Ino
After Neji left, Sakura was alone with her thoughts and what he said. It never once occurred to her that just because she claimed to say and do the things she said and did to Ino out of care, concern, or love didn’t make her any better than Neji.
She also feels incredibly stupid too now that she’s alone after the aftermath where she failed yet again as an alpha to defend not only herself, but her teammates as well. Now this normally wouldn’t have been so humiliating under any other circumstance except her teammates aren’t all alphas or betas or a mixture of the two.
Sasuke is an alpha and Naruto is an omega. Back when they had to face Zabuza and Haku in battle, Sakura was useless while Naruto did all the fighting. In fact, she couldn’t help but to feel inferior and humiliated at times because Naruto is an omega who’s protecting her, an alpha, and keeping her safe, an alpha. As a Haruno alpha, it’s her job to keep the omega in the team safe, not the other way around, and failing to do this with Naruto has left her upset at herself, if not causing to see herself as a failure.
Even now in this exam, Naruto has done so much more than her despite being an omega…it’s enough to make her oddly emasculated as an alpha in a way nothing else has in a long time.
Rock Lee defending her did give her a bit of this same feeling, but not completely. If of anything, having Lee defend her with the strong proclamation of, “Don’t worry Sakura, I’ll keep you and your teammates safe.” actually did make her see that omegas can be just as powerful as alphas.
She couldn’t deny Lee’s strength after having witnessed it twice in a row. At first she wrote off his win against Sasuke as a fluke because there’s no way any omega could be as strong as an alpha given the differences in biology, but seeing him battling three alphas alone with only taijutsu in his arsenal…it not only proved her wrong but it also left her with a deep respect for the brave omega who had no reason to defend her, which is why Neji saying all that he did about him repulsed her so deeply.
When Lee first arrived on the scene, he was so fearless…whereas she had frozen in fear when they first arrived, each one making crude comments the moment they saw Naruto lying beside Sasuke.
“Look, there’s the Uchiha—and wait? Is that an omega I smell?” the man covered in bandages remarked while sniffing the air, Naruto’s scent fully filling the air since it tended to become stronger when he slept.
“…It is…look, behind that alpha girl is an omega! The same one we saw in the first part of the exams!” the man with the brown hair exclaimed while the woman nodded, “Yeah, he’s the loudmouth omega—damn, he smells so good…you think Lord Orochimaru would mind if we took him and killed the Uchiha?”
“Why would we have to tell him of any of this? We all know he’d want the boy as a fuck toy for himself. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him and besides, I believe we’ve earned ourselves the right to a quick fucking of a cherry omega.”
Looking back on it, she was so useless!
All she did was cry out, “Stay back! Don’t come anywhere near him!”
All they did was laugh, with the leader of their group saying something that sticks out to her now, “Like we could ever take an alpha who begs like this seriously—be a real alpha and fight your battle instead of whimpering like a scared omega.”
Sakura knows this is sexist talk from a worthless alpha, but it reminded of some advice Kakashi sensei gave her a while back when it came down to winning over Ino, “Sakura, if you want to have a chance with Ino then you cannot make the same mistakes Sasuke and Itachi did with their loud, blonde, difficult omegas. She is clearly very attuned to the sexism she is facing in our world in her journey to becoming the first ever omega kunoichi and because of that, you need to stop trying to be a stereotypical ‘real’ alpha-provider sort of person.”
“What should I do then? Alphas are supposed to provide for their omegas and keep them safe…I’m only becoming a ninja so I can do all of that for her, what else am I supposed to do?”
“Simple: don’t be a provider, don’t be a caretaker, don’t be a guardian. Be someone she can fight alongside with as equals because that’s what a true alpha would do. Then one day, she will be your mate.”
She is skeptical because, “How that has worked with you and Iruka sensei? Shouldn’t you two be dating by now if you truly followed your own advice?”
She can tell he is frowning as he justifies his failures, “Iruka is a classy omega with high standards. One cannot simply just do what I just advised you to do and expect him to agree to a date right away. Omegas do not owe us dates, praises, or sexual favors for being decent human beings, Sakura. All we can do is respect their decisions no matter which choice they make.”
Needless to say, the green eyed girl couldn’t take him seriously, “Sure…believe whatever you want, but it won’t change the fact you’re a porn reading pervert and that’s why you’ve always failed to get a date from Iruka sensei.”
At the time she wrote off his advice because of his many failures with Iruka sensei, but now…now she sees he was right all along.
If she wants to have a chance with Ino, then she has to shed her old ways of thinking and be the sort of ally she needs in life as opposed to being a stereotypical provider.
‘Neji was right…I really am a sexist jerk just like him.’ she thinks to herself when standing up, making an announcement then, “Ino, I know you’re here. I can sense your chakra and smell your scent from a mile away. I know we’re supposed to be fighting amongst ourselves right now, but I need to tell you something you have to hear. Please come out of the bushes—I need to tell you this right to your face.”
At first, Ino was apprehensive about it since she didn’t figure Sakura would say anything meaningful or of worth to her.
