Ino's POV
Today at the family flower shop the fragrance of a hundred
flowers filled the air. A breeze crept in, twisting around
a figure in the shop's entryway. It bared nothing but the
scent of a girl in her bloom. Her fresh smell wafted in
lovelier than the flowers themselves. She is the cherry
blossom of spring.
She passed rows of metal vases that lined the floor. Each
vase contained a specific assortment of flowers such as
carnations, roses or hibiscuses in numerous colors. She
paused behind the central display table in the middle of
the shop, her visage wandering over the various the floral
arrangements.
I hurried over to help her. "May I help you?"
She walked out from behind the display table, her gait
feminine and delicate taking small steady steps. Her red
Chinese style dress modestly covered her chest, cut down
the middle by a jagged zipper. The rest of her dress flowed
down to her knees slit up the sides revealing slender hips.
She wore tight black shorts underneath her short cute
dress. Her choice of clothes fit her slim petite figure.
"Ino?" she called out sweetly.
"Oh, Sakura! Long time no see," I greeted her in a slightly
condescending tone. "Have you come to buy flowers for
Sasuke? You know, I'm the one he likes."
"Sasuke-kun, he's gone." Sakura's shoulders sank. Her large
jade eyes dropped their gaze beneath her pink shaggy bangs
parted down the center.
"I'm sorry, I forgot about that," I apologized, dropping my
hostile front. Poor Sakura. I shouldn't have mentioned him.
Guilt ate away at my conscious. I sighed, brushing aside
the strands in her face.
"Thank you, Ino. Now I can see better." Sakura nodded
thankfully, moving past me to the counter. She leaned atop
it her weight down on her elbows and head slumped over
between her shoulders. "I couldn't stop Sasuke-kun from
leaving. Naruto tried to bring him back but failed. Now
he's injured in the hospital, along with Lee-san. It's all
my fault this happened!"
One hand formed a fist slamming it down on the countertop.
It shook violently causing a vase of cosmos to topple onto
the floor. "If only I wasn't so weak." Pain choked her
voice.
"Don't say that, Sakura." I approached her, bent over to
pick a cosmos, placing it in her palm. "Here."
"A cosmos." Sakura ran her fingers along its soft magenta
petals. Her skin tone matched its hue, a pink-white peony
with a perfect milky glow.
"See how beautiful it's become?" I exclaimed, focusing on
the cosmos in her grasp. "It was once a bud that never
believed in itself because it bloomed later than the
flowers around it. But now it's become the prettiest of
them all. Don't you agree, Sakura?"
"I-Ino, thank you.for saying that." Sakura raised her face,
her cheek brushing against my arm. Its touch felt silky and
smooth, and its texture perfect as porcelain. Tears swam in
her large green orbs threatening to spill from their rims.
"Since we were young you were never confidant. Remember the
day we did our flower arranging lesson?" I lifted a finger
to her face letting a teardrop roll on to its tip. It
glistened brightly like dew in the sunlight, that streamed
in through the shop's front window, staining its interior
gold.
A shower of gold bathed us just like it did that sunset in
a meadow outside Konoha. As Ninja Academy students we
received our flower arrangement lesson as children. The
atmosphere stirred Sakura's memories.
"We picked flowers together," she recalled. "I had no
confidence and you said I was a bud. Have I really bloomed
into a flower?" Her voice carried a tinge of doubt.
"Of course!" I replied. Our silhouettes moved closer fused
in the golden glow. "When you returned the ribbon I gave
you, you said 'I'm no longer the girl who has been chasing
you. With this forehead protector, as a female shinobi, I
won't loose to you.' As you returned the ribbon, in that
handshake I felt real strength. I knew then you started to
bloom. Later on during our match I used my Mind Transfer
Technique to take over your mind. Just when I forced you to
announce your forfeit you fought back. Another you emerged
and said, 'Ino! If you don't get out of my mind right now,
you're going to see hell!' Who was she?"
