21

This was a mistake… Why?

Why hadn't Ino just left it well enough alone? Why had she felt the need to confront Sakura over this?

Why had Sakura used that word?

Why had Ino said that word back?

Why?

Why why why? A hundred, no, a thousand times why.

Sakura was here. She was alive. You could barely tell that she'd been cut at all, the line of scarring around her torso so faint that knowing it was there had barely helped when it came to finding it with her eyes… Ino should have been happy with that.

That was all that Ino had needed to know. That Sakura was alive, safe, and right here.

Nothing else.

She should have been content with what they had. No more complications. No more entanglements between them than there already were, what Ino had thought was a - manageable - amount.

Simple.

Wrong. But simple.

Two good friends. Friends forever with nothing that could separate them. That had been the plan. That had been the goal… And she'd fucked that up, hadn't she? She'd pushed too hard. She'd put Sakura's back up against the wall.

Sakura, who was okay but not okay, and had shown that fact without remorse…by hitting back with something that Ino had no answer for.

By saying something she would never have said without one last push.

Ino sighed, her eyes closed as she listened to the beat of Sakura's heart. Slow. Steady. Strong…and subtly off in a way she hadn't realized it was before today. Like…like it was a touch too long. And faraway. It was like a hum that filled Sakura's whole body, a comforting vibration under her skin, constant.

Unnatural. Like Tenten had said.

… Her breathing was too measured. Or it wasn't. She didn't blink enough, or she blinked too much. She was too still or not at all. And Ino couldn't remember when it was different.

It had to have been. This sort of thing didn't happen in a vacuum; in hindsight, this had been staring her in the face for years. Sakura hadn't even bothered to try and hide it…and that was just like her, wasn't it?

Do something. Explain nothing. Never, ever lie to anyone that wasn't yourself.

Let people assume. Let people find their explanations…and let them keep them. Don't correct them. Nudge them instead. Be obvious. Be consistent. Even when that meant being the opposite of obvious and consistent.

'No one wants to solve an already solved puzzle, Ino. It takes the fun out of it. And why bother if it isn't fun?'

It worked for her. Somehow, it worked. From dieting to - romance - it was a very Sakura thing to do…and it explained so, so much. Everything that she needed to know at that very moment had already been answered.

"When do you think you're going out again?"

Almost everything.

"I don't know. That isn't up to me. Sadly. But not for a while, I'm sure about that. Sensei got spooked." Sakura gave the strands of Ino's hair in her fingers a gentle tug. "I think we're going to be doing D-ranks to destress before we do this again."

Think. Because Sakura didn't know.

Because the blonde hadn't let her turn in her report and get debriefed before whisking her away, Sakura didn't say. Again, not that she had to. It was more implied, mostly by how Sakura didn't look at her when she shrugged, content to look up at the ceiling instead of giving her an accusing stare.

Ino gave her a nudge on the side with her elbow.

Sakura continued looking at the ceiling and stroking Ino's hair without reacting; That was all Ino needed to know.

The smallest spark of heat that brought up died before it could even begin. She forgot about it as she forced herself onto her front, to her hands and knees, and then on top of Sakura with a push and a solid thud on landing.

A thud that would have dropped her if Sakura hadn't fixed her back. Now, she couldn't even tell she'd been hurt at all.

She was fine. Perfectly fine. Even if she was a little worried about a delay, nothing stopped her from pulling herself up her…girlfriend's? … Yes. Her girlfriend; Nothing stopped her from pulling herself up her girlfriend's body from that point on.

For however long that lasted, that was what she was. What they were. This was a relationship.

This was complicated.

Complicated... But nothing stopped her from pulling herself up her girlfriend's body and putting her face in the crook of her neck. And nothing stopped Sakura from wrapping her up in a hug either.

Nothing stopped the blinds from being drawn closed with a twitch of Sakura's fingers at her back too.

"Should have done that earlier," Ino grumbled, embarrassed as she thought back to her earlier swearing.

And Sakura's light warning that the neighbors might have heard…that wasn't great. But, in her defense, that had hurt.

A lot.

And it could have been so much worse.

The last time the girls had dinner at Sakura's worse.

You didn't live something like that down. You just pretended you did; It stuck like glue and colored your reputation like roadside mud for the rest of your days.

Ino's face felt hot, and not in a good way; It could have been worse than just a little swearing.

So much worse.

"Should have, yes," Sakura agreed with amusement as she stroked Ino's back, fingers finding the line of the blonde's spine in a manner that did nothing to bring her blush down. "But better late than never. Yes?"

