Before anything else, know that ages and other elements of the characters have been modified to serve the plot. Now that it's out of the way, please do enjoy!
Warning: Contains spoilers for Mystic Messenger route endings. May also be a sort of cringefest.
Yamanaka Ino is nothing if not cunning.
Every smile, every word, and every step she makes doesn't exist without a purpose. Every scheme she plots often ends up in her favor. Rare were the times she has to resort to eating raw chocolate chip cookie dough in frustration whenever a plan fails.
It's a source of pride; seeing as she's been doing this since she was six. What can she say? It's an inborn talent.
"Papa?" she called out one day into her father's office as she stepped in. In her grasp was a platter of sliced fruit; the sacrificial lamb.
"Come in, Ino," Yamanaka Inoichi replied, not bothering to look at his daughter.
"I've brought a snack. You haven't had anything since lunch, have you?" She knows, she was watching the time until he leaves his office after all.
At that, did he finally raise his head and flash his only child a smile. "Thank you Ino, what would I do without you?"
'Indeed,' she agreed inwardly. She smiled back, before placing her offering at his table. Heading back to the door, she stopped with a surprised expression as though she forgot something. 'Time for phase two.'
"Ah! That reminds me," she exclaimed, turning back to Inoichi who was now halfway through an apple slice, "I would like to ask if I can do shifts in mama's flower shop."
He frowned, which was a feat as he was chewing. "Sweetheart, you're sixteen—"
She slid her eyes to the side, doing her best to look downcast. Fingers playing with the ends of her hair draped over one shoulder, she continued, "I was planning to save up for a new phone..."
The Yamanaka patriarch regarded her carefully, frown still in place, before he pulled one drawer open.
"Seriously Ino, if you wanted anything at all, you only have to ask—"
"I would like to experience working for something I want, papa!" She defended, eyes blazing in her passion. 'Come on, old man; take the bait already.' "You always said 'the fruit of your own hard work is the sweetest,' I would..." She cleared her throat, eyes trailing to the side in her perfected role of eager-to-prove-herself-business-heiress of this play. "There are lessons I ought to learn on my own, papa, so please...!"
She finished with a flourish of blonde hair sweeping down as she bowed.
"Ino..." She heard her father say, so she peeked up... and saw her old man shedding tears. 'What the...' He was dabbing at his eyes with a pocket square, before blowing at it unceremoniously. "Look at you, my girl, all grown up now. Although I would have insisted you stay younger still, I'll give you the world!"
The blonde girl resisted the urge to laugh out loud. But she would be lying if this declaration didn't make her heart swell with joy. 'Damn it old man, I came here for your approval not to make you cry...'
"Very well," said Inoichi the businessman now, no longer the sappy father of one, "you may arrange for an early schedule with your mother. No closing hours for you, young lady. I wouldn't have you traipsing around town at night. Better yet, send for the driver to fetch and drop you off."
Ino was beside herself. 'Finally!' Manners thrown out of the window, she ran and hugged her old man before kissing his hair. Inoichi wrapped an arm around her, shaking in mirth.
"Thank you, papa! I promise to do good on your terms!"
When she was about to open the door, he cleared her throat.
"No boys, Ino!"
She giggled. "No boys, papa!"
In the confines of her room, she pumped her fist in the air and jumped. A noiseless squeal escaped her lips as she celebrated her victory. 'Mission: success!'
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Inoichi didn't know, it was the start of the foundations that made her daughter more renown. The spider has spun her web, and it was only a matter of time before she moves higher in the grand scheme of things.
Not that he'll know it, anyway.
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Intervention
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"I think the reason why your forehead is huge, is that there's a library in there of every book you've nosed your way in."
Silence. Lunch in Konoha High passed by uneventfully. Too uneventful, in one Yamanaka's opinion, as she stared at her friend keeping her peace as she devoured page after page of her book.
"Say, Sakura."
Nothing.
"Sakura."
The birds chirped as they flew by.
"Sakuraaa..."
The book snapped shut. Behind her spectacles, Haruno Sakura addressed her friend with mild irritation in her green eyes.
"What is it, Ino? Why can't you let me read in—"
"I'm bored!"
The petal-haired female scoffed. "You're always bored."
"Do you wanna do something after class?"
"I don't know," Sakura answered, before pulling out a sleek black notebook from her bag and tabbing it to a page, "Says here I need to do an advanced reading on—"
"But you're always reading!"
"Of course, Ino-pig, that's how we store information in our brains."
"So, you're saying videos are useless—"
The door to the rooftop swung open, admitting an obviously haggard Tenten to their sanctuary. Her hair was sticking out, visibly not brushed, and she didn't even bother putting them up in buns as she'd always do. She swayed with the gait of a hungover middle-aged man going to his boring nine to five office job.