Shikamaru, on the other hand, seemed to disagree, “Ino, you should go face her.”
“What? Why? We all know she’s going to be sexist to me.”
“I don’t think she will this time around. She seems shaken up by everything Neji just did and going off of her scent, she’s not mad…just hurt.”
She frowns to this and Shikamaru turns his sharp stare on her, “You two were friends once at one point in your lives. Why can’t you just listen to her when she’s finally being vulnerable to you?”
Ino does remember their friendship. She remembers meeting her when she was a crying after being bullied, she remembers giving her a ribbon to help keep the hair out of her face, and she remembers standing up for her so many times over the years they were friends. They did have good times together and they did get along great back then…
Then she remembers where things took a sour turn and it made all those good memories have a sour tinge to them.
Ino had been ten when Sakura asked her to meet her at a park at sundown. At first she had thought Sakura was going to tell her about her crush on Naruto or Hinata since many alphas and betas liked them. Though she saw no point in such things since Naruto was already basically taken by Sasuke and Hinata seemed to have a crush on Naruto, so why bother?
Alphas and betas confused her at times, especially when she thought about such things.
What she hadn’t expected was for Sakura to approach her that day and make a confession that could have gone well if the conversation didn’t take a turn for the worst that day, “Ino, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
Her friend was very shy about it, fidgeting in her spot in front of her for a brief moment there before mustering up the courage to tell her with a blush on her face, “I…I like you and I want to be your mate someday.”
Ino didn’t know what to make of such a thing. No alpha or beta had ever had a crush on her before so to hear this was interesting, “You want to be my mate? Are you sure?”
Sakura is confident when nodding, “I am positive I want to be your mate. Someday, I want to become a ninja so I can be the real alpha you deserve in a mate and then, when you become a Chunin, you can be a teacher or a mother to our pups someday.”
Immediately the frown came on her face due to Ino not liking what she heard just now, “Wait, why would I be a teacher or a mother to our pups? I don’t want to do either of those things. I want to become the first ever omega kunoichi so I can kill Itachi and bring Deidara back home.”
At first she thought the phrase had been a mistake and she was willing to let it slide since it was so prevalent in their culture and language. When she heard it again, she knew this wasn’t the case.
“I know that, but Ino, you’re an omega. Omegas aren’t meant to go into battle and get hurt by deadly S-ranked criminals like them. Real alphas are there to fight for omegas and keep them safe so they don’t get hurt by them.”
She knows what the phrase ‘real alpha’ means. Deidara taught her all about it: the phrase literally refers to traditional gender roles an alpha has, such as being a caretaker, provider, and guardian over their omega, who they expect to act like ‘real omegas’ and be barefoot and pregnant homemakers as opposed to doing anything else for themselves.
Knowing Sakura used that phrase for herself twice now has her feeling as though she never knew her friend at all, with the sense of betrayal strong within herself as she speaks, “’Real alpha’? Wait—how long have you thought this way? How long have you thought that all I should do as kunoichi is to be teacher or a mother to our pups?”
“Ever we became friends and I knew I wanted to be a real alpha for you.” Sakura begs her then, not knowing this would be the nail in the coffin for their friendship, “I know you think you can kill Itachi and bring Deidara home, but you can’t. Omegas shouldn’t be taking on S-ranked criminals when there are alphas and betas who can do it instead. Ino, I’m not saying this to be mean to you, but realistically speaking, you can’t do this without getting yourself killed. Please, stop while you’re ahead and become a teacher instead like Iruka sensei did. Leave it all to me so I can take care of you like a real alpha.”
“…And let me guess: you can take on a S-ranked criminal because you’re an alpha and I’m not, right?” Ino’s eyes were becoming teary as the hurt of this betrayal ate away at her, “You think Deidara is dangerous too, don’t you? You actually believe he’s a bad person like so many people do, don’t you?”
Sakura’s silence was all she needed to know, “Unbelievable…even after you met him and got to know him…you actually believe the awful things they say about him.” she got off of the bench, unable to be by her any longer, “I don’t care if you think that all I can do is be a mother or teacher. I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks of Deidara either—I know my brother and I know myself. I know he’s innocent in all of this, I know he’s a good person who wouldn’t leave without being forced by that Uchiha monster…and I know I can bring him back home after killing that man for ruining his life, no matter what any sexist jerk says!”
“I wasn’t being a sexist jerk, Ino. I was being honest with you because I care about you too much to lose you.”
That didn’t make it any better in her eyes, “Well guess what? You already lost me.”
Sakura was stunned when she heard this, “What do you mean? Are you saying we’re not friends anymore?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I don’t need someone who thinks all I am good for is either being barefoot and pregnant or a teacher. I also don’t need someone who thinks my brother is a monster like Itachi.” she walked past her after this was said, not holding back when she told her, “We’re not friends anymore, Sakura. I can’t be friends with a sexist who thinks less of me for being an omega and believes my brother is a criminal.”
That was the day their friendship ended and Sakura kept trying to win her over by giving her courting gifts, offering to walk her home at night, or asking her basic safety questions to ensure she wasn’t hurt.