Ino nodded, not trusting her voice as Sakura trailed a finger between her shoulders, falling short of her neck…before she paused, falling unnaturally still. Even her breathing stopped, the aftereffects of her heartbeat, that thrum, the only part of her still in motion that Ino could perceive.

She was thinking. She was pondering something or weighing her options…the act now came with a touch of eeriness. Ino finally understood how Sakura did that without acting like a fish that had flopped onto land after.

That wasn't training as she'd thought. Or, it wasn't just training.

And it went on for long enough, almost ten seconds, that Ino nearly pulled herself away from where she was to look Sakura in the eyes to see her blink. Nearly. Even something as common or… Even something as innocuous as this for Sakura to do was now very, very obvious to her.

Glaringly.

Because…how could it not be now? How could Ino not pay attention? This wasn't just Sakura being a hard worker. This wasn't just Sakura being the biggest prodigy, genius, and… everything else that made a good ninja that Ino knew about.

Sakura had gone past all of that a while ago, and she'd been as good as shouting it from the rooftops this whole time; she'd left them all behind. No one in the class even came close.

Ino didn't even come close, and that hurt. It did. It wasn't - actually important. It wasn't. Some people got ahead in life and some were left in their dust; Ino was damned good at what she did and worthy of her position as the heiress of her clan… But she'd thought she was closer to Sakura's level than that. A lot closer.

She blinked away the tears before they could begin to fall (she'd cried enough today), moving one of her hands to the other side of Sakura's head to cup her cheek; pink strands shifted, falling over her hand and curling around her fingers as if called.

This was story stuff. This was 'from before the village system' stuff. This was the stuff the three Sannin got up to. Or, hell, what the Kage built upon to make their names.

…And now she thought she might finally understand why Sakura spent so much time thinking things over if this is where it got her. Questions as big as the ones this revelation was throwing at her could change the village.

Ino didn't know how that could happen, or what that would look like, but if anyone could do it, it was probably Sakura. And she had no idea what to do with that either. She'd already made the mistake of asking a question once today. With her luck, Sakura had a gimmel ring in her pocket and an engagement speech prepared as a retaliatory measure.

…This was Sakura she was talking about. Sakura at her most stressed and irrational.

Sakura, who had been way too interested in her mom's stories over the years about her home and culture for Ino's liking.

She'd do it. If she thought that was an appropriate response, or if she was feeling so vindictive or bored that she wasn't thinking at all, she'd do it.

The groan that left Ino's throat took her soul with it.

This possibility, the one where Sakura publically proposed to her as some sort of twisted revenge or…or maybe because she was serious about it like she was with telling Ino that she loved her, would be on her mind for the rest of the week.

What would she even say if that happened?

No?

Ino groaned again and, this time, it got Sakura to start breathing again with a twitch, her head moving to look down at her with what Ino was mostly sure was worry and concern.

It was that or she was trying not to laugh while Ino kicked her feet, mortified and unable to stop herself from expressing it; that she also didn't squeal like the girl she was was the best she could do.

No more thinking about - that. No more deep thoughts about things that wouldn't happen. Or that couldn't happen.

When it came to overthinking things, sometimes Sakura had a point. It could get you places. Ino was sprawled out on the proof of what being a worrywart could get you.

But fuck this. To hell with all of it.

She didn't want to think anymore.

"You sound like you're feeling better. Feel like it too," Sakura said, almost sounding like she wasn't about to start giggling as Ino's feet continued tapping her legs. Almost. Ino could tell it wouldn't take much. "I'm glad."

…Glad.

Sure. That was a word for what she was feeling. Or what she wanted to feel.

"You love me… Isn't that what you said?" Ino exhaled, the hot breath against Sakura's neck making the much bigger, much more talented girl giggle and squirm; she didn't try too hard to escape as the hand on her cheek forced her head down, her ear level to Ino's lips. "Words are-"

Ino didn't get to finish that. She didn't get to tell Sakura to 'prove it' before Sakura turned her head the rest of the way on her own to catch Ino's mouth with hers…and Ino didn't try to pull back. She didn't jerk away or try to take back the lead.

She leaned into Sakura and deepened the kiss, humming as a gently smiling Sakura slipped a hand under her skirt.

This wasn't the right time for that. This wasn't practice. This wasn't a game anymore.

Ino quivered as her bandages, finally unwound, slid free of her body just in time for Sakura's hand to find the bare flesh of her rear and squeeze; Knead and rub, everything short of giving her a spank and all with a painful urgency to it. A need that Ino understood and shared as she panted into Sakura's mouth, her tongue glancing over Sakura's teeth before the other girl's tongue met her's in the middle.

