Make Out Tactics: Ino Style

Chapter 2: Assets

Hinata stood on the front doorstep to Ino's apartment, nervously fiddling with a few strands of hair which fell just above her chest. Pulling back the right sleeve of her sweatshirt, she gazed at her watch just in time to see the hands point to ten. Letting her sleeve fall back into place, she gave one last look of apprehension over her shoulder, debating turning and running that moment, and pretending later that she had forgotten her date with Sakura and Ino.

As if hearing Hinata's thoughts of cowardice, the door suddenly swung open, startling Hinata, sending her tumbling backwards and nearly falling off the step.

After regaining her balance, and composure, Hinata turned and looked up to find Ino smiling pleasantly in the open doorway, and Sakura peering from behind with an equally warm smile.

"Hey Hinata! I'm glad you made it! And just on time!" Ino called out as she motioned with her hand for Hinata to follow her inside.

Hinata reluctantly scuttled past the open door, following Sakura a few feet as Ino turned to close the door.

The three girls turned to each other, Sakura and Ino both barely able to contain their smiles of excitement, and Hinata looking as though she were going to faint.

"Uhm... hi... Ino-chan... S-Sakura-chan," Hinata mumbled, giving both hosts a quick nod. "Thanks for having me."

"No problem Hinata! I think this will be a fun Girl's Night Out!" Ino said, accentuating on the 'girl's' as if it had some double meaning. She released a small startled groan as Sakura elbowed her side. The two exchanged glances, which Hinata was completely oblivious to.

"Why don't you two go make yourselves comfortable in my room? I need to get something form the fridge. I'll be there in just a minute!" Ino stated as she turned and headed past the befuddled Hinata and into the nearby kitchen.

Hinata cautiously followed Sakura across the living room and down a hallway into the bedroom.

Sakura flopped down on the overly-stuffed bed in the corner of the room, her feet dangling over the sides.

Hinata stood in the doorway, looking around the room at the various trinkets, furniture, and pictures that filled the rather feminine looking room. She slowly stepped in, walking up to a small wooden desk, stopping to observe the photographs pinned to a corkboard just above the desk. She was rather taken aback as she discovered that each and every picture contained Sakura, either with Ino, or by herself. Hinata did not know either of the girls all that well, but she was certain that they had more of a rivalry between each other than a friendship. Her eyes rested on one picture in particular. Ino and Sakura were standing beside each other, rather close to one another, with mischievous grins on their faces. They both wore their typical Shinobi uniforms, Ino in her purple wraps, and Sakura in her pink and red wraps.

Hinata leaned forward more, but careful not to touch anything, as she tried to further examine the girls' arrangement in the picture. It appeared as though the two were... holding hands behind their backs.

"Hinata!" Sakura called out, startling Hinata out of her bewildered state.

Hinata stood upright, turning around quickly to face Sakura. "Y-Yes?"

"Take a seat! Ino should be coming any moment."

Hinata nodded, and then turned to gaze around the room again, this time searching for a proper place to sit.

"Come sit on the bed!" Sakura called out as if reading her mind.

Hinata nodded, and scurried over to the bed, pausing to stare at the small amount of space on the bed. The twin-sized bed would have likely been more than enough room for three young girls to sit, had it not been for the overwhelming amount of stuffed animals and pillows covering it. She took a seat at the very bottom edge, leaving at least a few feet between herself and Sakura.

"So are you excited about tomorrow night?" Sakura questioned.

Hinata nodded, a blush sweeping across her cheeks as she thought about who she'd be going with.

Sakura noticed, of course; there was no possible way to hide something so red. She smiled tenderly though, trying not to discomfort Hinata any further.

"I'm pretty excited too... seeing as it's a festival that one could argue celebrates me as well." Sakura stated with a playful smirk.

Hinata giggled, catching Sakura's undertone. Feeling the need to try to communicate with Sakura, she forced herself to ask a question. "So who will you be going with?"

"Ino."

The name came out so simply, so nonchalantly, so matter-of-factly, that Hinata hardly noticed the actual meaning. She had simply nodded, letting her mind drift back to Naruto. Just as she put two and two together, Ino popped into the room, smiling as she carried a bowl of fresh fruit.

"Hey you two! Did ya miss me?! I know you did!" Ino chimed as she strode in, placing the bowl of fruits, mostly strawberries, on a bedside table, then plopping herself on the bed in the small space between Sakura and the mound of pillows at the head of the bed.

Hinata's jaw dropped nearly to the floor, her eyes just as wide. She stared blankly, trying again to make sense of Sakura's reply as it echoed in her head.

"Hinata?" Sakura spoke softly as she titled her head to gaze at Hinata with concern. "Are you feeling alright?"

Hinata blinked and shook her head, finally removing herself from her bewildered state. She turned to Sakura and forced a feign smile.

"Uh... Sorry S-Sakura-chan. I-I am alright, just a little anxious I guess."

"So are you ready for your first lesson?!" Ino questioned, her tone dripping with enough enthusiasm to push Hinata even further into awkwardness. Despite the feelings of uneasiness, Hinata gave a quick nod.

"First off, just some words of advice about how you present yourself," Ino began, "Guys like girls who are flirty, so bat your lashes and use your womanly assets to their fullest." She paused, noticing Hinata's look of confusion.

"W-Womanly assets?" Hinata whispered under her breath, embarrassed that she had to ask, as it seemed Ino and Sakura thought it was common sense.

"Sakura, demonstrate for her!" Ino commanded.