Many others would have believed she was overreacting, but in her eyes, she wasn’t. Sakura never gave off any indication that she thought less of her for being an omega and then out of nowhere, when confessing to her, she makes it all known. It made Ino feel duped, as though she had been an idiot to stand up for and befriend the alpha who felt so entitled to her to make such claims about their future like that.
Ino wouldn’t have even minded Sakura courting her or asking her out on a date. She wouldn’t have minded giving a relationship with her a chance because she thought she was a good friend and a good alpha who saw her as an ally and equal. Knowing the truth of what she thought of her…it hurt. It really, honestly, truly hurt just as much as losing Deidara did.
Which is why she is hesitant to listen to her now, “The last time I listened to her when she was vulnerable, she let me know that all she saw me as being was nothing more than a mother or teacher in our relationship should we ever be mated. How do I know she won’t do the same thing here?”
“Because she’d be a real dumbass to do that after what Neji just said to her and she’s smart enough to know it.”
Chouji gives her an idea, with a tempting offer on top of it all, “You know, you could hear her out and if she’s going to be a sexist jerk…then Shikamaru and I could team up with you to kick her ass.”
Ino blinks before smiling to this, “Yeah…I guess that could work… Okay, I’ll do it then, but you two better be ready to kick her ass for me the moment she brings up the words ‘real alpha’ or ‘Deidara may not be innocent’.”
“Right.” Chouji while Shikamaru agrees with a hand on his head, “Damn…okay, fine…I’ll do it even if it is such a drag.”
With that encouragement, she gets out of the bushes and faces Sakura, who appears to be humble in appearance and stance, “Alright, what do you want to say to me?”
Sakura’s scent becomes a calming one then—to show her sincerity since this is how alphas use their scent to convey such an emotion—when meeting her gaze, “Ino, I was wrong. I am not a ‘real alpha’ and I can’t ever be after today.”
Ino pauses to the words, finding this to be strange, “What?”
“A ‘real alpha’ would be exactly like Neji Hyuuga by definition and after what Lee did for me, I can never be a ‘real alpha’ for as long as I live. Omegas do have a different biology than alphas, but they are as strong as us all the same. Lee proved that to me today and so has Naruto.” she takes a kunai out next, going on further in her talk, “I no longer want to be a ninja so I can be a ‘real alpha’; ‘real alphas’ are jerks like I was for the longest time, and I never want to be that way again. I want to be a ninja so I can be someone you can fight alongside with as equals someday like the true alpha I am going to become.”
Lifting the kunai up with one hand holding her hair with another, she is confident when announcing, “I am sorry for all of the sexist things I’ve ever said to you and for all of the sexist things I believed about omegas for years. I am sorry for what I said on the day on our friendship ended, and I am sorry for assuming Deidara was guilty without any proof. I know you won’t believe me, but I hope this will help you see I am serious about what I said.”
She cut her hair then, which to Shikamaru and Chouji was nothing of significance.
Ino knew just how significant it was, though: Haruno alpha women are to keep their hair long to show they are both beautiful and strong enough to not only juggle the work of a provider to their omega but also multitask successfully enough to maintain perfect, long hair at all times.
By cutting her hair, she is symbolically cutting off the Haruno alpha tradition for women that goes hand-in-hand with the ‘real alpha’ standard found in society.
“I hope we can one day kill Itachi and bring Deidara back home together. Until then, I’ll work hard enough to become the best kunoichi I can so I can be worthy enough to be your ally in this.”
While Shikamaru and Chouji are confused on the why the whole hair thing is so significant, Ino feels herself wanting to…believe Sakura.
She was being so sincere in her eyes, her voice, and actions that she had a hard time believing this could be all an act. She had a hard time believing the alpha was pulling any tricks on her when she could so bluntly go against Haruno family tradition like this without second guessing her decision—and all because she had a change of heart thanks to what Lee did for her and Neji’s harsh criticism of her.
There’s a part of her that, no matter how much she wants to believe her and her sincerity, doesn’t trust it. She wants to trust her fully, but after what happened in the past…she’s still reluctant to give her the full trust she most likely will want out of her.
“…Trusting you isn’t going to be easy for me. I need to see you actually stick to what you’re saying you’re going to do from here on out before I decide if I want you as a partner for my mission.”
“I understand.”
Ino will throw her a bone for now by showing her some kindness, “But I can fix your hair for you if you want me to.”
Sakura smiles and without making any sexist comments, is able to accept her olive branch, “I actually would. I’ve never been good at styling my hair.”
“No, you never were, but you can learn…at least, I’m confident you can.”
Ino would even out Sakura’s hair for her with her kunai and she would leave after Sakura thanked her for her help without any incident.
Shikamaru, Chouji, and her were able to leave the scene after this without any bad blood between them or angry ranting from Ino in what feels like a major first for them.
Chouji doesn’t know if Ino will ever be able to trust Sakura to keep her word, but Shikamaru thinks she could come around to as long as Sakura followed through on her word in a genuine manner to prove her sincerity wasn't all for show.