“Oy, oy! Hey, Shikamaru!” Naruto hollered as they approached. Ino’s brow twitched slightly, and she slowly turned to face the group. As soon as she did so, her mouth curled up into a forced smile. Of course, she was delighted to see Sasuke, but… Well, let’s say she could do without Sakura… Forever.
Shikamaru nodded toward Naruto, saying, “Hey, I got your message. You wanted to see me about something?”
“Yeah, it’s about that new technique I’ve been reading about,” Naruto answered as he and Shikamaru wandered off. As soon as they were gone, Chouji and Sasuke gave each other an anxious glance.
“I think we should leave these two alone for a while,” Sasuke whispered, watching as Sakura and Ino glared at one another. Chouji nodded, shoving a handful of chips into his mouth. “What do you say we head over to Irunai’s Diner?”
As the two hurried off, the girls continued to stare angrily at one another, the tension between them so palpable it could be cut with a spoon. Sakura was the first to break the horrible stare, saying, “Sasuke and I are going to do some training later today. It’s important that I don’t waste energy with someone as insignificant as you.” She shut her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest, and let out a “humph.”
Ino felt a surge of anger swell up inside her, ready to burst out, but she forced another lame smile and simply replied, “Of course, of course. Someone as weak as you needs as much energy as they can muster.” As soon as the words flowed from her mouth, Ino felt something else well up inside of her. This wasn’t anger, and it wasn’t pity… What it was, she couldn’t quite tell, but it was making her dizzy.
Sakura let out another “humph,” then said, “I have more than enough energy, thank you. Unlike you, I actually have potential.”
“The only thing you have is an enormous forehead! That brow is what you have more than enough of!” Part of Ino squealed with delight as her words escaped from her body, but as before, something began to make her feel uneasy and sick. It was as though her words were taking something from as they left. Her eyes were just barely able to maintain focus, but still, her perception was altered somehow. “It’s a shame, really. If your bust was as big as your mouth is, maybe then Sasuke would pay more attention to you!”
Ino’s face was becoming visibly flustered, turned bright pink. Sakura stopped her end of the argument, and wore a face of concern. Despite seeing her rival’s expression, Ino continued her verbal assault. She yelled, “You lack discipline and curves! It’s a wonder they let you pass through the academy. No brains, no beauty, and no chance!” Eventually the world became a blur to Ino, and she was forced to stop her tantrum and try to regain her composure.
She rubbed her eyelids hard with the palms of her hands until her vision returned. When she opened her eyes, however, what she saw made her second guess whether she was seeing clear or not. Sakura now seemed taller, but proportionally. That was impossible, Ino thought to herself, unless it’s some form of transformation or illusion technique.
“I’ll admit that you’re faster when it comes to performing techniques, but honestly, that’s no big accomplishment.” Ino crossed her arms over her chest and felt her clothing shift awkwardly. Her clothing seemed loose, which gave her a bit of a shock, but she played it off as nothing extreme. “A transformation spell? Or is it illusionary?” Sakura simply stared at her, unsure what she meant. “Either way, you’re a petty ninja, and this will be nothing for me to dispel.”
“Ino, I…” Sakura began, trying to find the words to respond. “I didn’t do anything…”
“Nonsense,” replied Ino, bringing her hands together in a quick clapping motion, and then forming the seal of ‘kai,’ or ‘release.’ “Dispel!” she hollered, but it was to no avail. She tried again, yelling, “Release! Grand release! Dispel!” Yet, nothing would work to reverse whatever change had occurred.
Sakura’s mind wandered aimlessly as she watched her rival struggle to form seals. She knew that she hadn’t done anything, but Ino wouldn’t be persuaded. Ino had simply began shrinking down. She must have lost a good two or three inches now, and it seemed to have stopped.
Ino stopped forming seals, and stopped calling out incantations. “It’s a decent technique, which isn’t like you at all, Sakura! I’ll call it a fluke, but it’s not something I’m going to be worried about. With your luck it’ll never happen again, you pathetic excuse for a ninja!” Suddenly, that odd feeling welled up again, and Ino felt the world twist out of proportion. Right before her eyes, Sakura seemed to grow a full inch or more.
As Sakura watched this, she put two and two together. She understood how this process was taking place, though she still had no idea how. It seemed that whenever Ino began to speak negatively about Sakura she would lose a small amount of height. Knowing this, how does Sakura react?
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