It wasn't as - frantic as what Sakura was doing to her below. It was slow and cautious as the both of them refused to separate for even a second, both of Ino's hands ending up clasped on Sakura's face to keep her where she was as they explored each other as if it were the first time.

And it might as well have been.

Ino had never - been able to give all of herself to Sakura. Not really. Not entirely, no matter what they did together...she'd always kept a little of herself back. She'd refused to admit to herself what was going on, slapping labels on it instead or falling back to old excuses.

Admitting that she liked Sakura as more than a friend had been, and still was, taboo.

Sakura hadn't needed to practice her seduction skills for years. But they'd kept on doing it anyway…and why Sakura had put up with it, with Ino's crap, should have been clear from the start.

Why Ino had done it should have been clear from the start.

The blonde ground her body against Sakura with an approving moan as her panties passed down her legs; catching momentarily on her foot before Sakura's increasingly alive hair untangled and took it from her as the person it was attached to teasingly traced her slit with the tip of a finger.

The push at her entrance made her back arch and hips lift even if it had been expected. And it didn't keep her from whining when Sakura didn't go through with it, removing herself to give Ino's clit a tweak instead.

Ino's head, clearer than she wanted it to be, became much less so in an instant.

Sakura had what she needed to make it slick. To make rubbing that little nub between the pads of her thumb and forefinger as smooth as possible and Ino's hips buck as her legs spread, dropping Ino's knee between her uncovered thighs as the blonde shifted away from that stimulation on reflex.

And gravity forced them to separate where the need for air had failed, their lips coming apart with a wet, sucking smack.

Gravity forced them to separate and her to drop into Sakura's open and waiting palm.

A purring rumble sounded in the pink-haired girl's chest, a rumble that Ino could feel through her whole body, and the hand that had fallen on Sakura's left breast with some force and weight.

And some less than - appropriate - reflexive squeezing that had the springy flesh in her hand bulging through her fingers; Her hand clenched hard enough that, if she'd been in Sakura's place, she'd have been crying uncle and plotting revenge.

But that was her.

As freakishly tough about this as anything else, Sakura blew her a kiss; pink and purple mixed on and around her lips, uneven smudges and swirls that had no right being so appealing.

Ino licked her lips, sure they looked much the same as Sakura giggled at her. At her expression and at the mess Sakura had made of her makeup.

Sakura giggled.

Ino licked her lips.

And the taste of old chocolate was strong on her tongue as she moved higher up on her lover's body. Her upper thigh only stopped when it met the slow roll of Sakura's hips and the smooth glide of Sakura's sopping-wet snatch on her skin… And Sakura's giggling didn't end as she bit her lower lip, looking up at Ino through heavily-lidded eyes.

It was softer. That was all it was as she continued her grind on Ino's leg, giving Ino's pussy a playful pat as the blonde leaned in to shut her up.

And she failed.

They were muffled as Ino forced her mouth and Sakura's back together, the taste of chocolate renewed, but they were still there. They were still high and free and much, much too loud for someone to be doing when they had finally stopped being a tease and gone through with their threats.

Ino mewled as Sakura's ring and forefinger spread her wide, her middle curling and taking a dip inside her up to the first knuckle before retracting to do it again. Again, and several times more to the rocking rhythm and beat of the muscular girl's hips. the mess on Ino's thigh got loud as Sakura took and gave what pleasure she could without noticeable restraint.

Or decency. Dignity.

Respect for the structural integrity of her creaking, groaning bed.

Ino wasn't the only one that needed this. She wasn't the only one that needed to know, without a doubt, that they were alive and that they weren't alone… But what Sakura was doing, what she was implying - or imitating - may have been the most vulgar way to go about it.

The messiest. The most primal and base act any two people could devote themselves and their time to when they cared about each other very, very much.

And what Ino wished they could actually, truly do. Very, very much.

It would have made a lot of complicated things so very, very simple if Sakura had just been a boy.

It - wouldn't have been easy even then. Of course not. Sakura's clan wasn't a prestigious one. They didn't have a bloodline, money, or anything special in their history other than whatever long-forgotten act had earned them their name.

Status mattered. History mattered. Power mattered… And Sakura, if she'd been a boy, would have been fighting an uphill battle on all three from the very start… But she wasn't a boy.

She was a girl. A big girl, stronger than any boy that Ino knew, but a girl. And there was no getting around that.

