Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto things or the stuff in the place that makes the money. So there! Anyway, hope everyone is enjoying this! This chapter is a LOT of head cannon on my part about Ino and Sai's relationship. So just bear with it and have fun! Okay, on with the fic!

~Flower Power!~

Naruto sulkingly left Team Gai with a sad sigh.

"Man, I can't believe even Neji knew! There has to be SOMEONE out there that also didn't freaking know," thought Naruto as he started to feel a tad discouraged.

He then roughly shook his head to knock that stupid feeling right out of his system. He was Uzumaki Naruto, damn it! Defeat was NOT in his vocabulary! … Along with several other words, but that was not the point! There had to be someone! He-

Then Naruto got a blast of inspiration, "Of course!" he exclaimed aloud as he smacked his fist against his hand.

"The one person who couldn't have known!" said Naruto happily to himself. "Ino! If she had known, there's no way she would have resisted spreading around that juicy piece of gossip!"

Naruto excitedly glanced at his watch adding, "It's nearly lunch time, and I need to swing by her family's flower shop anyway, so this is perfect! Oh, boy! Is she ever going to be surprised!"

And with that, Naruto practically skipped off to the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

The second Naruto entered the shop he was met with an excited squeal and an enthusiastic hug.

"Oh my GOSH! Oh my GOSH!" chanted Ino happily nearly bursting with joy, "I'm SO happy for you and Hinata, Naruto! Sai told me everything!"

"I- wait, everything?" asked Naruto nervously as he saw Sai sitting behind the counter slyly smiling as he read a copy of 'Icha Icha Paradise.' You see, after the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kakashi-sensei had introduced Sai to the "wonders" of Ero-sennin's perverted novel series. And Sai was pretty much immediately hooked. It was a PERFECT match for Sai's underlying perverted nature. This led to Sai conducting "research" and soon had pretty much created a fully illustrated manga version which he happily shared with Kakashi-sensei.

To say, Kakashi was "impressed" with the results was an understatement. The man nearly died of blood loss from the extensive nosebleed that had occurred. Tsunade-sama pretty much had to surgically remove the damn thing from his hands. "No! NO! This is the way I chose to go! Let me die in blissful ecstasy!" he kept screaming trying to get it back. Anyway, Kakashi-sensei was so impressed that he got Sai in contact with the 'Icha Icha' series publishers, and low and behold Sai's graphic novels (and dear kami do I mean graphic) were published.

They were an immense hit. So much of a hit in fact, Sai had been given the rights to continue the book series in Jiraiya's name. Needless to say, Naruto was pretty sure wherever Ero-sennin had ended up after death, he was perversely happy to see his um... legacy carried on.

Writing the book series also helped Sai start to understand people and their emotions better, the 'research' he had been conducting over the years had been a great foundation for his work. Which made Naruto even more antsy about just what he had said about Hinata when he had been unconscious back on the moon. He REALLY didn't want his Hinata fantasies popping up in the next issue of 'Icha Icha!'

"I always hoped that you and Hinata would eventually get together!" continued on Ino, not noticing Naruto glaring at Sai. "Sakura and I were getting worried when all those young ditz-brained girls started clamoring after you."

"Yeah... I really don't know why they were acting like that..." replied Naruto as he let Ino drag him to the flower counter. It was really weird the way most of the village girls had been acting around him lately. I mean... it was almost like how they used to act around Sasuke! And he had to admit, when he was younger, he would have eaten up all that attention. But now... Naruto was starting to see why exactly it had ticked Sasuke off so much. All those girls just wanted the 'image' of who he was, not the actual person.

Naruto then shook his head as he caught back onto what Ino had actually said, "I- wait, hold on just a minute! Ino, does that mean you knew, too?!"

Ino just looked at him exasperatedly and replied, "Honestly, Naruto... Of course, I knew! Hinata was the only girl in our whole freaking Academy class that didn't want to jump Sasuke's bones. She'd always turn beet red and pass out around you, girls know what those signs mean."

"I- but Ino, you're like the Queen of Gossip! Why didn't you-"

Ino slammed her hand on the counter and looked at Naruto grimly.

"Hinata is my friend, Naruto," answered Ino, coldly. "Sakura and I have teased her a bit about it in the past, but here are somethings you don't gossip about. And this was one. If I had, and you would have found out, it would have destroyed her. Do you understand?"

Naruto stared at Ino sadly, he knew she took her friendships very seriously. Even though she and Sakura had fought fiercely over Sasuke's affection, at the core, she had still been Sakura's friend.

"Gomen'nasai, Ino. I... didn't mean it that way," Naruto remorsefully apologized.

Ino just sighed and gave him a nod of her head, showing that she accepted.

"Ino... is that why Hinata was so nervous about giving me the scarf?" asked Naurto hesitantly. "Because she felt intimated by those girls?"

