Summary: Sakura gets a letter from a "Secret Admirer" and hires Ino to help her figure out who it could possibly be.
Your Secret Admirer
Dear Sakura,
I realize that this is an unorthodox way of reaching you since we live in the same village, but to tell you the truth I can't find the courage to approach you in person. I know it seems like I don't like you a lot of the time- it may even seem like I'm not interested in you at all, but I want you to know that that's not true. I certainly don't expect you to feel the same, but you have a right to know about my feelings. If you're interested in finding out who I am meet me by the village gates at nine o'clock p.m. If you don't show up, I won't count it against you.
Signed,
Your secret admirer.
Ino rested her head on her hand and took a deep breath after she finished reading the letter out loud.
"So, what do you want me to do about it?" She asked.
"I need your help. I want to go to this meeting, but only if it's with someone I can trust. I want you to help me figure out who it is." Ino nodded in thought, deciding whether or not to help her ex-best friend.
"What do I get out of it?"
"Fifty dollars if you can find out who it is."
"I have money, I certainly don't need anymore."
"Ino," Sakura said with a frown, "Life is more than enough to deal with as it is, I don't need you to make it harder." Ino snorted at that.
"Yeah, and life just isn't enough for me, so I expect something out of this deal."
"What do you want?" Sakura asked exhasperatedly.
"Well, I did see this nice new pair of earrings…"
"Done."
And with that a deal was struck. Ino would find out Sakura's secret admirer in exchange for new earrings, and Sakura would get a not-so-secret-admirer. Shaking hands to seal the deal, they agreed to meet at Ichiraku in half an hour to discuss the possibilities, and both headed their own way.
Sighing in frustration, Sakura sat at the meeting place with a frown on her face. Why did everything always have to be so complicated? She just didn't have enough patience to deal with everything.
"I've compiled a list of suspects." Ino said, and Sakura wondered when she had arrived. She handed the list to her client and Sakura looked down at it.
Suspect List
Naruto
Rock Lee
Sasuke
Kiba
Shino
Chouji
Gaara
Neji
Shikamaru
Kakashi
Sakura inspected the list with a critical eye.
"…Ino?"
"Yeah?"
"All you did was write down a list of all the boys I know…"
"Exactly! Anyone here could have written that letter."
"So how are we going to find out who it is that actually wrote the letter?"
"Cross out suspects until we find the right one, of course!" And Sakura honestly didn't have it in her to argue with her.
"Well, it can't be Sasuke." Sakura said.
"Yeah, why's that?" Ino asked.
"If he liked me then he would have said 'yes' when I asked him out on a date. Besides, do you really think Sasuke is capable of writing a letter like that?" Ino 'Hmm'd' in agreement and crossed his name off the list.
Ino bit the eraser of her pencil. "What about Chouji?"
"We talked like, once."
"So? What if you left an everlasting impression of your beauty so etched into his mind all he could do was think about you for days at a time until finally he got so desperate he had to write that letter just to get you off his mind so he wouldn't go completely insane." Sakura stared.
"…Or maybe not." Ino said, crossing Chouji's name off the list.
"It could be Gaara." Ino said, and Sakura laughed.
"I won't dignify that with a response."
"You just responded. Besides, why couldn't it be Gaara?"
"Ino… he tried to kill me. Not to mention he doesn't live here... the letter said someone from the same village."
"Hmm… I see your point." The blonde said, scratching out Gaara's name.
"Neji?"
"I think he's dating someone."
"Really?"
"I think so…" His name was erased with an audible sigh from Ino. The list was getting shorter, and still no closer to finding a reasonable answer to the riddle.
"Okay then, what about Shino?"
"Who's Shino?"
"…Nevermind."
"How about Kiba?" Ino tried again.
"…Who?"
"Sakura, you really need to get out more."
"Shut-up."
Sakura sighed.
"Naruto?"
"He started going out with Hinata, once he figured out she liked him."
"It actually took him time to figure it out?" Ino asked, earning her a glare from her friend.
"Fine fine… how about Shikamaru? You've talked to him, right?"
"We've played chess a few times, but he's going out with Temari."
"Ohh, right." Crossing off his name, Ino glanced down at the remaining two on the list.
"Well, that just leaves Kakashi and Lee."
"It's definitely not Kakashi-sensei."
"Why not?"
"He's my teacher!"
"So what? That doesn't mean he can't like you."
"I guess that's true, but he's more in love with his books than anything else."
"Fine, then that just leaves Lee."
"Well, I know it's not him."
"What? Why not? He practically stalks you and he's totally the type to write a letter like that."
"Maybe, but he tells me he likes me everyday. Why would he go through the trouble of writing me a letter and having me meet somewhere at night?"
"Maybe he wants to get you out late at night so you guys can-"
"LET'S… not go there." Sakura interrupted her.
Both girls practically glowed with frustration. If it wasn't anyone on the list, who was it?
"Well, that's everyone. I guess you'll just have to show up and see who it is." Ino shrugged, not seeming too concerned. Sakura sighed; there just wasn't enough information.
Sakura tapped her foot in impatience as she waited by the gate of Konoha. She glanced at her watch: exactly nine o'clock. Biting her lip in anxiousness, she forced herself to calm down and stop tapping fidgeting. The noise of footsteps on the road made her still completely, her breath freezing in her throat and her body stilling in anticipation. Squinting into the darkness Sakura saw a figure approaching, barely visible in the dull moonlight. Her jaw went slack in surprise and she could have sworn her heart skipped a beat. The figure bit its lip in nervousness.
"Well?" It asked, and Sakura couldn't find the words to answer the question. She realized she might not be able to talk for a while after this, so she put all her emotions, all her effort, all her heart into one word.
"Ino…"
And that was enough.
A/N: Meh, I was bored. To anyone who doesn't like yuri and read this not knowing who the couple was, HA! I made you read yuri! Heh… yeah… Reviews are extremely appreciated but not expected. Thanks to everyone who takes the ten seconds to review (no sarcasm intended) :)
