How did she end up in this mess?

Just a moment ago, she and Ino were having a very healing-motivated and enlightening conversation about their past mistakes and how they wanted nothing more than to patch things up and keep moving forward now as friends. They sat by the fountain and caught up for what felt like the first time in ages despite it only having been a couple of months since they last talked.

Now suddenly she found herself stationed on a rooftop with the platinum haired girl, practically spying down on the streets below and looking for a certain someone.

How?

How did this happen again?

Oh, right…

"You were out with Sasuke just now?" Ino began, tilting her head and taking note of Eri's hesitant expression. She wasn't sure if she shouldn't have said that, but at the same time, when the question was posed, the kitten-like girl fumbled around internally for a short time, especially considering the last thing she wanted was to lie. Somehow lying felt like all the more worse an option.

"Y-yeah…" She expected to feel a change in atmosphere. She expected her friend to suddenly become reluctant or tense, and then maybe mince her words or grow short-spoken.

Instead, when she glanced up, she was met with the devious blue eyes of the little mischievous devil, "you sneaky weasel. What did you get up to? Give me the details, so I can choose your punishment!"

The brunette shuffled away promptly, horror lighting her eyes as she raised her hands so defensively, "don't do that! Geez! We didn't get up to anything! We just took a walk!"

"Oh yeah?" The pony-tailed girl persisted, the curves of her smile becoming sharp with deviltry, "you really expect me to believe that? He invites you out on a walk and nothing at all came from it?"

"Nothing at all!" Her eyes practically grew white with a sharp mix of distress and a desire to escape, "two friends can take a walk without anything happening, Ino!"

"Yeah, yeah. You're the "innocent" one," she shrugged carelessly, "now if it was me, on the other hand…"

The way she trailed off only succeeded in making Eri grow somewhat anxious for what her next words would have been. Surely Ino wasn't insinuating something too bad… and yet when greeted with the possibility she couldn't help but become sure that it could have been… but what was considered too bad? She couldn't really think of anything…

Abruptly, as if without warning, Eri found herself growing somewhat annoyed. 'If I can't think of anything at all, does that mean I really am innocent..?' Preposterous.

Regardless, she could only imagine what would have happened if the roles were reversed. "If we had switched places… you would have thrown an absolute fit…"

"Hm? What do you mean by that? For what? Did he say something?" A sudden suspicion came to her face as one of her eyes narrowed so darkly and her voice altered so drastically, "did he do something?"

"Ino, no! I just mean..!" She scratched her somewhat elongated nails so lightly against the skin of her cheek, "when that girl came and borrowed him, you probably would have lost it then."

"…"

"…"

"When WHAT?!"

"Please calm down!"

"I think you're too calm! What was he borrowed for?! What wench-"

"INO!"

Eri found herself waving her hands defensively once more, sweat dotting her cheek from the visceral reaction, "it was a noble girl. She was a tourist, so she was just looking for a tour guide!"

"WHY DIDN'T SHE TAKE YOU!?"

A lingering silence came over the two of them. It wasn't heavy or tense or heavy… just lined with an almost awkward silence bred by a pause that had well overstayed its welcome.

Eri brought her finger thoughtfully to her lips. She contemplated for a long duration, then found her eyes turning to dots as she thought about the question just a bit more. Finally, she peered up, admittedly with a vacant smile on her face as she simply replied without concern, "I don't really know."

"Give me a break, it's obvious!"

"You don't… think she would have done anything too bad, right..?" Eri's mind wandered to thoughts of danger and reasons for concern. Kakashi-sensei didn't seem worried, so there shouldn't have been anything to fret over, right? Besides, the girl seemed awfully small, and there were no indications of it being any kind of transformation technique… she wouldn't have, no, couldn't have just been luring Sasuke away to hurt him, right? She just didn't believe it.

Clearly, Ino had a completely different outlook on her statement, "Of course I do! It's obvious why she picked him!" he had devilishly handsome good looks. Really, being that attractive was a crime, so if she plucked him out of the crowd, she only wanted one thing!

It was… obvious why she picked him? Eri's body began getting somewhat heavy at the now present possibility that she had overlooked. 'It's… because he's an Uchiha? Oh no…' She had so simply cast doubt away that she didn't even think of the possibility of his clan being the reason why he would be targeted. Of course! He even had his crest plastered right on his back, how could she have been so stupid!?

"Come on!" Ino asserted, snatching the brunette up by her hand and up to her feet, "we HAVE to go find him. If we don't , it may be too late."

"Are you sure you don't want me to do it? Don't you still have work to do back here..?"

"This is more important!"

Ah yes. That was how it happened. The misunderstanding of the ages, and a blatant miscommunication that drove Eri into action following behind Ino into looking for Sasuke. However, it wasn't until just a few moments ago that it became clear that this was not what she had initially expected.

"If her hand goes within three inches of him, I'm throwing this plant."

"Ino!" Eri scolded, "you shouldn't endanger someone like that!"

"I never said I'd throw it at them. Just… concerningly close to them."

"That isn't what I meant… but that is included," Eri remarked, motioning to the rooftop garden that they were stationed by at the moment, "you shouldn't be endangering these plants for your own nefarious purposes."

"Please. I've spent my whole life raising plants. They should be looking for a way to repay me."

