Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Against All Odds ❯ Three ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishomoto and the companies that distributes Naruto does. This is done for personal entertainment only.
Author's Note: This story was originally written for a friend of mine who enjoys shoujo-ai fics (). Years later, I have done a thorough edit of this story so that I can submit it to the Max Challenge Contest of '08. Currently, a comic of the story is in the works, if you are logged in and would like a notification, let me know in a review and I will personally send a note to you where the comics will be hosted. Now, without a further ado… enjoy!

 

Ino sat down in her chair at a dining room table, staring at the brown wood in front of her. She knew her thoughts were going a hundred miles an hour in her mind and by sitting there wasn't going to make the thoughts go away. Confusion built up and she clenched her fist to keep her tears back. Ino couldn't let her sister see that she was upset about something, her sister who was busy cleaning the living room. The room behind Ino is, after all, the source of all of her confusion and teary eyes.

 

`Damnit, why am I so damned confused about this?' she thought and sniffled.

 

Her sister looked up and studied Ino. Ino glared at her who shrugged her shoulders, and resumed her task of sweeping the floor and then left the room to the kitchen.

 

Ino sighed, relaxing her hands in her lap and closed her eyes. She remembered the moment Sakura declared her, Ino, a rival.

 

“I found out that you like Sasuke too. I guess that makes us rivals,” Sakura said, pulling the blue ribbon away from her hair.

 

Sakura stared at Ino as the pink haired girl dropped the ribbon to the ground, waiting for Ino to reply. Yet, all Ino felt was a crushing feeling that squeezed her heart, unable to understand what Sakura was saying. Ino forced back her tears, ones that Sakura did not take note of. Looking at her large-forehead girl friend, Ino knew then, their relationship between themselves would never be the same again.

 

“So… we're rivals now, Ino. Agreed?”

 

Ino felt her head nodding in affirmation, agreeing, but her thoughts was yelling at her to say no, that it was a mistake, that Sakura had her facts wrong.

 

Sakura smiled softly then left, leaving Ino behind on the bench to realize what just had happened. Ino, with a deep intake of a shuddering breath, broke down, weeping for the loss of a friendship. She knew she should have gone after Sakura, fight for their friendship.

 

To stop her friend and recall line after lines of advice in the magazine that what kind of mistake they were making. Ino couldn't bring herself to chase after her friend—she was disgusted by her own feelings towards her now rival, she would try to prevent Sakura from reaching her goal. Shaking her head, she looked up at the sky to watch a few clouds float by and clenched her jaw. Determined, she decided, somehow, that Sasuke was worth more than Sakura in the long run.

 

Her shoulders tensed and shuddered violently, clenching her fists tight again.

 

`How am I going to face Sakura now?' she wondered, putting her elbow on the table, resting her chin on her fist.

 

Ino looked up and stared at the reflection of the mirror and saw herself and her bedroom door behind her. Ino realized her eyes looked red, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She sniffled, wiping her tears away with her elbow cuffs.

 

`Maybe I really don't like her after all,' Ino thought, narrowing her eyes, `She causes me too much misery as it is. Always begging for some form of boy love ever since I met her. Hah! Really, no wonder why Sasuke couldn't stand her.'

 

She stared at her hands, remembering the moment Sakura said that they were rivals. She frowned at the memory that occurred right after she left Ino on the bench.

 

Ino curled her knees up to her chest, wrapping herself with arms, shuddering at the moment that occurred between her and Sakura.

 

`Hm… now that I think about it… Where the hell did she get the idea that I even like Sasuke in the first place? I don't…' Ino thought, widening her eyes in realization, `I didn't like Sasuke, not back then. Is it really true that I like that boy? Can my friends read me that well?'

 

Ino swallowed thickly, wetting her elbow cuffs with her tears.

 

`Why is this… hole in my heart opened up now?'

 

Left to herself, she let the tears flow, hiccupping at each new wave of thought concerning Sakura.

 

`What's the meaning of this?' Ino wondered, growing more hysterical with herself.

