Returning to school for last semester was hard. Sleeping in and wasting time having fun always made the days go faster to Sakura. She moved with little motivation around her house, trying to find her loafers and forgetting where she placed her bag.

As she brushed her hair, she heard a knock at the door. Glancing at the clock, it was too early for a delivery or for her father to return home. She opened the door, Sakura's eyes set upon Itachi as he stood idly on her door step.

"Good morning, Itachi-kun," she greeted.

Itachi waved at her, smiling. "Good morning. Sorry, am I interrupting your preparations?"

She shook her head, stuffing her brush in her bag and zipping it. "No, I was about to leave." Sakura swung the straps over her shoulders and met Itachi outside.

"Sakura-chan." Itachi averted his eyes, his smile softening just the slightest. "Is it still appropriate of me to walk with you to school?"

Now that she was dating Sasori, she was expecting to see a difference in the boys' behavior. "No, it's fine. We're heading the same way, right?" She gave him a reassuring smile and he nodded.

They spoke casually about the ending school year and final exams fastly approaching. As she vented about her grades, Itachi gazed down at her. If he could put the Sakura he had met on the first day side-by-side to Sakura now, there would be nothing he could compare between them. She was more outgoing, confident.

In a way, he thought that maybe they helped change her too.

Her cell phone buzzed in her coat's pocket. "Sasori-kun texted me."

"What did he say?" Mood-breaker.

Morning. Ihave some news to share with you so ill meet you at the doors.

"He's got some news to tell me. Hopefully it's good," she fretted.

Itachi repositioned the straps on his backpack. "I'm sure it is. How are the two of you doing?" he asked.

"We haven't spent a lot of time together since the New Year's Festival, but we've talked over the phone. I had to go to my relative's house with my parents, so they could catch up." Sakura said glumly. It was torture. She had just gotten together with Sasori, but she had to go visit with older people for the rest of the break!

Passing through the gate, her expression brightened as her eyes settled on her boyfriend's red, messy hair. Itachi and Sakura climbed the steps to meet him. Sasori shot the Uchiha a 'this-is-private' look, grabbing hold of her hand.

Of course, Itachi thought irritated.

"I'll see you later, Sakura-chan," he said, walking briskly into the school.

Sakura, noticing the agitation fixed in Sasori's eyes, became worried. "Are you upset that I walked with Itachi-kun?" she asked.

Sasori snapped out of his thoughts. "Hm? Oh, no, I just wanted to talk to you privately." Together, they stepped inside to the rows of cubbies holding their school slippers. "I got a job at the local convenience store," he announced, "and when I save up enough money, I'll be moving into my own place."

"Sasori-kun, that's so awesome! I'm so happy for you!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

He smiled at her. "Then you can come visit me any time you'd like," he stated.

"I can even come over in the morning and make you breakfast," she added, truly excited for him.

"It won't take me long to save up the necessary amount. I'm already looking into a few places that are pretty cheap. By the next school year, I'll probably have enough."

Sakura couldn't stop smiling. She didn't know the full story of his relationship with his grandmother, but if he felt as though leaving would make him happier, she supported him fully. "Walk me to class?" she requested.

"Sure." He grasped her hand again.

At her classroom door, they exchanged their departing words. Sitting at her desk, Sakura removed her winter assignment from her bag. To her left, she was put off by how Ino looked.

Her long, blonde hair trailed loosely down her back - she had always presented herself with a tidy ponytail. She had bags under her eyes and she looked completely exhausted.

"Man, Ino, you look like crap." Shikamaru commented bluntly.

Ino ignored him, kicking her bag underneath her chair.

She's not even wearing make-up, Sakura observed. Something was definitely wrong.

Why should you care? She isn't your friend anymore, there's no need for you to worry over someone like her, the little voice in Sakura's head argued.

But she couldn't shake away her fretting. Ino had only came to school once without make-up back in middle school when her grandmother passed away. She was heart-broken without her and Sakura had made sure to offer her own shoulder for her to cry on.

...

During lunch, Sakura stopped Sasori before entering the Student Council's room. "I need some advice," she started.

"If it's about your studying-"

"Not that. I'm worried about Ino... She looks really upset about something - she hasn't said a word to anyone and that's not at all like her," Sakura explained.

Sasori frowned, raising his brow in a perplexed way. "I thought you weren't friends with her."

"I'm not! I mean-" She looked cross. "I don't like seeing her this way. What should I do?"

"Well, you could either leave her alone or go ask her yourself. One way or the other, she'll have to handle it on her own, but with you, at least she'll have someone beside her." Sasori answered.