In greeting, she raised up a hand. "Yo."
Ino cringed back at the sight she made. "Look at you, senpai; are the zombies rampaging downstairs?"
The brunette took no offense, as her face slowly lifted with a smile. "This isn't Highschool of the Dead, Ino. Although, if it was..." She groggily grabbed her own breasts. "These would be bigger."
The blonde gasped. Sakura just looked down on hers.
"What's Highschool of the Dead—?"
"What happened to you, Tenten?" Ino cut in, before smiling at the pinkette's annoyed face.
In an instant, the upperclassman brightened. In one fluid motion, she pulled out her phone and brandished it around like some prized possession.
"I stayed up to start Day One at midnight, so I can get it to a hundred percent," she declared proudly.
Sakura and Ino looked at each other with a dry expression.
"Is she speaking in Chinese?"
"I don't even know Mandarin OR Cantonese."
The older girl cleared her throat before fiddling with her phone. "This!" She announced, before flashing her phone in their faces.
"Mystic... Messenger?" Sakura read out loud, an eyebrow up in confusion. "What's this about?"
"I'm glad you asked, Sakura... This is a blessed app that allows you to date any of these hotties!"
Ino looked at her in disbelief. "You know," she said, blue eyes not leaving her friend's disheveled appearance, "the chances of Neji-senpai dating you just went down when he saw you today."
Tenten did her best to stay unaffected by the critique; but her eyebrows twitched in hidden pain. "Who... who cares! I have Yoosung who will definitely cherish me despite my uncombed hair!"
The blonde snorted, "Yes, because he's not real."
Clutching at her chest, the brunette gave Ino a pained expression. "This is the last time you insult my boyfriend, Ino."
The other almost snorted again until she realized Sakura was tapping on the phone, eyes wide with wonder. So, she did what any good friend would—dragged her away from getting contaminated by the disease.
"Hey!" The pink-haired girl complained, "I wasn't done!"
"No Sakura, you cannot be corrupted!"
Tenten leveled Sakura with a lecherous gaze. "It's available in the App Store, darling," she tempted, inching closer with her phone facing the other girl. "You might also want to start at midnight so you can get to know them better."
Ino's face was a perfect picture of a horrified mother, whose daughter was getting baited with candy by a man with a white van. Right in front of her.
"Don't Jumin Han look like a certain someone you've got your eye on, Sakura-honey?" The brunette's eyebrows wiggled suggestively. "I finished his route with a bad end during the weekend, and I must say, the man's very interesting..."
Sakura's response was a blush across her face.
"Unacceptable!" Ino screamed. With it, came the bell that signified the end of lunch.
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With the debacle of yesterday, it didn't surprise her when Sakura walked into the classroom, her nose not deep in some review notes she's fond of making. But it doesn't mean Ino liked it.
"Sakura! I expected better from you!"
At least the girl looked like a wet puppy when chastised. Tenten was too hard to allow words take effect. The blonde girl huffed and held out her hand. Green eyes looked at her in confusion.
"Your phone," she demanded. "I'm uninstalling that app from your life."
Sakura looked horrified. "No!" She cried out, grabbing her phone close to her chest, "you're not ruining my chances of happiness with 707!"
Blue eyes darkened. "Sakura..."
In response, the other girl ran out. "We're getting married in the space station and you're not invited!"
She gave chase... and that is how Hatake Kakashi made them stay after class.
To photocopy the weekly school paper.
Ino sighed. Sakura was in her corner, smiling to her phone as she tap, tap, tapped on it.
She didn't know it was the start of her friend's spiral down to madness.
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Okay, maybe she did, but she tried so hard to take it out of her system. Once, she changed the passcode to Sakura's phone. It took Naruto, Kiba, Shino and Shikamaru to stop her from cutting Ino's long hair.
Needless to say, she was too horrified at the change that took her friend by a storm, but she didn't know what to do with her. It didn't help that during lunch breaks, Tenten and Sakura looked like junkies huddled together. Probably discussing their fictional men.
During her petal-haired friend's descent to madness, Hyuga Hinata, the student council president, started joining them for lunch. The girl was shy and quiet, but at least she is sane. Which is saying more than her two friends...
"Why aren't you playing the game, Ino-san?" Hinata asked as she held on to the wire fence that went around the rooftop. Her eyes were gazing fondly at something down in the fields. It made the blonde curious enough, so she went near her.
"I'd rather eat salmon sashimi than install that wretched app," she answered, and two heads snapped to her direction, as if hissing at her indiscretion. "Why don't you try it?"
The pale-eyed girl blushed but remained watching.
