like that. And I have to believe you because if you were lying then that would hurt my daughter a lot and I can’t get myself to hate you Sakura.”
The smaller woman nodded her head, then she took the file she asked Chiyo to print for her, “I wish Ino let me state my case, I have proof!” she said pouting.
Mrs. Yamanaka smiled at Sakura then she stepped closer to the young woman and put an arm over the smaller woman’s shoulder. The one not resting on Sakura’s shoulder took the file, “You know that I like doing this hybridization thing with my plants right?” Sakura nodded, “And you now know that I believe you right?” Sakura nodded again, “And if there’s anyone who knows Ino from in and out, it would be me.” The younger woman did not respond, “And just like what I do with my plants, Ino just had a slow time getting use to it…but she accepted it.”
“What are you trying to say?” Sakura said sadly.
“You fathering her child…that’s a bit hard to admit and she needs time to get use to it. She believed that you have been arch foes for Sasuke for what? 8, 9 years?” Sakura looked at the smiling mother in front of her.
“But that was before…I mean yeah we fought over Sasuke and tell the world that we are foes, but we stopped fighting when Sasuke left…and…and…I thought we got our friendship back,”
“Well…” Mrs. Yamanaka patted Sakura’s shoulder where her arm was resting, “Sometimes, a person overlooks something that is in front of them, instead they try to look somewhere and see what their eyes wanted to see. And then they lose sight of what’s important and before they know it, that something stops from existing…but in reality, it was just hidden underneath the person’s eyes, never seeing that it has grown.”
Sakura’s jaw slackened,
“Ino never stopped being your friend, despite your declaration during your chuunin exam. Listen to what I’ve said Sakura, think about it and think about everything that happened to you and Ino in the past years, and then talk to her.” Mrs. Yamanaka grinned, “You might be surprise with what you’ll find out.”
Sakura was still thinking but she nodded her head.
“So this file…are you giving this to me?” the older woman asked
Sakura nodded once again.
“You’re mouth dropped on the floor Sakura, pick it up and be on your way. Let Ino’s temper subside and while she does that, do what I said and then everything will be alright!” she said cheerfully before putting down her arm and opening the folder, “Oh my…”
“Yes…Mrs. Yamanaka…”
“Oh and consider calling me Okaasan or mother or mom…you’re my grandbaby’s father anyway!” Mrs. Yamanaka said to the retreating form of Sakura.
XXX
Sometimes, a person overlooks something that is in front of them, instead they try to look somewhere and see what their eyes wanted to see. And then they lose sight of what’s important and before they know it, that something stops from existing…but in reality, it was just hidden underneath the person’s eyes, never seeing that it has grown
Sakura was pacing to and from inside her apartment.
“So what does Mrs…ah…okaa…ahh…”Sakura shook her head, “It’s going to be weird to call Ino’s mom okaasan or mother or mom,” then she smiled, “Well she had been like my mom since my parents died anyway,” then the frown returned on her face, “…so what does she mean?” Sakura repeated the verse inside her head, “So what? I was so taken by Sasuke’s good look, mysterious aura and tremendous skill that I stop looking at Ino?” she smiled, “Yeah that must be it…” then she frowned again, “So what stop from existing?” she furrowed her forehead to think, “I lose sight of Ino…then…then…”her eyes widened, “Our friendship! I did not lose sight of Ino but I lose sight of our friendship…then it stop existing…it stop existing when I declared her my rival!!!”
The pink haired med nin was glad to have solved that part, but there’s more, “Okay…next sentence…”she made a thinking pose, “I lose sight of our friendship…then the friendship stop existing…and then?” she scrunched her forehead once again, “Not lost but hidde…our friendship…” I don’t get that, I knew I lost Ino’s friendship that day…
“Ino never stopped being your friend, despite your declaration during your chuunin exam,”
Oh my…so I thought I lose the friendship but Ino believed that we were still friends despite… “Oh my, so it was just me! I was so blinded by Sasuke I stop looking for that friendship in her!”
Then Sakura recall what Lee said about Ino declining Kiba’s offer of helping her out by being the baby’s father…and another recollection of Ino saying that Kiba was her boyfriend, sort of…
Sakura stopped pacing, “Ino and Kiba were never together! It was all a fake!” she said smiling.
“…never seeing that it has grown…”
Sakura gasped, “Oh Ino…” and before she let her inner Sakura make a retort, Sakura ran out of her apartment and to Ino’s.
XXX
Ino was drinking a cup of hot chocolate topped with chocolate bits and peanut butter flavored marshmallows. She was in front of her wide screen TV and was watching the latest in fashion when she heard a knock on her door. She looked at her watch and frowned to see it was midnight… at this hour? There’s no one who’ll come here but Sakura! Her frown deepened, go rot out there Sakura! She thought but never voiced it out. The knocking continued for five more minutes before it stopped.
“Finally,” she muttered and returned her attention to the TV.
“I know you’re in there Ino…I can hear the TV from here.”Sakura said in her most pathetic, ‘I’m a good girl’ voice, “I won’t force you to open the door but I’m not going to stop from explaining and saying sorry!” She said and a few seconds lull before she starts again, “I know…I know that…that I’ve taken you for granted for so long and it took Sasuke’s disappearance for me to realize that, and I’m sorry for it…” Sakura said, her voice never softening but there was quiver in it as if the med nin was trying to stop herself from crying, “I was blinded and again I’m sorry for that.” Another lull moment, “I was stuck up and made you my enemy when it doesn’t have to be that way, and again I’m sorry for that,”
Ino turned the volume down and looked at the closed door as she listens to Sakura’s words.