Sakura thought about it. There were countless times that Ino had been there for her. Ever since they were little, Ino had taken up for her. "I'm not going to let a fight get in the way of our friendship. I'm going to go talk to her."

"Good luck." Sasori called out as she trailed back to her classroom.

...

Inside, Ino continued to sit at her desk, barely eating anything in her bento. Sakura approached her desk, but she didn't react.

"Ino-chan, are you okay?"

The blonde nodded, nibbling at a slice of cucumber.

Sakura didn't know what to say to advance the situation. Ino seemed distant, but she didn't want to give up just as quickly as she had tried. Thinking back, she remembered their chat at Zetsu's house during the party. Did they have a fight?

"Did Zetsu do something to upset you?" she asked quietly.

Ino's eyes shifted to Sakura's as soon as Zetsu's name was heard. Moving in her chair to face her completely, Ino motioned Sakura to come closer. Bending down, Ino whispered in her ear.

"Come with me to the bathroom."

Sakura was practically dragged to the girls' restroom, thrown in as Ino was certain no-one could eavesdrop.

"Ino, what happened?" Sakura questioned, obviously concerned.

The girl finally broke down, covering her face with her hands. "Zetsu-kun hasn't talked to me since the beginning of the break," she confessed.

That surprised Sakura. "What? Why would he do that?"

"He's ignoring all of my texts and calls because he's mad at me. I've tried and tried, but he hangs up as soon as he can."

"Why is he mad at you?"

Ino sniffed, her eyes shown between the gaps of her fingers. "Because I didn't have sex with him after the party. I changed my mind and he forced me to leave, making me walk all the way home! I was just afraid that I wasn't actually as ready as I thought I was, but he didn't care about that. I've never been so humiliated in my life! I was so stupid, but I still wanted to talk to him, but he's ignored everything I've sent." She cried into her hands, clenching her teeth. "He didn't even look at me when I came to school!"

Ino's eyes widened as she felt Sakura's arms embrace her.

"I'm so sorry, Ino-chan," Sakura said, brushing her friend's hair with her fingers.

The physical comfort only made Ino feel worse. "Why are you being so nice to me? Shouldn't you be telling me that it's my own fault and I shouldn't have acted like an idiot?! I've been a bitch to you this whole year!" she exclaimed.

Sakura pulled back, her expression serious. "I still want to be your friend, Ino-chan. Even friends don't get along all the time." The memory at the cabins came to her mind. "But I won't allow our bond to be broken. We've been too close for too long to let that happen. I loved you like a sister and I still do."

Ino clutched Sakura's shoulders, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan!" she hiccuped. "I was so jealous of you that I felt the need to hurt you by calling you all of those horrible names. I didn't care about any of your feelings - only about how insecure I felt! Please, please forgive me for treating you that way." She bowed her head, her body trembling.

"I do, Ino-chan, but..." She grabbed both of her hands, a grave expression overshadowing her face. "We need to talk to Zetsu about this."

...

After school, Ino followed Sakura - her stomach in knots from her wracked nerves. Sakura had spotted Zetsu exiting the school, heading toward the track field. "Hey, Zetsu!" she yelled, catching his attention.

Turning, he looked at her impassively. "What do you want?" His tone implying his agitation.

Sakura stomped towards him with Ino tagging behind. "You need to apologize to Ino-chan!" she shouted.

He gave Ino zero acknowledgement - as if she wasn't even there. "Why should I? If anything, I deserve the apology. Saying you're willing then backing out at the last minute? Absolutely absurd. I'm not going to bother wasting my time on a stupid bitch who can't even make up her own mind."

"You're such an asshole! You have no right saying that about her. If she decided that she didn't want to then you should accept that!" Sakura argued.

"She's a fucking idiot and I have every right to say what's true. In the real world, people have to keep a solid decision, whether they like it or not. A sheep's a sheep and the same goes for Ino if she doesn't have common sense. An idiot will always be an idiot." he said harshly.

Continuing to berate Ino, Sakura felt that she had heard enough. Winding up her fist, she trounced her fist across his jaw, knocking him over. Both Ino and Zetsu stared at her in shock.

"Stop being such a fucking creep! Ino-chan isn't stupid and she decides what happens to her own body - you are not the one who controls that! Talk to her like that again and I won't hold back," she threatened.

Zetsu rubbed his cheek as he scrambled to his feet. "I-I was just kidding anyway! All of that was just a fucking joke! Damn, don't take everything so seriously!" His eyes darted to Ino. "I'm sorry, okay? Let's just forget that this happened!" A mixture of cursing and muffled crying could be heard from him as he ran off into the other direction.

