I can't believe how long it's been since I last updated this story. Sorry that it's taken so long, but that's the way it is some times. For those that actually read this story, thank you and enjoy. I would also like to assure you that I am planning on finishing this story, no matter how long it takes.
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Ino was kind of excited. She was going to have something other then training to look forward to after work. Admittedly it was dinner with a bitch and her creepy brothers, but it was going to be something new and exciting. Soon after Shikamaru-kun had left, with instruction on how to properly invite Hinata-chan to dinner, she called up her cousin to take over the closing of the shop.
Her cousin would arrive at four, giving Ino two hours to get ready before Shikamaru-kun picked her up for the dinner. 'Silly boy actually thinks that I'm going to go to dinner in my work clothes?' she laughed to herself. 'A true beauty such as myself has to look her best at all times, but especially when entertaining foreign dignitaries.' That's what she had decided to call the visiting Suna ninjas when she explained to her parents why she hadn't finished her shift at the shop.
Ino drummed her fingers on the counter as she stared at the clock, willing the time to go by faster. It was only 3:30, but she felt like it had been an eternity since Shikamaru-kun had stopped by with his invitation.
To help relieve the boredom Ino took out the broom, and started sweeping the imaginary dust up off the floor. She knelt down with the dust pan and scooped up the findings. As she stood she heard the bell on the front door tinkle cheerfully.
"I'll be with you in a moment," she called over her shoulder as she put the broom and dust bin away. After wiping her hands off she turned to help the customer.
"Hello, how can I help you?" she asked politely, before getting a good look at her customer. "Gaara-san." She gasped, looking wide eyed at the scary red-head carrying the over sized gourd full of sandy death.
"Yamanaka-san," Gaara-san said, deadpan, staring at the displays of flowers with a look of trepidation. Gaara-san didn't say anything after that, just looked around the room.
Finally it became to weird for Ino. "The flowers won't bite you," she teased, only to have Gaara-san's unreadable eyes focus on her.
"Then what is their purpose?" Gaara-san asked seriously.
Ino's brow furrowed as she thought of an answer to a question she had never been asked. "To look pretty and smell good mostly," she answered eventually.
"So they are useless," Gaara-san sniffed.
"N-no," Ino protested, unsure of why she felt so strongly that the flowers were not useless. "Flowers are important. They make people feel special." Gaara lifted a hairless eyebrow at her, encouraging her to continue. "Flowers are given to people to show that they are special, to show that they matter to someone."
"So all flowers do is make people feel special?" Gaara asked, sounding as though making people feel special was not such a good thing.
"Some flowers can be used in healing and making poisons," Ino conceded, "But mostly flowers are a way of saying something without using words."
"How?" Gaara-san demanded.
"Well, each flower has a meaning, and that meaning can change slightly based of the color of the flower. But also the meaning can change by the intention of the person giving the flower." Ino said desperately. She had never quite had to answer a question like this before.
"So what are the meanings of these," he said, pointing to a display of roses.
"Roses are easy," she said haughtily. "They mean love and the color describes the kind of love. Yellow means friendship love, pink means romantic love, and red means passionate love."
Gaara raised an eyebrow at her. "Which color will the Nara bring to Temari tonight?" he asked softly. Ino almost didn't catch the question.
"I don't think Shikamaru-kun was planning on bringing flowers," she answered honestly. "Does Temari-chan want him to?" Gaara-san didn't answer her, instead he walked around the room once more before he left. Ino cocked her head to the side as she watched him walk away from the shop. 'That was weird, better warn Shikamaru to bring flowers.'
"Ino-chan!" a happy voice called out from the door that Gaara-san just exited. "I'm here to cover for you. Just remember that you owe me."
"Don't you worry Miyuki-chan, I'll definitely cover you the next time you have to entertain foreign dignitaries," Ino promised as she sailed out of the shop. Miyuki-chan chuckled appreciatively, possibly assuming that Ino was joking about her activities that evening. Ino shook her head as she rounded a corner and took the stairs to the apartment above the shop that her parents owned.
"I'm home," Ino called out, not really expecting an answer. To-san had had a mission today and Ka-san had said that she would be busy running errands until late. Ino was tempted to just leave and not tell them why she had let her cousin close shop, but instead she wrote a quick note explaining what had happened. Her parents would understand.
Once that chore was finished she pinned up her hair and prepared to scrub down a little, before she had a brilliant idea. Ino really liked Hinata-chan, mostly because she was quiet and didn't try to steal Sasuke-kun. 'It might be fun to get ready for tonight together,' she thought as she gather her potential outfits for herself and some make-up. For the sake of time, and the practice, Ino placed the objects on top of a blank scroll and did the proper hand gestures. In a poof of odorless smoke the objects disappeared and writing took their place on the scroll.
Ino double checked her handy work, then nodded with satisfaction. Quickly she rolled the scroll and building hopped to the apartment that Hinata-chan and Ten Ten-chan shared.
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Shino was concerned when Hinata-chan didn't answer the door. He had knocked, then knocked a second time. Finally he decided that he needed to enter the apartment without permission. The second he opened the door he was bombarded music. It showed just how well the apartment was sound proofed, because he hadn't heard or felt anything at the door.
As he made his way deeper into the apartment, the music grew louder. It was coming from the living room, so that's where he went. He probably shouldn't have been as surprised by what he saw as he was.
