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They had a sleepover at Ino's home after the cherry blossoms. The next morning, the girls threw on their kimonos for fun and walked into town for a fancy breakfast at a teahouse.
Adohira practiced the same hand jutsu formation to increase her speed the entire way. Ram, snake, tiger, ram, snake, tiger, ram, snake tiger, ram snake-
"Ow, ow, owww, cramp!"
Ino giggled as Adohira stretched her pained wrists. They passed her family market: Leaf Convenience Co. Her parents still weren't back yet, and the reminder that she was alone snuck into her mind. Staying over at the Yamanaka's was a much-needed change. She hated sleeping in an empty home.
"...Sakura? What's wrong?" Ino suddenly said.
Crying profusely, Sakura Haruno crouched forward on the bench in front of the market. She had a water bottle in her hand that was nearly empty to hydrate herself and calm her nerves, but she sobbed harder. Adohira didn't recognize her, but when Ino said her name, it clicked.
She's... Naruto's crush.
Ino lowered herself to her knees to meet Sakura's eye level. The tears overwhelmed the young kunoichi. She rubbed her green, watercolor eyes as she explained to her childhood friend what had happened.
"Sasuke and Naruto got into a fight... on the hospital roof... They.. they could have..."
"Wait, what do you mean they got into a fight?!"
"Naruto used Rasengan... Sasuke used Chidori... I ran in to try to stop them."
"Are you crazy, Sakura?! You could've gotten killed!"
"But seeing them fight like that, Ino... You don't understand how it feels."
Sakura's tears dripped down her face, droplets wettening the ground between them. Ino thought of something, and then turned to Adohira beside her, "Stay here with Sakura and I'll be right back!"
"W-wait, Ino-" Please don't leave me with her.
"Five minutes, okay?" She zipped through the market doors.
I don't know how to console her. The only thing we have in common is...
Gulping, Adohira turned to the pink-haired girl. Thankfully, she was a bit calmer now after getting some of her emotions out. Sakura leaned back on the bench and drank the rest of the water bottle in a catatonic state. She was lost in thought. Almost lucid.
Feeling increasingly awkward, Adohira quietly sat beside her on the bench. Her heart raced at the realization Naruto was back in the village. Not only that, but the news of his fight with Sasuke seemed terrifying. Was he okay? Was it really as bad as Sakura said...? She wouldn't be this upset if it wasn't, right?
Is Naruto hurt?
Adohira peeked at the Haruno girl from the corner of her eyes. She was staring at nothing in front of her, glimpsing the fight play out in snippets again in her memory.