After he left, Ino turned to Sakura as the girl flapped her hand. "Were you really holding back?" she asked, surprised.

Sakura smiled, "No, it was just a bluff." Her hand hurt like hell now.

"You looked like you knew what you were doing. Have you done that before?"

"Just once, but it satisfied me to finally get back at Zetsu. I've been wanting some revenge on him for a while now," Sakura replied.

Ino knocked Sakura's shoulder. "You should have told me he was an asshole beforehand! I wouldn't have had to waste my precious tears on such a jerk!" With a pause, the two erupted into a fit of laughter.

"But did you see his face when I knocked him over?!"

"I swear I wish I had my camera for that! Too funny!"

Through their giggling, Sakura startled as a hand fell on her shoulder. "Geez, this is where you were? I've been looking all over the school - I thought you might have went home or something." Sasori took note of their smiles - they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"We talked to Zetsu about how he was treating Ino-chan," Sakura said.

Sasori slipped his hand into hers. "Really? I'm glad that it ended well." The two jumped as Ino shrieked, pointing to their connected hands.

"What?! Why are you holding hands? Are you two a real couple?" Her voice rose two octaves, unaware of how loud it carried.

"Yeah, it's only been since New Year's since we've been going out," Sakura answered, embarrassed by the stares some of the surrounding students were throwing their way.

Ino hadn't expected such a thing. "Damn! I was half-expecting that you were going to go out with Itachi! No offense, Sasori-kun." She laughed nervously as Sasori jerked his head away, mildly put off by the assumption of her preferences. "How did it happen?"

Sakura laughed briefly, anxiously remembering all of the events happening after exams. "It was a long, interesting winter break." she stated.

"Ah, yeah, speaking of your president. The Student Council's going to be losing four members, right?" Ino pointed out.

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, we're going to have a vote to decide the next Student Council President next week."

"But sign-ups are already taking place for next year's seats," Sasori finished.

"You should sign up, Ino-chan. Your scores are always in the top twenty! You're also a great listener when it comes down to it," Sakura suggested.

Ino grinned, twirling a strand of her blonde hair. "Maybe I will. I heard a rumor going around that Sasuke-kun is transferring back after this school year's over, so he'll probably sign up too."

"Sasuke-kun's coming back?" Sakura was surprised, but then again, with what Itachi had told her about their relationship, he may be more comfortable knowing that he wouldn't be living in his brother's shadow.

"That's the rumor anyway. I have to go meet with my club now. Thanks for everything, Sakura-chan. I'll see you tomorrow in class." She waved, running backwards to the doors of the school.

Sasori hitched his arm over Sakura's shoulders. "Great, another Uchiha that I have to worry about," he groaned.

"Why would you have to worry about Sasuke-kun?" she puzzled.

"Well, you liked him at the beginning of the year." he said, peering down at her.

Sakura's cheeks reddened as she glared at him. "Why would I like him when I have you?"

With his face reddening as well, Sasori tousled her hair, throwing it over her face. "You're such a brat," he muttered.

She smoothed her hair back with her hands, fixing it to the way she liked. "How am I a brat?" Her tone audibly irritated.

Turning her head, he answered with a quick peck on the lips. "We've got a meeting. Let's go." He pulled her by her hand, heading to the school.

She tried her best to hide her flushed cheeks from the other students around the school. "Sasori-kun, stop teasing me like that! Kissing me at school? So embarrassing." They climbed the stairs, stopping at the Student Council's door.

"I don't think it's embarrassing. We've kissed here before," he said, his hand barely touching the door's handle.

"That's because you don't care if anyone happens to see." she challenged.

Sasori smiled at her. "Or maybe it's because I like showing those people how happy I am with you." Dipping down, he placed another chaste kiss on her lips.

Sakura turned into a sputtering mess. "Sasori-kun, stop teasing me like that!" she repeated, grabbing at her face.

Sasori slid the door open, the two greeted by their fellow council members. The crazy year was coming to an end, but he looked forward with great anticipation. Being with Sakura, he couldn't be happier. They'll share memories together throughout their life, discovering new things and carrying each other when one falls. This wasn't what he was looking for in high school, but it found him anyway. Now, he could say with confidence that he was truly happy.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Deidara asked, noticing the smile on his friend's face.

"Nothing. Let's just start the meeting."

xxx

Comments and Votes appreciated. <3

xTsu