There was no battle to fight…but they could pretend otherwise. They could be happy. They would be happy for as long as Ino could make it so. Because she said so.

"That jutsu. The penis one," Ino began as best as she could, sweat-matted hair in her eyes and voice warbling as Sakura pressed down on her inner walls just under her clit, pinning it between that and her palm, "whip it out."

And Ino said so because she was selfish. She wanted to pretend. She was going to pretend that the battle wasn't lost, that they had a chance, that this wasn't just a fling that would end as soon as she became the head of her clan and she had to act like it.

Sakura didn't say anything. There was no reply other than yet another giggle and a cocking of her head as she held up a hand, showing her the front and back… Then the fingers on that hand moved in a blur that Ino couldn't follow and the blonde had to move back as what space between her knee and Sakura's pelvis vanished.

And her eyes widened in surprise as she had to shuffle further when there was more Sakura than she'd expected. Or, for that matter, remembered.

"Did you make it bigger? This is bigger, right?" Ino asked breathlessly, nearly choking on her spit when she looked down to check. It might have been a month since the last time she'd seen it, and she might not have Sakura's memory, but it sure looked like it. "Are you serious?"

If Sakura had done it, then yes. Yes, she was serious.

But Ino wasn't thinking, was she?

"A little. An inch or so. I thought the last time was too small for my body, so I adjusted it for the difference," Sakura shamelessly confirmed Ino's suspicions with a hand wave as her erection began to rise from her lap. "Of course, if that's a problem, I can-"

"I was just asking. Keep it if it makes you feel better. We're getting this done," Ino interrupted as she clambered back on top. Whether Sakura thought that was funny or not, she'd meant what she said and said what she meant. "Shush."

And besides. It wasn't like an inch one way or another was anything to worry about after what had happened last time. She'd learned from it; there was a reason why she was the one on top again. And why she was going to stay on top until she was sure Sakura wouldn't fall asleep in the middle of sex.

Again.

There was a weight limit involved when it came to topping. And Sakura had passed that limit a hundred pounds ago… So it was all up to Ino then.

That was fine.

This was her time. This was where she won. Sakura may have been the better ninja. She may have been some sort of jonin-killing machine of impossibly durable flesh and bone.

"I wonder how hard I can use this before it goes pop? Did you test that? It sounds like something you'd do after what happened last time," Ino mused as a bright-eyed Sakura held herself steady as Ino made to take a seat. "Don't tell me." She grinned as Sakura blinked and shut her mouth. "I'll find out on my own."

But, in bed, Sakura had all the longevity of a bag of chips in an Akimichi pantry. When she used this jutsu anyway, so far… And Ino would be lying if she said that didn't make her feel better about herself.

"This might not be real. This might not work. I might not be able to suck you dry," Ino hissed as the head of Sakura's dick popped into her with shocking ease. Increased size or not, it fit inside her as if it belonged there…which it sort of did, didn't it? It was close enough. More than good enough for her to keep pretending and fuel her fantasies of what could have been. "But you'll keep coming home to me anyway, right?"

…Ino regretted that last part instantly.

That sounded awful. Clingy. Unbearably needy. Like something out of her more boring romance novels.

That she meant it just worsened the burning feeling in her face.

And Sakura's reaction was… She wasn't giggling anymore, her lips returning to her habitual frown; she blinked, a momentary catch appearing in her breathing as Ino, clenching around her and near her first orgasm of the day after having been wound up, sat flush with her lap.

And then, so slowly Ino wasn't sure it was happening at first, a blush moved up her neck and into her cheeks.

And her dick, somehow, got even harder.

Ino put both her hands up to her face with a groan. Of course, Sakura was the kind of girl who'd appreciate that.

She was such a sap.

Sakura, who had a full blush moving up her neck and into her face, had even cracked the smallest, rarest, most precious smile as she laughed through her nose. "That's adorable."

"No, it wasn't. It wasn't adorable," Ino croaked as Sakura put her hands on her hips. "It was embarrassing."

And getting struck by lightning didn't sound that bad right now.

"And you're adorable when you're embarrassed."

Right now would be nice.

"Shut uuuuup," Ino whined. Not even she could call it anything else but what it was as she slapped Sakura on the chest. "And stop playing with my emotions, dumbass! Idiot! Asshole!"

Her mood had been going up and down all day. More than it normally did even. And she didn't know how it was for anyone else, but that was exhausting. She'd been laughing, crying, then laughing again, then almost crying, and now she was embarrassed and horny.

