"It's true, I tell you!"
"Sure, sure." Came the amused response.
Inoichi Yamanaka slouched, walking ahead of his team mates in a huff. It was true, even if they didn't believe him.
Tsume Inuzuka was stalking him.
Tsume, one of the scariest kunoichi to come from the Leaf village. Sure, she was attractive, in a gruff and kind of abrasive way, and there was no doubt she was skilled.
The bruises he was sporting were ample testament to her sneak-and-pounce approach.
He just didn't know how to tell her that he wasn't interested, without ending up mauled by that massive black dog (cough wolf cough) she was always with.
"Some friends you are!" He grumbled. Behind him, Chouza laughed loudly while Shikaku sniggered. "You could at least help me!"
"If it was true," Chouza began, "and I'm not saying it is, why would we get involved?"
"Because we're friends! Team mates! Brothers even!"
"You're over-reacting." Shikaku murmured, "It couldn't possibly be that bad."
"HA! So you admit it's true!" Inoichi whirled round to face his dark haired friend.
"No, I still don't believe you. And even if I did, it's only Tsume."
"'Only Tsume', he says!" Inoichi muttered, dragging his fingers through his hair as he turned away. "Do you have any idea how painful it is to be pounced on by that... that wolf of hers? Do you?"
He faced them angrily now; an anger born of fear and pain, an anger that burns hot but only for a short while.
"And I can personally attest to the sharpness of her claws!"
Shikaku and Chouza stared at him for moment in silence, before dissolving into laughter. Inoichi sagged as his anger drained away, and he sighed.
"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound?" asked Chouza through his chuckles.
"You're scared of a woman!" Shikaku rasped, slapping his knee.
"Tsume Inuzuka is not just a "woman"!" Inoichi responded hotly, briefly startling his friends into silence. "She's a demoness!"
He sighed again as his friends fell to the ground, still laughing.
"Fine, don't help me." He sniffed, turning away from them with a flick of his long hair.
"Wait!" Shikaku called. "Inoichi, wait!"
He paused, allowing the Nara to stand and stagger over to him. Shikaku whispered in his ear and Inoichi nodded his thanks and ran off.
"Don't tell me you believe him?" Chouza asked, pulling himself upright.
Shikaku smirked as he shook his head.
"Then what did you tell him?"
"Something that Sensei told me once, "Use your enemy's strength against him"."
Inoichi took Shikaku's advice to heart and after checking with the Hokage and talking with Jiraiya about business ventures; he formulated and carried out his plan.
He found his success very gratifying when Tsume became less enamoured with him. She had, in fact, attached herself to the man who caught her when she had attempted to enter his new business and fainted in the doorway. Apparently, floral concentrate is too much for the Inuzukas' sensitive noses.
And that, my dear readers, is how the Yamanaka Flower Shop came into existence.