Chapter 55

"Sakura" Kakashi softly calls, interrupting her thoughts. "You're looking a little green. Are you sure you're feeling better?" She smiles weakly at her sensei's concern.

"Are you alright Sakura-chan, don't push yourself too hard," Naruto quickly adds. She ignores Naruto-baka.

Sakura eyes the raven-haired avenger in hopes of hearing a comment of concern for her health from him but when none was forthcoming, Sakura reassures her sensei, "I'm better. And thank you for checking on me."

"Ne, Sakura-chan," Naruto nervously starts. "I checked on you too."

She turned away, and his heart broke as Kakashi calls out, "alright my cute little genin, you're dismissed. See you all bright and early tomorrow." He disappears and Sasuke-kun promptly turns toward his family's compound. Sakura felt her body's great urge to follow, going so far as to begin moving along with the beautiful boy, as if pulled by some invisible string, eager to ask if she can accompany him, but she doesn't make it more than two steps before she remembers the photos; the life ruining photos in Ino-pig's possession that she won't hesitate to show Sasuke-kun or her parents if she disobeyed.

Her head was swimming and her stomach felt like upending its content, which hasn't been much lately. Turning around she spots Naruto walking away as well. She urges herself forward, to follow the blond for the sake of her love, but knowing how she now has to spend her time off—and with who—is more than enough incentive to root her to the ground. Sakura can't follow Naruto. 'Doesn't Ino-pig get that he disgusts me,' her mind yells, further adding, 'and now that I've done what Ino forced me to do, I'm disgusted with myself as well!'

Her breathing deepens but she's short of breath. Unable to stand, unable to follow one boy, forced to ignore the other, Sakura simply runs. She runs home to the comfort of her room and the safety of her own bed, to the picture of her love on the bedside table, but as she turns into her street, Sakura runs into a smiling Ino-pig.

"I knew you'd crack," Ino chuckles.

"I can't do it!" Sakura pleads the tears already rolling down her cheeks. "I feel like I'm going to die!"

"You couldn't possibly be more pathetic than you are right now," Ino says looking at her with disgust. "Lucky for you, I won't let you cry your way out of this one, so, stop being such a dry cooch, because you're making the rest of us real kunoichi look bad."

"Please, Ino-chan- Ino-sama," she begs, using a more affectionate honorific. "Anything but being around him!"

"Ino-chan is fine, and do you think this is some sort of vacation I'm forcing you on? Just a lovely time at the hot springs?" Ino asks looking at the green-eyed girl with disgust. "It's not supposed to be easy! Now, since you've disobeyed a directive, I'll have to punish you."

"No please, don't show him," Sakura begs. "I- I'll do it! Okay? Please, Ino-chan, I'll- I'll be around the baka. Just don't show Sasuke-kun!"

"Come on," is all Ino commands as she steps around the pinkette.

"No, Ino-chan please," Sakura pleads. "Anywhere but there," she begs with her old friend, rival, and current blackmailer.

Ino simply yells behind her, "let's go, now!"

With little option, Sakura reluctantly follows. Though her tears dry during the trek, she only starts feeling a little better when she realizes they're not walking toward the Uchiha district. They travel through some of the less active, much older training grounds, further than she's ever gone. Reaching Training Ground 28, Ino finally finds their target, oddly enough, sitting on the grass, legs crossed, hands on his knees like the perfect picture of meditation. What they couldn't see were the five pairs of clones much deeper in the forest practicing the third stage of the Rasengan on some unfortunate trees.

"Well, there he is," Ino tells the frightened girl. "Go. Now." Resigned to her fate, Sakura drags her feet as Ino continues to say, "you train as long as he does then you go home and work on your Iryō jutsu or the report that's due in two weeks."

"Will you at least tell me," Sakura gravely asks. "If you do ever decide to show that, will you at least warn me?"

"I'll promise you I won't ever show Sasuke-kun or your parents, or anyone, really, unless you give me a reason to. What happens is up to you, Forehead. As punishment for today's infraction, you get a final warning and a picture." Ino takes one of the polaroids out and hands it to Sakura, who quickly takes and hides it. "Don't throw it away," Ino instructs. "It's to remind you when you need it, so always keep it on you. I might randomly ask to see it one day and I'm sure you can guess what'll happen if you don't have it."

NARUTO

'… … … Kurenai-sensei?' the voice gasps with airy disbelief.

"Yeah," Naruto says with a mixture of giddiness and sadness.

'Long black hair, kinda shaggy, red eyes, pretty, very sexy,' Naru-nii, lists off still heavily skeptical.

"Yeah," Naruto answers easily.

'… … You're shittin' me,' Naru-nii continues to gasp.

"Even I wonder sometimes, but it's true," Naruto states, taking a step back from the hurt of the door she closed on his face to realize that he had sex with an absolute stunner of a woman.

'… … I never thought she would help like that,' Naru-nii gasps. 'I mean, I've heard about infiltration specialists learning a ton about sex and using it for missions… but… Kurenai-sensei? She actually went that far? Are you sure you're my younger self? You look like me right? Blond spiky hair, blue eyes, whiskers on your cheeks?'

"Yeup!" Naruto returns, smiling broadly.

'That's insane,' Naru-nii huffs. 'I didn't think it could get any more insane than Ino-chan!'

"So that never happened to you either, then?" Naruto asks.

'I already said I hadn't slept with anyone,' Naru-nii answers still in awe. 'I didn't know if anyone liked me like that, you know?'

"That's the thing," Naruto ponderously comments. "I thought they liked me, but then they leave afterward totally pissed. Ino-chan threatened me if I didn't stay away and Kurenai-chan even said what we did was a mistake."

Naruto can hear the curiosity in his future-self's voice as he asks, 'then why would she have sex with you if it was a mistake?'