Chapter Text
It starts like this. They’re somewhere near Nara territory. Sakura has never been there, neither has Ino. They are lost, but Ino knows what she’s doing. Where she’s going. Ino always knows.
“Inoo!” She whines, lagging behind her energized friend, “Why are you bringing me out here. It’s gonna be a long walk back home, and I know you have something else planned, Ino. I just know it.”
“You know what?” Ino sings, and rushes a head, nearly stumbling over a fallen log. “That I just learned something and I wanna use you has my lab rat? Or that I found something really cool and really something you’d be interested in, Sakura-chan?”
That piques her interest. “Like what?”
Ino waves a hand nonchalantly. “Oh, y’know, special and absolutely unique ways to make you stronger.”
“But I’m not from a clan, Ino,” Sakura mentions, and lets her hand pet the side of a tree feeling the groves and dips of the bark, “You know this.”
“Yes, but don’t you want to know what it’s like to be in another persons head? I know that I do, but papa wont let me try it on someone until we graduate. I don’t want to wait that long!”
“Ino,” Sakura murmurs, “Your papa just wants you to be safe, I don’t think we should do this.”
Scoffing, Ino strides a little faster. “Sometimes papa isn’t right. Sometimes ma’ is, and sometimes she isn’t. Sometimes I’m right, and sometimes I’m not. I’m right about this, though. I’m sure of it.”
Sakura sighs, because she knows where this is going. “Ino, you know how I feel about that, don’t you?”
Ino pivots on her heel to face Sakura, something glinting in her eyes. “Yeah, I know that, Sak, but it’s not like that, I swear. I just wanna know what it’s like to be a Yamanaka. What it’s like to see into someone else's mind.”
“Look, I agreed to help you, I just don’t want to hear… about that anymore, ‘kay?”
“Yeah, yeah, sorry Sakura,” She tells, and finally they reach an acceptable spot. It’s a small clearing, smack dab between three trees and almost swallowed by some weird smelling bush.
Ino is the first to settle down, patting down her dress to shake away any debris, and then tilting her head expectantly at Sakura. She gestures for her to sit in front of her, and Sakura obliges.
“I wanna see in your head,” She starts, “Papa had me memorize the theories and stuff, I know what I’m doing I swear.”
Sakura shrugs, “I trust you,” she hums softly, “how long do you think this will take, though? I don’t want to get home too late. You know how my parents are.”
Ino scoffs, “Man, I wish my parents were as vocal about your safety, mine only tell me that someone’s always watching. That there are eyes everywhere.” She rolls her wrists, and positions them in front of her, molding her nimble fingers in a well practised hand sign.
“Will it hurt?” Sakura asks, feeling shy to move now that Ino plans on casting an actual jutsu on her.
“Uhm, I don’t think so.” Ino shifts where she sits, and closes her eyes. “I have to concentrate, Sakura-chan, sit still and be quiet please.”
It’s quiet for a short moment, then Ino’s eyes shoot open, “Mind Body jutsu!” She shouts.
It hits Sakura like a pile of cold, frosty snow. She blanks out, her vision snaps to grey to silver then black, and there’s spots in her vision of pink and red and white. Her body physically thwumps back, her head catches of a rock, and it shakes her brain.
It ends like this. Sakura is bleeding. She can’t see, and it feels like she just did a forty yard lap behind the school. Her lungs burn, her hands claw at the dirt, shards of rock slip underneath her nails. She is lost, and it seems that Ino doesn’t always know where they are.