— By the way, Ino.
Despite the lump in her throat, Sakura forced herself to speak.
Even so, her eyelids clenched tightly, as did her fists in her lap.
— Yeah? What's wrong, Sakura?
Yamanaka's warm voice only made the tension in her hands escalate into a slight, uncontrollable tremor.
She didn't want to go on, but she couldn't bear it any longer.
The doubt… the feeling of betrayal was eating away at her from the inside.
If she kept it bottled up, sooner or later she'd end up exploding.
— Why do you look so sad?
The considerate tone her friend had always used with her had long since ceased to sound comforting.
Now, the question seemed mocking to her.
A finger poking at a wound she herself had opened.
After taking a deep breath and turning to face Ino, all her eyes could see was hypocrisy.
Her usual impulse to look away was immediately overcome by anger.
But even though Sakura's nose and the corners of her eyes stung, and her lungs felt as if they were on the verge of suffocation, she finally forced herself to stay calm so she could keep talking.
— Is what I heard true?
Despite the fire burning inside her, the pink-haired's voice was icy.
— Do you like Sasuke, too?
— Hmm?
As an unusual gust of wind shook the tree next to the bench where the two girls were sitting, the silence settled completely.
The initial surprise on Ino's face—though for a second it was mingled with a slight blush, perhaps due to the innocence typical of her age or perhaps out of embarrassment—was immediately replaced by a pallor that mirrored the chill that had settled over the surroundings.
She didn't know how to respond.
Although the question wasn't entirely unexpected—since Yamanaka wasn't so clueless as to fail to notice the reason behind the recent change in attitude, unlike her friend, who had always ignored everyone's obvious crush on Sasuke—the fact that Sakura had decided to confront her in that way was indeed unexpected.
Uncomfortable with Sakura's intense gaze and the prolonged silence, Ino thought about lightening the mood with a slight smile and a response that would calm the pink-haired; however, when she tried to curve her lips and think of her next words, she couldn't do it.
Why should she appease Sakura?
Just because she likes Sasuke too?
What's the problem with that?
Moreover, if anyone should be upset about it, it was herself; after all, Ino had liked the Uchiha first, from the very first day of school, when the pink-haired wasn't even able to lift her head because of her shyness and her complex about her wide forehead.
So why…?
Why should she now ignore her own feelings and indulge her friend, when it was Sakura who was being irrational and selfish in the first place?
She, too, felt hurt when Sakura came with the news that she liked Sasuke, but she decided to put it aside, telling herself that it was okay, that it wasn't a problem, and that maybe they could compete fairly while still remaining good friends; however, now…
The longer the silence dragged on, the colder Ino's expression became.
In the end, her coldness almost matched that of the pink-haired.
— Yes. I like Sasuke.
Although her voice broke the silence, it did nothing to lighten the mood.
— I've always liked beautiful things.
Both girls' hands tensed with every new word.
Ino wanted to stop, but she simply couldn't.
By that point, speaking was as necessary to her as breathing.
— Why shouldn't I like him?
— …
— …
— I see.
Even though the exchange had been brief, the air felt thin for both girls. Another thing they shared was the tension in their hands, the trembling in them, the erratic beating of their hearts, the pallor of their faces.
But neither of them was able to notice such subtleties, no matter how obvious they were.
— If that's the case…
Sakura stood up as she spoke.
Immediately, her legs buckled, eager to run away, but the staring contest she was locked in forced her to remain as steady as her gaze.
— Then, I think…
She didn't want to continue either; however, if she faltered now… if she backed down even on this, then…
— We'll be rivals from now on.
She sensed that she would always be beneath her.
Unable to stay near Ino any longer, the pink-haired turned on her heel and began to walk away.
The tension in her entire body, reflected in each of her steps, stood in stark contrast to the trembling of the Yamanaka's thin lips and shoulders.
However, the redness in their eyes and the stinging in their small noses were the same in both of them.