As she was saying this, Eri slooowly eased the plant from her hand, much to her mild bemusement. "It's okay, Doug, she didn't mean that…"

Ino lowered her arm and her gaze for just a moment, peering back at Eri with a look of disappointment, "...Doug?"

Eri merely peered up at her while closely holding the plant protectively and simultaneously standing in between her and the rows of other plants on the rooftop.

"…" Ino loosed a light sigh, but shook her head out, "nevermind! I've gotta find them again before I lose them…" She scanned the crowds below at the various people that passed below. With the influx of people from the exams, it was nearly impossible to keep tabs on the girl that was with him, though of course it would be hardly any effort at all to find Sasuke in a crowd. He commanded attention. So she just had to figure out roughly which direction they went…

"Maybe that's a good thing. I don't think we should be spying on them, you know? It feels kind of… wrong."

"Come ooon," Ino shot, peering back behind her and skeptically knitting her brows, "You aren't even the slightest bit curious about what they're doing?"

"Wow!" Eri suddenly exclaimed, "gee! You know… now that you mentioned it?" Her expression went stark and flat so suddenly, staring directly at Ino with dead eyes, "no. Actually I'm not."

"Tsk," Ino huffed out, turning to look at her as if with mild dissatisfaction, before peering out into the crowds again, "I don't know how you do it. I couldn't imagine pretending to not be interested that well-"

"I'm not pretend-"

"WHOA! WHOA WHOA THAT BEAST OF A GIRL!"

"Huh..?" Eri peered back with her brow furrowed, "what..?"

"SHE TOTALLY JUST KISSED HIM! WHO DOES SHE THINKS SHE IS?!"

"Wait, really?"

The kitten-like girl quickly but carefully set down 'Doug' off to her right before bounding up to her feet. "You're joking or something. That's totally out of character for him…"

"YEAH! If you don't believe me, see for yourself!"

She made her way over to the rooftop, peering out and down to the direction Ino was so briskly pointing in, "See?!"

Eri felt her heart beat in her ears for a moment. She wouldn't believe that. If it were true, then good for him! Really, she could imagine it would be really difficult making a long distance relationship work off of such little time together, but she couldn't help but feel that maybe with enough effort and attentiveness…

…

"Ice cream…" she said aloud, "...she's… just eating ice cream." Immediately as her less rushed senses came back to her, and rationality took hold again, she was aware of what happened here. Slowly, hesitantly, and stiffly, she turned her head to take a precautionary peek out of the corner of her eye towards Ino.

Just as she thought. The blonde looked smug, her brow raised and her arms folded as a blatant smirk came across her face, "not interested, huh?"

"It was just because of your reaction!"

"Please!" Ino shot, "if that actually happened, Doug would have instantly been a projectile."

"...you're a witch… that's the only explanation."

"EXCUSE ME!?"

"H-hey keep your voice down!"

"Who's a witch!?"

From the ground and the crowds of passerbys that sifted by, a few took notice of the shouting… followed by others… and really it was just a large ruckus now that everyone was paying attention to.

Sasuke, who had his chin resting wearily in his hand, peered up at the loud noise. He knew he heard Ino's voice; sometimes she was so loud that it was impossible not to hear her over a crowd. What he didn't expect to see was Ino and Eri together. He could have sworn the two were on the outs or something, not that he really knew all of the story…. Or… well, any of the story at all. Come to think of it, she played a lot of things close to the chest, didn't she? He'd have to confront her about that.

... If ever he could escape Mai.

He peered over to her and the way that she was having the ice cream as if she'd never seen it before in her life. For all he knew, it may have been possible. He didn't really pay much attention to what she was saying when she talked. It may have been unfair, as truly she wasn't that bad. Just… slightly obnoxious. Slightly.

Still - what on earth were those two doing up there? Why on a roof? Lately, Eri had seemed so subdued, and here she was yelling at the top of her lungs – albeit it was spoken so quickly and in such a difficult to comprehend 'whine' that it was hard to know what exactly she was saying.

"DO IT, INO! PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY!"

Well, that was clear enough. What the hell was going on?!

"NO, NOT DOUG!"

...Doug? What the hell was a Doug?

Around that point, it seemed a woman came out of the house, stopping, then peering up on the rooftop. "ERI! INO!"

Both girls stopped in the middle of what they were doing, what they were doing being essentially Eri stuck in Ino's headlock. The two girls knew the woman. The both of them were very social and outgoing even with strangers, usually, so it wasn't off-base at all to assume that a majority of the villagers knew who they were.

"...Ma'am…" They began simultaneously, Ino's grip beginning to slacken just slightly.

'Busted…' Sasuke thought. He felt himself secondhand flinch from the way they were instantly being chewed out for being on the woman's roof, and how she could 'hear them stomping around up there'. Yet, it may have been his imagination, but for a moment he suspected that Eri seemed somewhat… happy.

He couldn't place why.

"Oh, Sasuke! Look at that adorable trinket shop! Let's go to it!"

He sighed heavily. He'd really have to give Kakashi a piece of his mind next time he saw him...

A/N: So this is kind of an extra chapter! Some bits of this was supposed to be in the last chapter, but I thought about cutting it altogether. I decided that it would be fun, so I tried to get it out as soon as possible, so that it wouldn't take the place of a normal chapter upload!

I remember a friend of mine agreeing that 'maybe they shouldn't hang out if this is the kind of stuff they get up to'! Either way! I hope you guys enjoyed a little fun in these chapters!