"Why do I even let you talk? That's my fault. I shouldn't have let you talk," Ino eventually forced out. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut your goddamn mouth and let me love you without regrets, you dour moron!"

Ino didn't wait. Because if she waited, then that meant Sakura had a chance to say something stupid. Or sappy. Or way too touching and feel-inducing to be brought up during sex… Or, gods forbid, a mixture of all three as Sakura once again proved herself to be impossibly creative when challenged.

"But, Ino-"

Ino moved forward, then back, and Sakura forgot to do something to fuck this up because her eyes were too busy crossing. She'd been surprised. It was easy to tell. She'd lost her grip on Ino's hips and the weak, aimless pawing as she tried to take it back while being ridden into the mattress said it all.

She hadn't been prepared. And the sway of Ino's hips to the beat of the other girl's heart (only Sakura would put something like that in a henge) kept her from rallying. Sakura's mouth opened and closed in little gasps, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead as her eyes refocused.

Cute.

"But nothing. This isn't hard to understand." Ino refused to voice what had just crossed her mind, no matter how true it was as Sakura looked up at her like a confused puppy…and she wasn't going to continue that line of thought. "You shut up. You get to spend time with me. I make it hard for you to remember what 'up' is. Get it?"

Sakura, her eyes wide as she sucked in her lips, blinked. Twice...and then her eyes closed, her teeth audibly grinding as a whine escaped her.

Wait. Wait… Sakura didn't cry earlier, did she? Ino hadn't seen her do it. So she probably hadn't. And it wasn't as if she'd gone anywhere to let it out.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"H-hey, Sakura, no, god damn it," Ino tried, the atmosphere turning deeply awkward in a blink of her eyes as she gave Sakura's thigh a comforting pat. "Come on. I didn't mean it. I was playing! And I was just trying to-"

Ino was reasonably confused for a second. Just a second. The sudden bloom of wet, sticky heat inside her as she was pulled forward again cleared that confusion up quickly. And, again, that confusion was a reasonable one.

"Did you just cum? Did you just cum from me talking to you?" Ino asked, her fear that she'd just fucked it all up turning into sheer amusement as another twitch of Sakura's henge pulled at her insides. "Did you just cum from me being nice to you?"

Sakura didn't respond. Her face, already red, just became even more so as she refused to meet Ino's eyes. And that was all Ino needed to know.

She did. She totally did.

And only Sakura would have given a fake penis fake sperm...for the sake of realism. And proportions. And...and whatever other thing she thought sounded good.

She'd given it balls for the sake of aesthetic!

"That's just like you. What's enough is never enough. You're always pushing those boundaries," Ino chortled as she leaned forward to grab Sakura's wrists and pin them to the bed, Sakura's henge still twitching, spewing its 'load' and 'impregnating her' as she did. "That's adorable."

Sakura's eyes flicked towards her for a moment, then back to the wall as a triumphant Ino's face hovered over hers. "Kill me now."

"Not happening. Sorry. You're not allowed to die. Never. Never ever... And you didn't faint this time. You're still awake. Good job, Sakura. You did it. And all for my sake." Ino pressed her forehead to the other girl's, her breath coming out hot and fast. Hers. Sakura's. Both. "I haven't been mean to you yet."

Sakura's eyes flicked back towards hers, teary orbs making contact in humiliated silence.

"Just remember, no matter what happens," Ino purred. "This comes from a place of love."

==========

The sudden scream from Sakura's bedroom, a scream that could be heard through a closed window, had Inoichi stopping in his tracks.

He hadn't even reached the front door yet.

The second scream, a rather clear 'Ino', had him turning on his heel, pinching the bridge of his nose, and cursing as Kakashi's shoulders began to shake.

He knew he had his orders. He knew this was important. He knew he was the first and last resort to keeping Sakura out of serious trouble… But, no. No.

He was already going to have problems with his wife and daughter as it was. Interrupting…whatever that was, was too much. It was just too much.

Next to him, Kakashi - Kakashi giggled, his hand covering his masked mouth as they started their journey to the nearest bar to wait this out.

Inoichi's nostrils flared. "Shut your goddamn mouth right now."

"Yessir!" the bastard said far too cheerfully.

And, just for that, Inoichi decided to brush off some of his old skills over those beers he'd be grilling Kakashi over.

Metaphorically. Not literally.

The village still needed him alive. Sadly… He could do the next best thing to killing him though. As Kakashi's superior, he could do that.

"You're paying for the drinks."

Kakashi's snickering suddenly stopped.

Yeah. He'd thought so.