Ino tried to see where her eyes are actually focusing. In the soccer field, the boys in their class are playing against 2-B's boys. 'So, someone from there...' She tried to keep up, really, she ought to have paid more attention if she wanted some leverage over the inchou.
Naruto's kick led the ball into the goal, and the boys below rejoiced. So did Hinata, if the clasped hands were any indication. The girl's eyes shone in elation, and Ino almost questioned her sanity.
'Seriously...?'
But now's not the time to question Hinata's utterly questionable tastes in men. Because now, she found a good indirect solution to her friend's problems.
Ino just knows it's going to work.
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Saturday morning rolled by. As she and the other workers opened up the shop, a dark-haired man waited patiently outside as if allowing them to finish. When they were, he came in, allowing her to assess if this is the—
"Uchiha-san?"
The reply was a small smile. "Yamanaka Inoichi-san's daughter. Greetings."
"I'm Ino," she offered, as well as a hand, "any chance you're related to Sasuke-kun?"
He took her hand and shook it. His grip wasn't that firm, but his smile widened a fraction.
"Yes. My younger brother."
'Woah. Good looks run in the family.'
"A pick up, delivery or maybe just browsing?" She inquired further, before taking out a list from her apron that noted all of today's itinerary.
He was looking at the red roses they had in display, before he addressed her with his eyes once more.
"Actually, I was looking to secure flowers for a special event. Can you help me?"
Ino brightened. A good chance to know this person more has reared its head on the horizon!
"Of course!" Maybe she was a bit too ecstatic. "What's the occasion?"
A serene smile made its way back to his face. 'If only his brother smiled this much.'
"Can you keep a secret?"
The blonde hoped her face didn't mirror how broken her hopes were.
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The following day, she contemplated whether she should ask her father to make a list of eligible bachelors in town. That would land her in hot water, maybe, but not if she finds a good excuse for it. 'Finding a good match' for your friend sounds fishy, even to her own ears.
The bell by the door tinkled gleefully as it admitted a guest in.
"Welcome!" She called out from her spot behind the counter.
The tall fair-haired man took his time, red eyes accosting each and every flower they have. He was dressed in a dark blue turtle neck with its sleeves bunched up to his elbow, giving her a view of his toned forearms. Worn with a pair of denim pants, he looked quite the looker even when dressed down. Give him a trench coat and some dark sunglasses he'd fit right in some fantasy concrete jungle. Ino sighed inwardly. 'Maybe too sophisticated to give a damn about high school students.'
When he finally arrived at the counter, she felt incredibly small at how he towered over her.
"Hello," he said in a curt voice. "I'm here to pick up some flowers my du— Senju Hashirama ordered?"
The entire time he was talking, Ino was searching his face for any indication of his age. 'Mature, yes, but let's hope he's not too old.' The moment her ears registered he was done, she consulted her trusty list and nodded.
"I'll get it for you," she offered before walking towards their chilly storage room. Then, she backtracked. "Senju Hashirama?"
The man nodded. When her inquisitive stare finally got to him, he sighed and said, "I'm his brother. Tobirama."
'What's with Konoha men and their lack of drive to make small talk?'
In she went to the storage room, and tried to keep her mouth shut as she took out a showy arrangement of tulips, for god's sake!
"What did the famous lawmaker do to warrant a most expensive apology?" She found herself asking out loud, before turning to her customer. "N-not that I'm prying of course..."
"No, you're right. He's an idiot." Tobirama offered as he lifted the irrational bouquet off the table. "Thank you for your assistance."
"My pleasure," Ino smiled. "Please do come again!"
The man gave a slight smile—or more like—his features smoothed out enough to look like a smile.
"I have a feeling I'll be back for more flowers."
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Five days later, all of Konoha was in uproar. Uchiha Itachi, the village's most popular bachelor, got engaged at 19. No mention of the lucky girl, however, as the affair had been a small one. She sighed. At least the heir let her in on the secret though, in the form of a small card that came with sweet pea flowers.
The card read in neat calligraphy; 'My sincerest gratitude for the help and flowers, Izumi loved them.'
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I just got your messages~
Author's Notes:
1. The quote 'The fruit of your own hard work is the sweetest,' is from Deepika Padukone.
2. Ino's least favourite food is sashimi.
3. This was supposed to be a response to the Sakura Week 2018 day 1 prompt: Iron Will of Determination. I was trying to channel that in another way here but, eh. Maybe this is a good entry for day 2's 'Connections' prompt? No idea.
4. This will be updated, of course... once I figure out how to bridge it to the ending I have.
5. Thank you for reading! If there are any errors, please do point them out so I can correct them.
Disclaimer: Naruto, Highschool of the Dead and Mystic Messenger belong to their respective owners.