Before the pink-haired could take more than two steps in her determined and dramatic exit, a hoarse sigh coming from the tree next to the bench made her stop dead in her tracks.
Both brats turned their eyes toward the tree branch, where a brat their own age was watching them with obvious weariness and boredom.
They barely caught a glimpse of his green eyes and pink hair before their minds went blank.
…
Yashin couldn't believe the string of nonsense he'd just witnessed.
That they were upset because both of their panties were getting wet over the same guy wasn't all that far-fetched; after all, they were both idiotic girls, and he'd never expected much from them, but all the filth they spewed along with their intentions to end their friendship…
Even though he considered himself experienced after having lived two lives, this was only the second time the pink-haired had witnessed such a level of mental retardation—and that was only because he'd already seen this moment unfold in his past life, when he was watching the original series.
Even his stomach felt queasy after having to witness that—or maybe it was the fault of the three dango sticks he'd eaten on the way?
The food in that world was a real disappointment.
Sooner or later, he'd have to do something to fix that.
A life without delicacies was no life at all.
In no hurry to reunite with his disappointing twin sister and the blonde fool who was wasting the unfortunate park bench with her presence, Yashin began to climb down from the tree, walking step by step along the trunk.
To prevent those two brats from doing anything unnecessary before he finished climbing down, he once again infused his eyes with chakra.
Since they were just little girls, this time he didn't have to limit himself to affecting the Broca's area in the frontal lobe to hinder any attempt to speak; not only did he keep both of them from opening their mouths, but he also left them frozen in place with vacant stares.
It wasn't until the exhausted Yashin stood before Sakura and raised his hand to slap her that they finally snapped back to reality.
— Y-you…
Stunned—perhaps by the blow, or perhaps by the mental lapse she'd been forced into—the older twin could barely utter a word.
Immediately, the stinging in her nose was was eclipsed by the stinging in her cheek.
— Sakura!
Ino's worried cry and the hurried sound of her footsteps came to an abrupt halt the moment she found herself face-to-face with the pink-haired boy's green eyes.
This time, there wasn't a trace of chakra infused in them; however, the darkness and detachment within them were enough to force her to stop.
Although she hadn't been able to detect it while eavesdropping on their conversation—even though she was practically right beside them—she was at least still able to sense the danger in his intentions.
She wasn't a complete waste as a sensor, but not much more than that.
Even so, Yashin regretted—just a little—not having let the blonde finish approaching her. After all, she, too, deserved to be treated the same way as his disappointing sister.
However, he would have time to deal with her later.
— Y-you…
Despite the time that had passed, Sakura's whisper grew even fainter.
Yashin raised his hand again.
Immediately, the older twin's eyes closed, anticipating another blow; but instead of pain, what she felt was the warm touch of his palm gently caressing the red mark on her cheek.
— "That's great, Sakura. You have to take good care of her. Friends are very important in our lives." If I remember correctly, those were Mebuki's words after you came home saying you'd finally made a friend.
— …
— You promised her you'd always look out for her, didn't you? But look at you now, turning your back on the person who reached out to you when you were helpless on the ground. I wonder if you're proud of yourself.
Although she tried to hold it back, in the end it was impossible.
As soon as the lump in her throat dissolved, Sakura's tears began to flow.
Since she couldn't stand on her own, she had no choice but to cling to the person in front of her; even though he was the one who had hit her, even though he was the reason her tears were flowing, she clung with her tiny fists to the collar of his montsuki and buried her face in the curve of his neck.
Yashin didn't pull away; on the contrary, he welcomed her vulnerability… her dependence on his embrace.
He was glad he'd made her cry.
It meant her stupidity wasn't beyond repair.
It meant there were cracks, which he could mend as he saw fit.
He had already put up with being related to an idiot for far too long.
It was time to turn that shameful relative into something… a little less unworthy, and, incidentally, a little more to his liking.
After all, since the foundation was already there, it would be a shame not to do so.
Besides, since he went to the trouble of slapping her and speaking up, not gaining some advantage wasn't an option.