Ino just looked at him with wide-eyes, shocked that he had actually put that together all by himself.

"Seriously?!" exclaimed Naruto as he read her expression, "As if I care even a fraction for them as much as I do Hinata."

Naruto then quickly clamped a hand over his mouth knowing what he had just admitted to Ino.

"Hehehe!" laughed Sai as he started writing down something in his notebook.

"OI!" roared Naruto as he reached out, grabbed a random flower, and chucked it at Sai's stupid head. "Quiet in the perverted peanut gallery!"

This caused Ino to giggle, knowing full well the naughtiness her boyfriend was jotting down.

On a list of all the friends he'd ever expected to get together, Ino and Sai were like right at the bottom. But apparently, Ino and Sai had developed quite the friendship over the years without his knowledge. Bit by bit, Sai began to come out of his shell, and Ino... well let's just say her perverted side started to show through more and more. And once Sai had been handed over the 'Icha Icha' reins, he immediately went to Ino for some advice and 'inspiration.' From there, their friendship had slowly, but surely turned into love. They were quite the couple alright.

"Anyway!" declared Ino getting them back on track, "Let's get down to business! You came in to get a bouquet of flowers for your date with Hinata tonight, right?"

Naruto gulped as he could hear the underlying threat that the man had better have come into the store to get Hinata flowers.

"H-Hai," confirmed Naruto, nervously watching Ino.

"Yoshi! I will give Hinata-chan by best," answered Ino with determination. "So what kind of flowers would you like in the bouquet, Naruto?"

"I- well, I was kinda hoping you would have some ideas about that," confessed Naruto with a bit of a blush.

Ino just clicked her tongue disapprovingly at him. She then turned to a big container that held a bunch of yellow flowers.

"Well, you're in luck, Naruto-kun," said Ino as she looked through the bunch. "Even though sunflowers aren't in season, I just so happen to have some in stock."

"Sunflowers?" asked Naruto as Ino pulled one out to show him. It was kind of a plain looking as far as flowers go. "Why, sunflowers?"

Ino let out an exaggerated sigh and replied, "Honestly, Naruto, they're Hinata's favorite flower! Don't you even know that?!"

Naruto gave her his goofy smile and looked down at the happy little flower.

"Really?" asked the blond curiously. "Huh, I wonder why she likes it so much."

"Yeee...sss," hissed out Ino as she started tapping the sunny yellow points of the individual pedals.

She then reached out her hand and tapped the points of Naruto's spiky blond hair while saying, "I wonder..." and then smacked him on the head with the flower as she finished, "-why?"

Naruto just blinked back at her confused.

"Uh, Ino, what the heck was that for?"

"UGH!" yelled Ino in disgust as she started repeatedly hitting Naruto with the flower. "You are *smack!* the most thick-headed man *smack!* in existence, I swear! Your hair, Naruto! *smack!* Hinata likes it *smack!* because it reminds her of your spiky blond hair. *smack!* Nimrod!"

"Ow!" exclaimed Naruto as he finally snatched the flower from Ino's hand and stared at it. "I... huh."

Naruto then tapped the pedal points and started blushing.

"She... really likes my hair that much?" thought Naruto shyly.

"Oh," was his embarrassed response.

"Yes, oh," teased Ino as she rolled her eyes and shot Sai a look. Sai just shook his head and continued jotting down stuff into his notebook.

"So, since we have a flower to represent you, Naruto. Why don't you pick one out that reminds you of Hinata-chan?" suggested Ino as she started to cut and arrange the sunflowers.

"Oh!" exclaimed Naruto as he came out of his thoughts, "Okay."

Naruto then proceeded to glance around the store. There were lots of flowers there, but none of them seemed to really capture "Hinata" for him. After a little while, a dark violet flower caught his eye. The cheerful blond walked up to it with a smile. Naruto knew these flowers. They were the first ones to burst into bloom when spring arrived. They always were a sign to him that the cold, dark days of winter had come to an end, and life had returned to the world.

Naruto reached out and took the flower from the vase. It was then, when he looked closer at it, that he realized it was also the same color as Hinata's hair.

"Weird, I never noticed that before," thought Naruto, making him smile.

"Oi, Ino!" called Naruto as he made his way back to the counter. "Can we add some of these to it?"

He then walked up and handed Ino the flower. The girl's blond eyebrows went up in surprise.

"An iris, huh?" she asked with a smile.

Naruto simply blushed and looked quickly away.

"Irises are said to represent compassion and hope," replied Ino as she went to pick out more of them for the bouquet. "But they also can mean friendship, so I think I will add a few red roses in to make sure Hinata doesn't confuse the meaning."

Ino gave Naruto a sly wink as she moved back to the table, making the poor boy blush just as red as the roses.