"Inner Sakura. the real me," Sakura murmured, resting her
chin on my chest.
"The you who beat me, so stop feeling sorry for yourself,
forehead girl." I smirked, pointing at her wide forehead.
"Hey pig face, watch your mouth!" She sprang from my side
grabbing the turtleneck of my shirt.
I laughed pushing her off. Our silhouettes broke apart. She
landed poised in a fighting position further towards the
display. Unmoving, unblinking, Sakura fixed her eyes on my
motionless form. Her thin brows drew together in
concentration. Pink lips tightened, edges turned down,
manifesting her iron will. A powerful aura emanated from
her uniquely feminine in feeling.
"What a strong fighting spirit! That's the Sakura I know,
the one that's bloomed into a beautiful flower," I said,
falling back in a defense position in case she decided to
challenge me.
As I said that her features softened with a twinkle in her
eyes and the trace of a smile. Her countenance brightened
like the sunlight in spring. She dropped her aggressive
stance, shuffling over with the walk of a geisha. She
stopped a foot in front of me, her knees slightly inward
and hands clasped below her waist.
"I-Ino," Sakura began quietly. "You said the same thing
after our match. I cried because I felt so happy. It was
the first time you acknowledged me as your equal. I knew
then I became strong, like you." Sakura gazed up at me in
admiration.
"Sakura." I paused, struck by her gaze. She truly
worshipped me from the time we met. I became her world, her
dreams and aspirations as time passed. Although our
jealousy drove us apart, deep in our hearts we never let
each other go. We clung to the memories that defined us as
friends in the face of bitter rivalry.
The girl who was my other half poured her soul out.
Feelings repressed all those years like water behind a damn
broke loose flowing freely. "Ino, it was your words
'there's no meaning in a bud unless it blooms' that gave me
a reason to be stronger. My life, like a bud, wouldn't have
meaning unless I grew. If I bloomed into a flower like you,
then my life would have meaning."
"I changed your life that much?" I whispered, drawing her
in a close embrace behind the counter.
She nodded backlit by a stream of red light. The sun sank
lower on the horizon, its rays penetrated in lower through
the window washing the shop in red now instead of gold. A
soft rosy glow outlined her body, especially around her
head creating the effect of a halo.
A curtain of shadow fell in the interior over her hair and
face. I strained my eyes to catch the flash of her teeth
and the gleam in her eyes as she spoke.
"I've come this far in life believing the words you said to
me. 'The bud might turn out to be a flower lovelier than a
cosmos.' I was the bud, and you were the cosmos."
I shook my head and disagreed, leading her to the shop's
back door with an arm around her waist. "I think the bud
has blossomed into something more beautiful than the cosmos
could ever dreamed of, the cherry blossom of spring. I'm
talking about you, Haruno Sakura."
"You think I've become great? But I was always the one who
admired you, who wanted to be like you, Ino," Sakura
admitted, as we exited out the back of the shop to its
garden behind.
From the backdoor a cobblestone path opened, up cutting
through a sea of grass. In the middle of the garden, it
formed a circular walkway that enclosed a fountain. We
strolled over across the path that led to the fountain
sitting by its edge. Mist sprayed us from the jet that
spurted up as twilight descended upon us. Shades of violet
cloaked the land and colored the darkening sky. Only on the
horizon did the last vestiges of light cling to the ending
day. Soon it retreated giving way to night. Stars sparkled
like celestial jewels adorning the moon herself. Her face,
which was an elliptical silver disc, shined brightly on the
earth. She smiled casting down a silvery beam of light upon
Sakura herself. The cherry blossom of spring became a
moonflower in the night.
Her beauty captured me in a feeling I couldn't explain. My
heart skipped a beat and I whispered in her ear, "Back in
the Forest of Death, I saw how you changed, Sakura. When
Sasuke-kun and Naruto were unconscious their lives were in
danger. Instead of running away you risked your life to
save them. You started to bloom in that battle."