"Why do I have to do it?" Sakura whined.

"Because you're always the girl!" Ino retorted with an underlying meaning that Hinata could not grasp.

Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes as a smirk played at the corner of Ino's lips. She turned to Hinata and amidst an assault of butterfly like fluttering of her lashes, she pulled the zipper of her top down an inch or so, revealing the soft flesh of her cleavage. Hinata watched, awestruck, as Sakura pressed her arms against her chest, forcing her cleavage to grow and poke out more through the slit in her top, and she leaned forward, closer to Hinata.

Hinata's face nearly burst from the heat that had welled up in her cheeks, and Ino nearly broke into hysterics at the sight. Hinata was clearly uncomfortable with Sakura's assault.

Ino continued her lecture as her assistant, Sakura, continued to demonstrate each point to the uneasy student, Hinata.

"Talk in a high-pitched, but soft tone, and always ask questions about whatever the guy mentions, even if you already understand. They love when you are interested in even the stupid things they say, which in Naruto's case, there will be plenty of that. Laugh at everything he says, even if it's not funny."

Whilst still pushing her exposed flesh up and out of her top, Sakura began giggling flirtatiously, something Hinata had never witnessed before. Sakura finally sat back, letting her cleavage fall back to its natural place, but still very clear between the low neck-line of her shirt. She ran a hand through her pink locks, her index finger tangling itself within a few strands, twirling it in smooth movements.

Hinata was utterly speechless by the sight. She'd never even had a boy act flirtatiously around her, and definitely not a girl. Her cloudy eyes just stared at Sakura in awe, taking in all the strange new images.

Sakura finally ceased her act, tucking her hair behind her ears, and sat up straight, but her zipper remained low on her shirt.

"I hate acting like this," she snarled as she turned to Ino.

"Get over it forehead. You can act yourself later when Hinata is gone," Ino chided.

"Shut up Ino-pig!" Sakura snarled, forcing her elbow into the same spot in Ino's side that she had hit earlier. The two exchanged challenging glances before finally returning to Hinata.

"So how about you give it a try," Ino suggested.

Hinata shook her head slowly. She was still at a loss for words or cognitive thoughts. Everything seemed to blur in her head; all the strange events, especially the frequent phrases coming from Ino that seemed to have underlying meanings that were only meant for Sakura to understand. "I-I don't think I can..." she whispered as if afraid somebody could hear her besides Ino and Sakura.

"Just try it. We'll tell you what you need to do if anything needs improvement," Ino spoke in a demanding tone. She suddenly leaned across Sakura, catching Hinata completely off guard as she grasped the zipper of Hinata's sweatshirt, swiftly ripping it down to expose her fishnet-covered cleavage.

"OH!" Hinata exclaimed in surprise, staring down in shock at Ino's hand and her now exposed flesh.

Sakura smacked Ino's hand, giving her a threatening glare.

Ino quickly pulled her hand back, smiling mockingly at Sakura.

Sakura turned back to Hinata, and spoke with a much softer, more nurturing tone than Ino.

"Just try to imitate what I did. You shouldn't have to do much anyway. You've already got wonderful assets that Ino and I can't even compare to."

"O-OK," Hinata whispered, slightly calmed by Sakura's pleasant tone, but blushing nonetheless from the compliment.

Sakura gave Ino one more reprimanding glance before the two turned their complete attention on Hinata.

Hinata nervously lifted a finger to her hair, twirling it around her finger, but in fidgety movements, tugging at it as she shyly leaned forward, trying to mimic Sakura's actions. Unfortunately, her shyness made her movement rather jerky and unnatural looking.

Sakura moved herself closer to Hinata, taking the hand entwined in her dark locks into her own hand.

"Don't jerk around so much," Sakura spoke sweetly, "You look like you're going to rip your hair out."

Hinata looked down at her other hand resting in her lap, a shameful expression on her face.

"It's ok. Just move in fluid movements. Pretend your hair is a silky piece of ribbon," Sakura said sweetly. She placed her other hand beneath Hinata's chin, gently raising it. "You've got nothing to worry about Hinata. You're gorgeous. You just need to realize it, and act a bit more confident."

Hinata smiled softly, flattered by Sakura's compliment. Her eyes averted over Sakura's shoulder to Ino, whom she found staring at Sakura's hands with what looked to be... jealousy?

"Try it again," Sakura stated, removing her hands from Hinata.

Hinata turned to Sakura, relaxing at the sight of her gentle green eyes. She took in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before releasing it in one big puff.

Sakura and Ino both watched intently as Hinata again leaned forward, wearing an extremely convincing pout on her face as she more freely twirled the ends of her dark hair around her index finger. She tried to giggle like Sakura had, but it came out terribly broken and garbled, sounding more like she was choking than anything.

Sakura tried to restrain the laughter that had arose in her throat, while Ino laughed openly without any sign of guilt.

"Shut up Ino!" Sakura seethed between gritted teeth.

Hinata's face turned bright red. She knew she sounded pathetic.

Ino covered her own mouth, stifling her laughter until it finally came to a halt.

"That was much better," Sakura said coolly, "With just a bit more practice, you'll be ready to charm Naruto without a problem!"

"Thanks Sakura-chan," Hinata whispered as she began fidgeting her index fingers.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a wee bit short, but I'm trying to separate chapters by lessons, and next is a new lesson for poor Hinata! I hope despite the lack in length it still sparked some laughter and smiles!

Thanks to all who reviewed my first chapter!