The blond woman quickly went back and started trimming the flowers.

"Uh, Ino?" asked Naruto and she looked up at him questioningly. "What do sunflowers mean?"

This question made Ino smile as she continued working. "They represent loyalty, energy, and life... I think they fit the two of you very well."

"H-Hai," answered Naruto as he had suddenly took a very intense interest in his shoes. Sai smiled behind his notebook and kept writing down Naruto's unintentional wealth of golden material.

"And a few sprigs of baby's breath and we are done!" exclaimed Ino as she held out the arrangement for Naruto inspect.

"Wow, Ino! It's perfect! Thank you so much! How much do I owe you?" asked Naruto as he went to dig out Gama-chan.

Ino simply waved him off. "It's on the house this time, Naruto. You did just save the whole ninja world yesterday. Consider it a thank you present."

"Arigato," thanked Naruto wholeheartedly. Ino then held out her hands saying, "Here, I'll take the bouquet in the back and place it inside a sealing scroll so it'll be fresh when you give it to Hinata tonight."

"Yoshi! That's a great idea," agreed Naruto as he handed the flowers back to Ino. As she made her way into the back of the shop, Naruto called out, "Oh and Ino, could you... maybe give me some sunflower seeds and iris bulbs if, you know, you have any around?"

Ino just raised an eyebrow at him in question. His only reply was a shy shrug. No way was he going to tell Gossip Queen Ino about his gardening hobby. He wanted to plant them in a special spot he was making on the outskirts of the village. The girls of the Konoha Twelve would tease him to know end if they knew.

"Well... except for Hinata-chan, of course," thought Naruto with a blush. Ino simply shrugged and said, "Sure, Naruto-kun. I'll see what I can do..." and went back to finish her work.

"So," said Sai as he closed his notebook, "where are you taking Hinata-san on your date tonight, Naruto?"

"Well, Sakura-chan said I shouldn't take her to Ichiraku's because it should be special," replied Naruto as he nervously scratched the back of his head.

"That sounds rather wise," answered Sai with a light, unforced smile. He had been seeing more of those lately, and it made Naruto quite happy.

"So, I was thinking about taking her to that barbecue joint that Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru always go to. I... also kinda wanted to ask the rest of Team 10 something, do you happen to know where the guys are?" asked Naruto. He had one last chance to prove Sakura wrong. But... Naruto had the feeling that his quest was doomed to fail.

"Shikamaru and Choji got called to the Hokage's office just a few hours ago. I think they wanted to discuss plans for the spring Chunin exams again," replied Ino as she came back into the room.

"Really? Sweet! I'll stop by Kakashi's office quick before I head to the barbecue place to make a reservation," said the blond as he held out his hand for the scrolls Ino was carrying.

"Okay, now Naruto, this is important! The red scroll has the bouquet in it and the blue one has the bulbs and seeds. Don't mix them up!" she explained with a threatening edge to her voice.

"Right! Red good, blue bad, got it!" exclaimed Naruto as he put the scrolls away and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Naruto?" asked Ino as she walked up and roughly grabbed him by the collar.

"Erk!" Naruto grunted as he watched Ino with wide-eyes.

She then stared him down and said, "You better give Hinata-chan all the love she deserves."

Ino then tightened her grip, and Naruto audibly gulped.

"And by that, I mean I want to hear her orgasmic screams of ecstasy, echo across Hokage Mountain! ACROSS THE FREAKING MOUNTAIN, NARUTO. YOU HEAR ME?!" she growled giving him a shake.

"Eek!" squeaked Naruto as his nosebleed started again when he thought about doing such a thing.

"Oh! Nice one, Beautiful," commented Sai as he slid up behind Ino and gave her a kiss on the neck.

Ino let out sensual gasp of delight as she then turned her laser focus back onto Naruto.

"And if I don't," added Ino in a threateningly sweet voice, "I'll turn Sai's nickname for you into reality."

Sai laughed merrily at this as Naruto went completely pale. The blond ninja then croaked out, "Y-Yes, yes, ma'am!" and hightailed it out of flower shop with both his hands place protectively over his crotch.

"FROM THE MOUNTAIN, NARUTO!" yelled Ino and Sai at his quickly retreating back as they both struck dynamic poses. A Japanese wood print wave appeared in the background as they freeze framed. The lighting makes them look like heroes sent from the heavens.

The scene then ends with a black crow flying behind them going "Caw! Caw!"

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes: Yes, Naruto still has Gama-chan because I say so. LOL So next time, is actually NOT Choji and Shikamaru, but instead we get "Old People Have No Lives!" Hehehe! Chew on that guys! Oh! That's going to be SO much fun.

If you have time, remember to check out my Author's Page for more of my fics. And as always, please read and review!