Whats up nerds.

Its me.

Being flaky and not doing anything I said I was gonna do.

Have this garbage.

You and I

Chapter 1: Ino

Ino should hate Sasuke.

Sometimes she does. He is a traitor, one who very nearly got her two dear teammates killed by a bunch of upstarts from a nothing village. He had joined the enemy, helped start a war, alienated and belittled Naruto, made Sai feel like an imitation, the list went on.

But she has forgiven him for that.

The whole village had.

It had been hard, yes, but Ino knew there was more at play than she was told. Sasuke had dealt with the death of his family, the betrayal of his beloved elder brother, a village that didn't trust him based on a decades old feud.

In some ways, Ino could see why it had been too much for a twelve year old boy and she found that after talking it over with Sai and Shikamaru, of all people, that her rage was misdirected.

Yes, Sasuke was accountable for his actions and he should be.

But in the same vein, the people who ruined his childhood had gotten off scot free, had been absolved of their crimes of genocide against civilians and loyal Konoha shinobi. And it had infuriated Ino to learn that the council that overseen the village since the time of the Third Hokage had been complicit in the massacre of children.

It had taken her a long time to forgive Sasuke for what he had done all those years ago. He had betrayed their village and to Ino, that was unthinkable. But she knew that she didn't understand and probably never would and her place to judge was not here.

So she had forgiven him.

But the one thing she would never forgive him for was the pain and suffering he had put Sakura through.

Sakura was Ino's best friend.

And it had ripped Ino apart to see Sakura's desperate training, her late nights studying and her exhaustion the next day when she threw herself back into the thick of things. It had made Ino's heart ache with sympathy to see Sakura chase after Sasuke, time and time again only to be rebuffed and rejected.

And it had broken Ino's heart to know that Sakura would be content with Sasuke simply returning home, that Sakura would let Sasuke go if only he came back to Konoha. It was the first time Ino had truly not known what to say.

What could she do? How could she comfort Sakura? Make the pain go away?

There were no bullies to chase away, no pretty ribbons to tie into Sakura's hair.

This was a monster Ino couldn't fight and it infuriated her. Ino was meant to protect Sakura, the silly little forehead that cried too much and wore her heart on her sleeve and she couldn't.

But when Sasuke came back, and asked Sakura to travel with him, Ino didn't have the heart to tell Sakura not to go. Sakura had looked so hopeful, so much like the little girl Ino had become best friends with all those years ago and she couldn't bear to see that smile disappear like it had when they were teenagers.

She had worried of course, about Sakura, had dreaded Sakura returning downtrodden and broken again.

But Sakura hadn't, had returned instead married and leading a tiny, two year old girl.

And seeing the joy in Sakura and Sasuke's eyes had stilled Ino's tongue again. Sarada was the light of both their lives, Ino could see it in every line of them, in Sakura's laughter and Sasuke's tiny, barely there smile.

So while Ino would never forgive Sasuke for what he did, all those years ago, to her dearest, closest friend, she would let him be happy.

Not for him.

But for Sakura.

I always hated how female friendships were portrayed in Naruto. It was always about competition, who was prettier, had the biggest boobs, who the guys like more etc. Occasionally, we got a scene where Ino or Sakura would comfort the other, or think about how far they had come and how proud they were. But they were few and far between and the potential for a great friendship like Naruto and Sasuke's was wasted, imo.

I wish it was explored more. I really do.

This story won't be updated with any regularity as the drabble style and the fact that the chapters will be from different characters perspectives means I can't write it on command.

I'd love to hear feedback and I do hope you all enjoyed it.