Standing outside of Yamanaka Flower Shop, Shikamaru braced himself mentally for the embarrassment that awaited him inside. Well, actually, the embarrassment wasn't a sure thing. In fact, he only had a one in three chance of humiliation. He tried to remind himself of this as he walked into the shop.
"Hey Shikamaru! What are you doing here?" Ino called cheerfully from the register.
…Of course, when one knows the odds, they often work against you.
Groaning, Shikamaru walked up to the register.
"Ino, I need some flowers."
"Really?" The blonde ninja couldn't help but be surprised. "What for?"
"None of your business."
"Fine, fine. Did you have a specific type of flower in mind, or do you want an assortment?"
"Do I look like a flower expert? Just give me an assortment, will ya?"
She stuck her nose in the air. "No need to be rude about it." Nevertheless, she went into a back room of the store and came back with a beautiful arrangement of over twenty different kinds of flowers. As Shikamaru fished in his wallet for payment, Ino gave him a knowing smile.
"You know…Temari-chan's birthday is tomorrow."
Shikamaru shot an annoyed glance in Ino's direction.
"Really? I didn't know that," he muttered.
"Uh huh. Just like you probably didn't know that we're closed for service tomorrow."
"What are you getting at?"
"Oh, nothing. Are you going to give me my money anytime today?"
Shikamaru scowled as he finally managed to pull the right amount of money out.
"Here," he said, handing her the money and snatching his flowers, "Happy?"
"Very," Ino said, checking the amount. She smiled sweetly. "Have a nice day!"
Shikamaru left, grumbling the whole way. He was almost out the door and out of earshot when Ino called out to him.
"Make sure you put those in water until tomorrow! Sorry you had to get them a day early!"
If a comeback to this comment existed, Shikamaru failed to find it as he yanked open the door and slammed it behind him, storming off back into the city.