 

She looked at the mirror again, studying herself and imagined Sakura standing next to her, grinning and hanging on to Ino's neck. Ino jaunted out her bottom lip, wondering what to say to Sakura. She knew she had to face her sooner or later, but how and what she was going to say to Sakura, was the question of the day.

 

`Am I going to accept her confession or not?' thought Ino, crossing her arms, calming down her tears for several moments.

 

`Do I love her, or not?'

 

After a moment of pondering, she sighed and stood up. With a glance at the mirror to make sure her eyes weren't red anymore, she turned and went to her bedroom. With a feeling of apprehension, she opened the door and found Sakura lying on the bed, facing the window. Ino closed the door behind her with a click, loud enough to announce her appearance.

 

Sakura sat up quick, looking at Ino, her eyes studying her face.

 

“I-I'm sorry, Ino,” Sakura said, “I shouldn't have said that.”

 

“You damn well shouldn't have!” Ino snapped. “How could—how dare you for messing with my mind with your—your—your confession!”

 

Sakura recoiled, her eyebrows arched together.

 

“You mean you don't…” Sakura trailed off, her throat constricting.

 

“I don't know how to deal with this, Sakura! This is too foreign for me. Isn't it for you?”

 

Sakura looked down at her own hands, feeling dejected. Her eyes became dark, shadows cast by the waning sun. Ino stared at her, feeling a deep hole in her chest cavity opening up even more. She felt her body falling through the hole, gravity dropped and grew darker. Ino blinked, realizing the implications of what went missing since the moment Sakura declared her a rival. Her chest became constricted, as though a snake was coiled around her, ready to swallow Ino up whole.

 

Ino fell to her knees, arms on the bed and grabbed Sakura's hand. Ino's eyes covered by her own hair, her voice grew squeaky when she spoke.

 

“I—I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been harsh with my words,” she said, her breath shuddering.

 

She looked up at Sakura, her cheeks stained with fresh tears.

 

“I-I like you too, Sakura. I thought it was because I liked Sasuke in the first place. I don't know where you got the idea that I even liked him when you found out,” Ino said, her voice growing stronger.

 

“Huh? What do you mean?” asked Sakura.

 

“All this time, since you declared us rivals,” she paused, staring at her hands, “deep down, I always wondered who told you a false fact that I liked Sasuke,” she said. “Because of that, I got angry because I didn't know how to clear up that misunderstanding. We were young, after all… and from then on… to make you jealous, I pretended to like him, I wanted to prevent you from reaching your goal. Then through that, I grew to like him myself. I even thought I did like him because someone read my actions as such… I began believing myself.”

 

Ino sighed, shaking her head, “how come I had forgotten the reason why I liked Sasuke, after all this time… I was foolish to think that you could ever like me.”

 

Sakura cupped her face with her hands, making Ino look up and stare into her green eyes. She saw that Sakura was spilling tears down her cheeks. Her demeanor changed and her face hardened.

 

“We'll take revenge on those girls who split us up,” Sakura said.

 

Ino's face paled at her words, “You mean, they did that just so we would be rivals?” she asked.

 

“Yeah… I realize that now,” Sakura said quietly, “I remember them. It makes perfect sense.”

 

“Well then, in that case…” Ino said slowly.

 

Ino then smirked, “we'll take revenge on those who broke our friendship.”

 

Sakura grinned then leaned towards her and kissed Ino on the lips. In an instant, Ino fell backwards, staring at Sakura with wide eyes, her left arm covering her mouth. Sakura frowned at Ino, shrinking back from her, opening her mouth to speak and Ino interrupted.

 

“Er, I don't mean—I mean, that was…” Ino said, and took a deep breath.

 

“You took me by surprise, that was my first kiss.”

 

Ino closed her eyes and held her knees together as Ino moved away from Sakura and stood up. Ino sighed and opened her eyes and turned around, facing the door. She opened her mouth and closed a few times, mimicking a fish in her mind's eye.

 

`Open that damn mouth of yours and talk to her, damnit!' Ino thought.