"It's been three hours already! At least tell me where we're going." whined Naruto.
As the eager ninja roamed the dusty streets a pace behind Shikamaru he resembled a child perpetually trailing his father in hopes that he might receive a piece of candy. Except the candy Naruto was interested was far more sinful, a candy that males develop a taste for as they grow into their teenage years.
To Naruto's surprise, Shikamaru came to an abrupt stop and crossed his arms. He was thinking and he made Naruto think, held a mirror to how truly desperate he was to get a date.
The legendary man named Naruto was just that, a legend. And the boy that would become Hokage? He couldn't even get one girl.
"Quit your pouting," said Shikamaru, "We're here."
Jutting itself in front of him was a tall building of painted lavender walls and large glass panes that you let you see everything before you even opened the door. It had a small staircase leading up to the entrance, accessible to all.
As the intoxicating fragrance of peonies filled Naruto's nostrils he began to understand exactly what Shikamaru meant when he said this would be an inside job.
XxX
A particularly dark storm cloud lingered dauntlessly over the Haruno residence where a teenage girl could be seen pacing in and out of sight.
Sakura felt like collapsing into her pile of dirty laundry. A collection of outfits that had no business being in her room when she was feeling this down.
To her credit, though, she barely tried to meet any guys. She was too busy thinking about what that yellow-haired dork and her bitch of a best friend were up to. Not that she cared about Naruto, she just could not stand the thought of that Ino-pig digging her perfect little nails into his shoulders.
She fainted into the chair preceding her vanity mirror with a rim pink as her cheeks. She was genuinely upset, and it was progressing to the point where she had to tie something around her forehead in order to keep her agitated chakra from disrupting her "Strength of a Hundred" seal.
She slowly reached for her kunoichi headband and tied it when one of her memories hit her like a truck.
"Fight me, Naruto," said Sasuke.
She remembered the words like it was yesterday.
"Fight me," said Ino, squaring up. "And not as the little girl that I gave that ribbon to either. Let's have a fair fight, rival against rival!"
That was right, her and Naruto were acknowledged as equals by people they looked up to.
When they were younger they were often looked down upon while their rivals were viewed as far superior by their peers and elders. It was only when they pulled their ideals into reality by force that their rivals began to view them differently.
If Naruto could muster the courage to face his rival then she had no right to get so flustered over some stupid bet. People never saw her as the type of girl to seduce a crowd of boys but that was only going to make it more satisfying when she proved them wrong.
Sakura brushed her face where Ino had landed a straight-punch during the Chuunin Exams, a match that ended in a draw.
There would be no draw this time. She was 18 and 13 was looking like her lucky number.
XxX
It was the Yamanaka Flower Shop, home to over a dozen different types of flowers including a pretty young girl named Ino.
But not today. Even though the sign on the shop said "open" Naruto's mouth remained closed.
It was a shame because Naruto had known Ino for a long time and even though he never said anything about it, he found her even more beautiful than Sakura – at least physically.
Click
Naruto instantly shifted his eyes to Shikamaru who cast back an unaffected glance.
Unable to believe his eyes, Naruto pressed them, but when the dark room came into focus once more his smart friend was still doing something unbelievably stupid.
Well, breaking into a teammates wooden locker with a paperclip was not just stupid, it was illegal. And illegal activity was almost exciting enough to make Naruto forget that he only had three hours to find a date.
"Whatcha looking for Shikamaru? Her diary, her underwear?" he paused and made a face best left undescribed, "Pictures of her mom?"
"You idiot." said Shikamaru, "Don't get the wrong idea, I came here with every intention of helping you find a girlfriend." the cupboard continued to rattle as he talked. "But intentions change..."
"It was six years ago at the ninja academy, that's when my squadmate, Ino, got me thinking," said Shikamaru, "about these meetings where her and a bunch of other little girls would have to sit together in a circle and drink tea. Share the flowers they found." Shikamaru stopped picking the lock. "If I remember correctly, neither of us had to do something like that."
"What's your problem?" said Naruto, folding his hands behind his head, "got a crush on Ino or something?"
Shikamaru began to pick the lock just slightly more vigorously than the first time. "If that was all then I wouldn't give it a second though but-" Shikamaru fell silent as a wave of pure uncertainty followed the gust of cold wind entering the flower shop.
"Naruto, please tell me that you left the door open," said Shikamaru, prematurely weaving these strange hand-signs that served as more of a prayer than anything else.
Naruto himself began to wrack his brain for any sort of emotional stimuli that may have helped him recall exactly what he did when he first entered the shop. "I-I dunno," he said, pulling at his blonde hair in clumps. "Oh yeah!" he said, "I remember. I was going to close the door but I saw this quarter on the floor and-"
But he was not even halfway through his story when he was bludgeoned from his blindside with a flower pot. It all happened so fast that he barely got a glimpse of her purple earrings when he heard.
"Caught you, didn't I!? Ya' handsome little sneaks"