Sakura's expression betrayed a hint of doubt. "You really
think so, Ino? Back then I felt so weak. Sasuke-kun,
Naruto, and Lee-san did their best to protect me. I was
just a burden always in the way. I thought that time would
be different. I needed to help the people I cared about. I
decided to fight and protect them even if I died."
"You stopped running away, Sakura. You were no longer the
little girl who hid." A smile crossed my face and I brushed
away her bangs just like the time we first met.
She laughed recalling the past. "I was teased as a little
girl and always covered my forehead. After you told me to
show it off, I stopped being shy. In battle though, things
didn't change. I felt like my old shy self, too scared to
act. That made so me weak I hated it!" Anger churned in her
face and she forced herself to regain the most composed
tone she could muster. "I couldn't stand it. Not only was I
weak but useless as well. Others always protected me while
I watched safely from behind. During the Chuunin Exam I
decided things had to change. I learned from Sasuke-kun,
Naruto and Lee-san what I wanted to be. Strong like them."
Sakura spoke with a firm conviction glancing down at her
reflection in the fountain.
I quietly planted my elbows down on fountain's stone rim
leaning over the water. Moonlight danced across in small
waves that rippled out from the center playing in our
reflections. I lost myself in the ripple's gentle,
undulating rhythm.
"Strong to protect those close to you," I replied softly.
"You knew those Sound Nin might kill you. Yet you fought
and took a beating. I still remember the blood dripping
down your face, the pain you were in. I thought about our
friendship before we became rivals. And I realized how much
I cared about you, Sakura. Then I jumped in to help you."
My reflection edged closer and the two shimmering
reflections joined as one. Droplets rained from the jet
above occasionally breaking them apart.
"You protected me. Does that mean we're still close?" Her
eyes locked onto mine desperate for an answer.
I thought for a moment propping myself up on my arms as I
sat up. "Of course, in spite of our rivalry. I was stupid
for letting a thing like that destroy our friendship."
"No, it was my fault, Ino." Sakura disagreed letting her
visage fall back on the water. "Because I was the one who
broke off our friendship and said we should be rivals."
"Sakura, it was something we both did," I said, turning to
face her. "You know what I've learned from this?"
She paused, blinking. "What?"
I positioned my chin on her shoulder and my breath struck
her ear. "That it's made our friendship stronger."
The warmth of my words spread from Sakura's ear to the rest
of her body. "Ino, thank you for saying that!" She sniffled
and emotion overflowed. "You've always tried to make me
feel better, like that day we picked flowers." Sakura threw
herself at me burying her face in my breast.
I hugged her tightly, pressing my cheek to her head.
"That's what friends are for, right? Friends, like flowers,
should not fight to be number one."
"You said the same thing before." Sakura smiled tearfully.
"From now on, I want to be like a cosmos, in harmony with
those around me."
"Their so harmonious. That's why I love them. Look around
the garden," I exclaimed, releasing my grasp on her
She rose to her feet surveying the garden. The full moon
smiled brightly illuminating its entirety. Ivy grew in
thick blankets over the outer walls. Its inner wall, a
white picket fence, served more as a decorative device than
to keep out outsiders. Climbing roses clung to sections of
the fence in white and pink. A single massive banyan tree
grew in the back, splayed up with its intertwining trunk,
providing shelter as its large boughs hung low. Beneath the
spacious canopy lay nestled a tiny cottage. Patches of
cosmos clung to its base in hues of crimson, gold, pure
white, magenta, fiery orange and lavender. Variations
combining several types scattered the patches here and
there.
The evenly placed petals of a single cosmos created the
microcosm of an ordered universe. As a whole the cosmos
existed peacefully, no individual flower dominating the
other. Just as the stars sparkled together in their beauty,
so the cosmos adorned each other. Sakura's heart sang as
this realization uplifted her from the chaos of the world.
If she found peace it was here in this garden with me.
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