There was Hinata-chan, shacking her butt in time with the music. Her arms twisted in the air, going every which direction. She was definitely caught up in what she was doing, just enjoying herself. Shino didn't want to intrude on the moment, but he knew that it was inevitable.
She stopped suddenly and stared at him. She gasped and started to back away from him. It took him a while to understand that she didn't recognize him.
"Hinata-chan," he said slowly as he stepped out of the shadows. "I came to see how you were doing."
"S-Shino-kun," she gasped, before turning the music off. The void left was almost deafening. "Y-you s-startled m-me."
"I did not intend to," Shino explained. "I knocked, but you did not answer."
Hinata-chan blushed and looked down at the floor. "I g-guess I d-didn't h-hear you." Shino nodded at the statement.
"I take it that you are feeling better?" Shino asked, as though yesterday hadn't been as traumatizing as it had been. Yes it had been scary to see that individual lurching towards Hinata, human skin hanging from its lips. It was nerve wracking to see that the individual had taken lethal strikes from his kunai and kept going. Finally, just seeing Hinata-chan's eyes as she realized that all her chackra had been sucked out of her during the killing blow.
"A l-little. Th-the s-silence was g-getting to b-be t-too m-much for m-me th-though," she answered honestly. "A-and it d-doesn't h-help th-that y-you w-were l-lurking in th-the sh-shadows." Hinata-chan laughed a little at the statement, possible to let him know that she wasn't serious.
Very few people knew about Hinata-chan's sense of humor. She was normally too shy for people to get to know her.
"I do not lurk," Shino stated with overly offended pride. "I loiter." As few people as there were who knew about Hinata-chan's sense of humor, even fewer knew about Shino's.
"T-tisk t-tisk," Hinata giggled. "Y-you are s-such a d-delinquent."
There was a loud knock on the door that interupted any comment that he was going to make. Hinata-chan looked over it in confusion, then glanced at Shino. Shino raised an eyebrow at her.
"I-I g-guess I'm p-pretty p-popular t-today," she laughed as she motioned him to sit down.
Shino heard her answer the door. "Hinata-chan!" Ino-san's voice sang out. "I thought that we could get ready for dinner together. I brought some dresses and make-up. What do you think?"
Shino made his way to the front door. "What dinner would this be?" he asked Hinata.
"W-we are g-going t-to b-be h-having d-dinner t-tonight w-with s-some n-ninja's f-from th-the s-sand," Hinata-chan answered. "B-but th-that isn't f-for a c-couple of h-hours."
"Exactly!" Ino-san exclaimed. "It's barely anytime at all to get ready. Besides, I think Temari-san is expecting a date with Shika-chan, so we have to decide if we're going to let her have one. If we do, that pretty much makes it a triple date. And if that happens I call that kabuki doll brother of hers," Ino laughed at her joke.
"O-oh," Hinata-chan said chuckling quietly, she looked at Shino questioningly. "H-how about I m-make s-something t-to eat f-first, th-then w-we c-can g-get r-ready f-for d-dinner."
"Great idea Hinata-chan. I'll get everything set up while we wait," Ino-san stated as she made her way towards Hinata-chan's bedroom. "Hello Shino-san." she greeted as she passed him.
"Ino-san," Shino replied evenly. "Should I stay Hinata-chan?" he asked.
Hinata-chan thought about it for a while then nodded. "Y-you c-can h-help m-me w-with th-the s-snack, b-but after th-that you w-will p-probably w-want t-to g-go h-home. U-unless you h-have any m-make-up t-tips f-for us th-that is," she teased.
"I think you and Ino-san will be able to muddle through that without my help," Shino stated with a chuckle. "Although you should keep in mind that you are a winter."
"Was that a joke Aburame Shino-san?" Ino-san teased from behind him. She circled to the front of him, "Because if it isn't I have this great shade of lipstick that would really make those sunglasses pop." Shino raised an eyebrow at her and went to help Hinata prepare the food. Ino just laughed as she followed.
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Lee ran through the forest, fully aware of the growing weight of the survivor on his back. He was fighting with himself about abandoning Sakura-chan, but he knew that she was right. It was more important to get the warning to Konoha then to save his love. He also knew that the sight of Sakura's face as the rocks fell to the ground between them would haunt his dreams for quite some time.
"Don't worry sir," Lee assured the unconscious man, "We shall arrive in safety soon enough."
Faintly Lee heard the sounds of moaning from beneath him. As he jumped from one branch to the next he stole a peak down. Bellow him seemed to be a sea of infected people, shambling along towards Konoha. There was no end to them.
Lee decided that he need to take drastic measures, so he took a quick break. Gently he leaned the survivors limp body against a thick tree trunk, before he knelt down, and with great care, removed the weights around his calves. Reluctantly he left them draped over a sturdy branch that never the less began to bend under the weight.
He picked up the body again, positioned it so that it wouldn't fall off with the increased speed, and took off again. The infected individuals soon became a blur as he leaped from branch to branch, making his way home to complete the mission given to him from the love of his life.
"Don't worry Sakura-chan. I will return for you," he promised as the skyline of Konoha peeked over the horizon. Below and behind him the moans of the infected filled the air as they headed towards the city. Lee knew that he was running for his and everyone's life.