“I tried to push you away when all I really want was to be your friend again, I’m sorry about that too.” Sakura’s voice softened,
XXX
The pink haired kunoichi sighed knowing that Ino hate her now and that there’s no way for her to make her mistake right, “I’m sorry for getting you into trouble…for not being there when you need me…” she was talking softly now that she knew only she can hear it, “I’m sorry for taking your friendship for granted. Sorry for letting Sasuke come in between…us…”it was almost a whisper, and her muttering was cut by the door opening.
“I can’t hear you anymore,” Ino said, her blue eyes tracking Sakura’s pathetic stance.
“Sorry…” The pink haired still has her head bowed down, “Sorry this has to happen to you…”
She stopped when Ino stepped in front of her, put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up. Sakura’s green eyes still looked down to not meet Ino’s baby blues, “Look at me Sakura,”
And look she did.
“I told you not to say sorry,”
“But…”
“And I said no buts.”
Silence
“I’m sorry.” Ino said then she saw tears leaking from Sakura’s eyes and wiped them away with her thumbs, “Blame it on hormone okay?” Sakura didn’t reply.
“I wasn’t lying; I’ll never lie to you about something that big.” Sakura said softly, as if she was afraid she’ll rile Ino up again if she talks about the fathering incident again.
“I know. My mom gave me the file you gave her.”
“Tell your mom I said thanks.” Sakura said after stepping back and wiping her tears with her arms, “She really did help me realize all the things I said…”
“Which I didn’t get to hear,” Ino smiled, “Come on, I was drinking a cup of hot chocolate, well…was hot, I’m not sure about that now.” She said taking Sakura’s hand in hers and dragging the willing woman inside her apartment. “So who told you that my baby is yours?”
Sakura smiled
XXX
“Sasuke…Sasuke…Sasuke…” The gray haired ninja chanted as he paced inside his temporary hiding place, “You made a mistake killing Orochimaru, and leaving me alive.” He said narrowing his eyes hidden behind now blackened eye glass that are hanging on his face with the help of an elastic band that run from side to side. The right half of his face was distorted, his right ear missing and the muscles that were left contracted was a sure sign of a healed third degree burn that did not go through debridement.
His evil musing was interrupted by the appearance of one masked ninja, now kneeling in front of him, “We got Master Orochimaru’s blood as you asked.” He reported.
“Good…and the box?”
The ninja did not move nor did he reply.
“I was asking if you retrieved the box,” with the continued silence for a reply, the gray haired man growled and started trashing things inside his small hiding place, “One lousy box and you can’t get it for me!!!” he shouted without stopping his motion.
“It wasn’t there,”
The gray haired man stopped, “…wasn’t there?”
“…nor the incubator, and the place was burned down.”
The side of his lips twitched at the last report and he growled, “Sasuke…”
XXX
Mangekyou eyes opened as the night wind brought with it something familiar, “Kabuto,” he said with a growl, “And I thought I killed you…”
XXX
Sakura yawned widely and stretched her limbs out. She then looked at Ino’s wall clock to see it was 3 am, “I’ve kept you up so late Ino so…”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence or I’ll shove this cup your throat so fast you never know what hit you.” Ino said narrowing her eyes on Sakura.
“You’ve gotten war freaked since you got pregnant.” Sakura said teasing the taller woman lightly.
“You made me that.” Ino said smirking when she saw the blush form on Sakura’s face. Sakura stood up getting ready to go home when Ino stopped her by holding her arms, “It’s late,”
Sakura nodded, “I know that’s why I need to go and let you sleep.”
Ino sighed, “That’s not what I mean Sakura.”
“No?”Ino shook her head no, “Then what?”
“It’s late and it’s dangerous out there at this time of day. You can stay.” Ino said while shaking her head, wondering how Sakura’s brain gotten so rusty in time.
“Dangerous? Out there?” She asked and Ino nodded, “You forgot? We are ninjas and we are used to getting out at night!” she said smiling.
The taller woman sighed again, “Do I need to rephrase?”
Sakura’s forehead scrunched, “Rephrase?”
“Stay Sakura, I-want-you-to-stay,” Ino said stepping closer to the smaller woman.
“You do?”
“Who the hell are you Naruto?”
Sakura grinned, “I was just messing with you.”
Ino frowned, “And for that you’ll sleep on the floor!”
“Floor? You have two guest rooms!”
The blonde kunoichi shook her head no, “You’re not sleeping there. I was planning on letting you sleep beside me on my bed but you just forfeited that.”
“Ow Ino!” Sakura called out to the retreating blonde.
“No, you’re sleeping in my room and on my floor!”
“Come on Ino! I’ll say sorry if you…”
“I don’t want your sorry!”
“I’ll do anything!”
Ino stopped and looked back at Sakura who was meekly following her, “Anyhting?” she grinned evilly when Sakura nod, “Well…you know my lower back’s in pain lately…I mean not that I really need a massage but…”
“Powder or lotion?”
Ino grinned, “And I thought you were getting rusty.”
-End Chapter 9-