Author's Note: So far so good with the whole once a month thing! I'm trying to be more consistent with my writing time. I really want to get this stuff out there for y'all and now that things are coming to a head in this story I'm eager to get it all down :-)

Chapter Thirteen

Naruto strolled the streets of Konoha with a particular destination in mind and some new clothes in tow.

Until looking through his closet that morning, Naruto hadn't realized that his clothing mostly consisted of either shinobi or athletic wear. He had exactly one pair of jeans and he'd bought them so long ago he was honestly not even sure if they still fit. In Konoha, ninja wore their shinobi clothing most of the time. You could be called to action at a moment's notice and even the more casual shinobi usually had a kunai or two hidden on them at all times.

If not in his usual track suit, he generally wore some kind of athletic pant and either a t-shirt or sweatshirt depending on the weather. He often trained on a whim whenever he was feeling particularly bored or full of energy and he dressed accordingly. Besides, he and his friends never really did anything fancy so it hadn't been an issue before this.

It was only when Kurama started giving him a hard time about wooing Hinata by embarrassing her with sweatpants in a nice restaurant that Naruto had the realization that he didn't actually have anything nice to wear. Nor did he know what to get. Luckily he remembered the store where he'd bought his jeans and went there, remembering how helpful they'd been even before he was the village hero.

Naruto was thankful the place was still in business (many businesses hadn't bothered opening back up - or hadn't been able to - after Pein and the war). The older woman who ran the place had been more than helpful in guiding him through the process. She noted his overwhelmed expression when he'd been faced with all the options and told him black pants and a button down were a combination you couldn't go wrong in. Smiling in relief, he let her take his measurements and as she found some black pants that would fit, the blonde had picked an orange shirt (his lucky color) to go with them.

With what he hoped was the most painful part of the day out of the way, the young hero decided his next stop should be the Yamanaka flower shop. He was pretty sure he should bring Hinata a bouquet of flowers. He knew for a fact she liked them since she'd mentioned pressing flowers during one of their recent training sessions and flowers were a thing guys got girls they were interested in, right?

He was pretty sure he'd heard Sai talking about seeing a lot of men coming to buy flowers for their significant others whenever he spent Ino's shifts with her in her family's store. Granted, Sai usually said they were making up for something, but he was sure she wouldn't assume he'd done something wrong. Probably. Unless going on a date and planning to confess to your best friend's lover was wrong. Shit. Maybe he should get Sasuke some flowers while he was at it.

No. That would probably just piss him off more.

Naruto hoped that he had earned enough good vibes in life to cancel out what he was planning and that the world would arrange for Ino to be elsewhere this morning. He would not be able to survive her questioning and he didn't want anything to ruin his evening, especially something like word getting out to a dangerous individual that he was taking out his girl.

The Uzumaki breathed a sigh of relief when he entered the store and saw Ino's mother occupying the space behind the counter. He searched a few displays, trying to decide what would be best.

Roses were too cliche. Carnations seemed too cheap. The lilies were too flashy…

He wandered past various flowers, unable to name the majority, but nothing seemed quite right. And then he found the irises. Their color was vibrant and they were beautiful while still seeming pretty natural. And if he remembered correctly, Ino had told him once they were a symbol of royalty. Hinata was basically the closest thing to a princess in Konoha.

Unfortunately that last thought made him sweat. He was planning to steal the heart of a princess. Or steal it back, really, but still. He certainly liked to make things hard for himself. Go from the village pariah to Hokage. Go from never having a date to wooing a princess.

Go big or go home - that was Uzumaki Naruto. And he never backed down, so he picked some lilies up and took them to the counter to pay and have them wrapped. He didn't want them wilting in the hours he had before his date.

"Ah, Naruto, how are you dear? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm alright Mrs. Yamanaka. How about you?" Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Ino's mom was nice, but he knew Ino had to get her gossiping from someone, though the way her dad used to carry on with Shikamaru and Choji's dads it could have been him. Either way, he couldn't be too careful.

"Oh I'm getting along alright, you know how it is. You're looking so grown up! It seems like just yesterday you guys were taking the chunin exams fresh out of the academy and now you're off saving the world. Makes a mother start to feel old."

"Heh, it's no big deal, really…" Naruto said awkwardly. He never knew how to talk in situations like this.

"Oh you don't have to be modest. You've done very well. And I see you've picked some lovely flowers! May I ask who they're for?"

An uncharacteristic blush started to creep into the blond's cheeks and his eyes widened in panic. He couldn't tell Ino's mom they were for Hinata!

"Oh! Um, heh, no one really. I just thought I'd brighten up my dusty old apartment, you know?"

She gave him a look letting him know she didn't believe his lie for even a second and he began to sweat.

"I see. Well I hope you don't keep them all to yourself. Maybe you can invite someone over to see them. We sell a lot of these particular flowers to Hyugas."

"Er, yeah, I might have to do that." What the hell? Did she know? Or was it actually true that Hyugas liked this kind of flower? If so that was good because it meant Hinata probably would, but he wasn't sure if she was telling him the truth or messing with him.

Luckily, she'd finished wrapping them and handed them over while telling him his total. Naruto set his clothing bag down on the counter to pull some money out of his frog wallet, but quickly moved it to the floor when he saw Ino's mom eying it. He fished out the money and counted it, handing over the correct amount and picking up his things to leave hastily. He waved with the arm holding the flowers and made his way to the door, yelling his thanks across the room.

"Anytime!" Mrs. Yamanaka replied cheerily. "Enjoy your date!"

Naruto nearly tripped and fell at that last part, but knew better than to look back and give Ino's mom any more information than she'd already guessed. He hurried out the door and down the street, ready to be home before anyone else could figure out what he was up to.

There you have it! I wanted to break from the spying for a chapter because it seems like y'all aren't quite as interested in Sakura and Ino (I'm the same way so this break back to Naruto was for me, too). So next time will be what they see. Let's see how much further I can take these misunderstandings before we clear it all up ;-)

Please review and let me know what you thought. Your criticisms and encouragements keep me going!