Lotus Of The Leaf ~Book One~

Chapter 34! The Chunin Exam Continues! Kunoichi Rumble!

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Sakura Haruno

Vs.

Ino Yamanaka

Sakura and Ino stared each other down on the fighting arena down below. I felt my own heart constrict painfully at their intense gaze. The two had a history. Ironically, it had originally been the three of us being the best of friends. They both parted as rivals for Sasuke's affection, only agreeing to be mindful of each other when I was around, since I had no feelings for the boy what so ever. But... That didn't stop Sakura from developing an intense bout of jealousy when she found out Sasuke spoke to me without myself initiating the conversation. She didn't believe me when I said we barely talk, and thus ended my peaceful friendship with the three of them. I'm pretty sure she was even cross I remained such good friends with Ino all this time. I just couldn't understand why they couldn't peacefully gossip about Sasuke.

"Right now. I have no intention of fighting over Sasuke with you," Sakura stated, confidence bursting within her. "You're not even his type!"

Ino's face turned into a deadly scowl. "Sakura!" She snapped. "You better watch your mouth! Do you have any idea who you're mouthing off too?! Don't press your luck with me, little billboard brow!"

Naruto gazed over at me, raising an eyebrow. "Ren? Is something wrong?"

Shikamaru took this moment to slide on over to where we stood. "Isn't it obvious?" He droned, leaning against the railing. "These three were friends a couple of years ago. Ren got stuck between their bickering about Sasuke, and Sakura just out right stopped being friends with Ren. I thought everyone knew about that."

"What?! You and Sakura?!" Naruto cried as I handed Shikamaru back his shirt.

"You ever wonder why Sakura always hated my guts? It wasn't cause I said something nasty to her."  I huffed, pouting at Ino who had used the mind transfer jutsu to make Sakura submit. "Talk about cheap tricks. Anyway, it was around the time Sakura put green hair dye in my shampoo. You remember. Everyone called me 'Broccoli Head' for a while." Ino started ranting and decided to cut her hair, throwing the bundle of blonde hair out. She also managed to hide a wire within to trap Sakura within. She held her arms out and used her Mind Transfer Jutsu.

"I just thought you were trying something new." Naruto hummed as if it were obvious. I rolled my eyes and looked back towards the match, only to see Sakura breaking free of Ino's jutsu. 'Sakura's really good with her own mind. I've never been able to do that, no matter how hard I tried.'

"Good god, she's got some will power." I smirk a little.

The fight ends after they both land a harsh punch to each others face, both of them being knocked unconscious. Asuma and Kakashi both jumped down to retrieve their bodies as Hayate called a draw. We rushed around our teammates, worry etched onto our faces. I smile at Ino's butchered hair. This was the beginning of their recovery as friends. Naruto tries to call out to Sakura, but Kakashi quickly shushes him. "Naruto, Sakura, Ren, and Sasuke. I've been with you for quite some time, and I've been able to see how you're grown..." He starts, placing his hand atop my head. I stare up at him, cocking my head. "From the bottom of my heart... I'm glad I entered them into the Chunin Exams." I felt a flush crawl up my neck as I tried not to cry at his emotional declare.

"J-Jeez, quit with the sappy stuff already..." I mutter, receiving a chuckle from my guardian.

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The board started shuffling through names once again, and we all looked up in anticipation. 

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