(A/n: okay, I'm still working on the pairings. I know one pairing for sure, but I don't know any others!! Who should I pair Tenten and Ino with??? What about Hinata?!?! Please help me…TT
Discimilar: Naruto (no matter how much I wish it did) does not belong to me.)
It was, to say the least, a boring day for Yamanaka Ino. Her father was out on a mission, and wouldn't be back for quite awhile. Her mother was out visiting a relative, who lived in a nearby none-shinobi village. Chouji was with his father practicing Akimichi clan jutsus, and then most likly to go eat BBQ for three hours straight. As for Shikamaru, he had gone to Suna to 'discuss chuunin exam details', and she decided that he was lying and just using that as an excuse to go see Temari.
She snickered as she remembered catching him staring at the Sand kunoichi's bust for exactly one minute and fifty-three seconds before Naruto popped out of nowhere and blocked his view.
Putting aside that memory, with everyone not around, what did that leave?
An extremly bored blonde 17-year-old kunoichi of the hidden leaf village to mind her family's shop, when almost no one came in this time of day.
Propping her elbow on the counter top, Ino rested her cheek on her palm and sat in a stool behind the counter.
After about 41.35 minutes of absolutely nothing happening, the door-bell to her shop jingled, and her eyes snapped open. She put on a cheery smile when she saw Sai walk into her store.
"Hello Sai-kun, what can I do for you?" she greeted.
"Hi Ino… Hey, I was had a question I wanted to ask you…" she dark-haired boy replied.
Ino tilted her head in curiosity.
"What is it?" she inquired, wondering what on earth Sai could ask her that he hadn't asked Sakura about already.
"Well, see, in about two days it's going be Sakura's birthday, and I read in a book that you're supposed to get someone a present for such an occasion," he replied.
"Oh! Well, you where right then. Hmm… what to get her, what to get her…" Ino said, getting up from her position behind the counter and walking around the flower shop, tapping her chin in thought.
"Ah! How about you get her some chocolates and some flowers! I'm sure she'd love that. Oh, and throw in something that…reminds her of you," Ino suggested after a moment of deep thinking.
"Well that sounds good, but what kind of flowers?" Sai said, glancing at the many blossoms that Ino's shop sold.
"I know! How about a bouque of pink carnations?" Ino said, pointing to said flowers.
"They represent gratitude, so it would be a way of thanking Sakura for all the help she's given you, like teaching you about emotions and stuff. Great idea, ne?" she finished, looking at Sai to see his reaction.
"If you think it would work, then it must be a good idea," Said responded.
Ino blushed a bit.
"Yo-you think I have good ideas?" she said. No one had ever told her she had good ideas! Shikamaru was the one always coming up with great strategies on missions. Sure, her mother and father said that she had great ideas, but they were parents, so what did it matter? And indeed, Sakura and a few other friends had agreed to her suggestions, saying things like, 'Wow Ino-chan, that's a great idea!' or, 'Ino-pig, I'm so happy you though it would be a good idea to go shopping! Thanks!'
But no one had ever said something along the lines of what Sai had said.
Had he actually implied that if she thought of it, then the idea must be a good one? Wow.
"How much is it then?" Sai's voce brought Ino back to the present.
"Oh! Right, let me check that!" she replied, going back to the cash register and adding the up the price. (A/n: sorry, I have no idea what pink carnations would cost.)
"Ino," Sai began after giving her the correct sun of money.
"Yes, Sai-kun?" Ino said, not looking up from the money she was double-checking.
"Every day Sakura greets Sasuke very… cheerfully I think is the word. But every day he just 'hns' or glares at her. So she just continues to grin and waits for Dickless to show up. And she does that every day! Even after Sasuke keeps glaring at her, she still does it. I mean, I've seen some of the girls greet the Uchiha when he's walking through town, and when he sends a glare their way, they run of crying and wailing about a broken heart. And some of the girls even stopped greeting him after about two months. But Sakura does it every day, and she never runs of crying. She doesn't even stop smiling. Why?" Sai finished.
Ino stared at the dark-haired boy for a moment.
"I assume dickless is Naruto?" she asked after a moment of silence.
Sai nodded in response.
Ino thought the answer was obvious. So obvious, that anyone who knew the first thing about emotions would've figured it out by now. Then she remembered Sai didn't know the first thing about emotions.
"Well you see Sai, Billboard-brow loves Sasuke. She's had a crush on him ever since she was little," she replied. She had long ago dropped the '-kun' from the youngest Uchiha's name, since she no longer had romantic feelings for him.
"But didn't you have a crush on him? Cause that's what Naruto said awhile back," Sai replied, growing more and more confused by the second.
Ino paused for a minute. There was no denying that when she was younger, she found the Uchiha boy extremely attractive, and had indeed competed with Sakura for his affections, but that was all behind her now.
"Well you see Sai, I never really loved Sasuke. It was more of a crush, but it didn't last very long. Actually it did, but it never went as deep as Sakura's," she paused, searching for the right words.
"Sakura was-and still very much is-in love with Uchiha Sasuke. She'd go to the ends of the earth and back again for him, even if it meant leaving behind everything. The sad thing is, Sasuke doesn't appear to feel the same way. Hell, the boy doesn't even seem to notice," Ino concluded, handing Sai the wrapped flowers. Then and idea suddenly sparked into her mind.
"That's it!" she exclaimed, throwing the bundle carnations up in the air before Sai could take them from her hands. Sai, using his ninja skills, expertly caught them before any harm could befall the flowers.
"That's what?" he asked Ino, a little startled by her random outburst.
The blonde girl looked up at him.
"Sai, are you doing anything tomarrow?" she asked.
"No," Sai stated.
"Good! Meet me tomarrow at 11:30. That's when my lunch break begins, and it ends around d 1:15. That should give us plenty of time," she said. Clearly she was devising a devious plot that would involve him in some way.
"Plenty of time to do what?" Sai inquired. Poor boy, he could have run away then, and never looked back, but he didn't know Ino that well to understand her, so he asked anyway. Poor, poor boy.
"To plan out our future ideas, and most importantly, commence operation-" the Yamanaka paused for dramatic effect.
She took in a deep breathe, preparing for her big finish. She then stopped.
"Wait… I don't have a name for it yet…" she said, totally ruining the moment.
"No matter! We will name it tomarrow. Just met me here at 11:30, okay Sai-kun?" she told the boy, who nodded.
The ANBU root member then walked out of the flower shop, going to find the second and third part of his gift for Sakura.
Ino sighed. She was, yet again, left alone in an empty flower shop, with nothing to do other than be bored out of her mind.
(A/n: Okay, okay. I know, probably one of the most boring beginning chapters in history, but don't worry, all the other chappies will be better.
And hopefully I didn't make Sai to OOC, but maybe I did… Not sure…
Anyway, read upcoming chapters before you decide you completely hate this fic.
Thankies!!!!
Okay, here are the options to pair Ino with:
Ino X Neji
Ino x Kankuro
Ino x Shino(Yays!!)
Ino x Naruto(I'm sorry, and yes, you should shoot me)
Ino x Sai
Ino x Chouji
I'll post the options for Tenten and Hinata in later chapters. And sorry Shikaino fand, in this fic, Shikamru goes with Temari. And remember reviewers, I can make a love triangle!! I'll (post next chappie when I get at least 2 reviews.