𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼 | 𝑲.𝑰𝑵𝒁𝑼𝑲𝑨

|I{•------» [37] «------•}I|

"I really don't think you should be walking around like this so soon after what happened. You should be resting right now."

Ruka simply looked at her, giving her a puppy-eyed look, causing the pinkette to sigh. "You have to tell me if you're not feeling well, okay? The moment you start feeling off, I don't care if it's just a headache."

Ruka hummed her agreement, her smile turning more brilliant than one might think was possible. She reached up to take the pinkette's hands from her shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze for good measure. "The exact moment, and not a second later."

A beat of silence ticked by as Ruka's gaze searched the pinkette's face, noticing how solemn she looked. "You know, I've been told I'm a really good listener when I want to be."

Ruka's blue gaze fixed upon her, her eyes sparkling with the growing curiosity she didn't seem to care to hide. "My match... it was against Ino."

It was a single sentence that spoke volumes, and understanding seemed to flicker through Ruka's eyes. She made no move to comment, but somehow that single flash of understanding was all it took for Sakura to unload the heavy contents of her feelings.

"Before Sasuke, we used to be very good friends, and recently I've been reminded why I cherished that friendship so much. I just kind of hate that we lost that along the way. But today, she said the same words she said way back then, and I just felt grateful. My friend that I cherished is still there, and that... that just made me very happy, I guess."

There was no judgment on Ruka's face as she listened. "Precious friendships. They're the ties that bind us. It's only natural to feel a loss when those bonds are put in jeopardy, and reunions... well, those can be quite emotional given certain circumstances."

Sakura's mouth opened and closed within seconds, causing the heiress to smile. "Before Kiba, Shikamaru and I were close."

"We were... inseparable, but then I let my jealousy get to me and..." Ruka pursed her lips, causing Sakura to find herself reaching out to take hold of the girl's hand. "What about you and Kiba? It's obvious to everyone that your bond is special."

The mention of his name caused the brunette to perk up. "He's something else... He's the only one that sees me for who I am."

Sakura watched as the girl's smile began to widen as she talked about him. "I know he's not the strongest or the smartest shinobi, but... he's someone that I need in my life, someone that kept me going."

"I'm jealous." Sakura blurted it out without thinking. "I mean, not jealous! Not that kind of jealous. I'm jealous, but not about your bonds with our teammates and Kiba... Well, it does have to do with those bonds. But not in the way you think, I swear!"

Blue eyes wandered over the obviously frazzled Sakura as she hurried to correct herself, blurting out even more rushed words. "Are you afraid of me?"

It was Sakura's turn to blink, her brows furrowing as she wondered if she had misheard. "Afraid of you? Not always. Not really. It's more like I'm intimidated, afraid of rejection though? Yeah, a lot."

Sakura inhaled and exhaled calming breaths before slowly lifting her gaze to meet the never-wavering orbs of Ruka's blue eyes trained on her every move. "I want to be someone that you care about, Ruka."

There was a flicker of surprise, and Ruka's lips parted in surprise.

"What you said in the forest... I've been thinking about it a lot, and I realized that you're right. I want to be someone my teammates can trust and rely on. I want us to have those bonds, the kind of friendship with you."

The silence that filled the air did nothing to soothe the pinkette's nerves, even less so when accompanied by Ruka's expressionless face. Without a single word, Ruka reached up with one hand and flicked Sakura's nose, causing the girl to scrunch her nose. "Ouch! Why did you do that?"

"Idiot." Ruka turned around, causing Sakura to stare at her back in confusion. "Don't say that stuff again." The pinkette caught a glimpse of the red tint on Ruka's cheek, causing her to grin. "Ah... Ruka! I didn't know you're tsundere!"

"Shut up."