Chapter Fifteen

Ino sat against the tree trunk, panting and sweating profusely. When Sakura came to she noticed her friend's state and immediately went into medic mode, replenishing some chakra and soothing what she could tell was a horrible headache.

"Well," Ino said, "that was a lot harder than I thought it would be. We didn't even manage ten minutes and half of that was taken up getting there."

Sakura handed her a water bottle and sat back herself, trying to process what they'd seen now that Ino was recovering.

"Yeah," was all she could manage for the moment.

Blue eyes looked over her friend with concern. Her strength had given out right when Sasuke had Hinata pinned on the ground and was leaning in to either whisper something in her ear or kiss her - or both.

"It might not be what it looked like," Ino offered weakly.

Sakura almost managed a smile at her friend's attempt to comfort her.

"Ino I know you saw what I saw."

"Yeah, but - "

"And I know you heard her yelling at him for destroying her jackets. She said he'd ripped one of them off with his bare hands."

"Well, okay, but - "

"Ino, not now."

The blonde pursed her lips, not liking how things had gone. Honestly, she'd figured there was maybe a 1% chance that Hinata and Sasuke had actually hooked up. She thought they would find out what was going on today and would at least be able to solve the mystery for themselves. But what they had seen did look pretty firmly on the side of what everyone was whispering around town.

Ino and Sakura sat in silence until the Yamanaka felt well enough to get up and head towards town. Sakura wordlessly brought Ino's arm to rest across her shoulders in order to provide her some support while walking. Honestly, Ino was too reckless sometimes. She was glad her friend decided to test out the jutsu with her first so that she could do exactly what she was doing at this moment, monitoring and helping her friend recover. If Ino managed to develop the jutsu enough for field use - and she had no doubt that the stubborn kunoichi would do just that - it would be extremely useful for their intel teams. However, Sakura didn't like how risky it was to test out unperfected jutsus. She could appreciate the implications and still worry for her friend.

"We need to get you something to eat. It's a little early, but most places should be serving lunch by now," Sakura said as they ambled toward the city center.

"That sounds amazing," Ino said, as if just realizing her stomach was an empty pit screaming for something to fill it. "But do you mind if we stop by the shop first? I want to see if Mom wants us to bring any food back for her."

Sakura smiled sadly. Ino and her mother had butted heads often in her adolescence, her mother not always understanding the stresses and intricacies of shinobi life in a teenage girl and often suggesting that Ino give it up and settle down like she had. Now that she was older, and she had witnessed the shinobi reality of her father's death in battle, Ino understood her mother was just worried for her and was trying to suggest a safer and less stressful way of life. She hadn't meant it to be insulting. Mrs. Yamanaka was genuinely happy taking care of her family and their flower shop. Ino now did what she could to watch over her mother while trying not to be too obvious about it. After all, she was the only one left for her mother to take care of and she didn't want to take that from her. It didn't stop her from helping extra around the shop and sending friends over when she was on longer missions to check up on her mom.

"That's fine with me," Sakura said. "She always knows the best places to eat, anyway."

A few minutes later and Mrs. Yamanaka looked up from a new arrangement at the jingle of the door.

"Hello girls!" she said cheerily, until she noticed Ino's pale complexion.

"Oh dear, what happened? Are you alright?" she exclaimed, running from behind the counter to the two young women at the front of the store.

"We're fine, Mom," Ino reassured, waving her hand. "Just trying out a new jutsu. Sakura's made sure I'm fine, I just need some food."

"I have a sandwich and some fruit I packed, let me go grab that!"

Before she could start back, Sakura shook her head. "That's okay, thank you though. We were actually just dropping by to see if you'd like us to bring you something back from lunch. Ino figured if we were going out you might like some food."

Mrs. Yamanaka put her finger to her lips, thinking for a moment, before nodding. "That does sound good, actually. I've had sandwiches the last few days while working so a little variety would be nice!"

"Is there anything in particular you'd like? I'm starving so everything sounds good to me," Ino said.

"Hmm, there's actually a new tea shop that just opened down the street and I've heard nothing but good things about their food. It sounds like they have a couple of specials that are spectacular. Bring me back one of those if it's not too much trouble."

Sakura smiled in response, "That sounds perfect! We'll go pick up some food and come back to eat it with you."

Ino looked suspiciously at her friend, realizing she was eager to eat lunch with her mother so that they didn't have to talk about what they had seen when spying on Sasuke and Hinata. She was too exhausted and hungry to argue, however, so she let it be. Sakura couldn't get out of talking to her for too long.

"Oh, and if you see Naruto while you're out you might want to suggest that place for his date tonight if he hasn't thought of a place."

Ino and Sakura stopped in their tracks and turned back to Mrs. Yamanaka.

"Huh?" they said at the same time, mouths gaping in confusion.

Ino's mother nodded, her eyes sparkling as they always did when she'd found some juicy gossip. "Your friend stopped by earlier for some flowers. He had a bag with some nice clothes in them and bought a bouquet of irises. He tried to tell me they were for his apartment, but it was obviously not true. Naruto's got a very honest face."

Ino and Sakura looked at each other, eyes wide while they processed the information.

"Did he say it was for a date?" Ino asked.

"Not in so many words, but boys like Naruto don't just go out and buy nice clothes for no reason. And when he left I told him to have a nice time on his date and the poor boy nearly fell on his face. So I'd say it's pretty obvious."

Sakura couldn't deny the truth in Mrs. Yamanaka's statement. She had almost never seen Naruto in anything other than his track suits and sweatpants.

"Won't Hinata be so happy?" Mrs. Yamanaka continued. "It's about time those two hooked up. She's been after him for years and he deserves a girl who's not just after him for his newly found fame. I think they'll be perfect together."

"What makes you think it was with Hinata?" Ino asked carefully, not wanting to give her mother any insight into what they'd discovered earlier.

"Who else would it be? Besides I mentioned to him that Hyugas love irises and he stopped looking worried about his purchase. You don't get to be my age without knowing a thing or two about reading people! I'd bet dinner his date's with Hinata."

To say Ino and Sakura were stunned and confused would be an understatement. Luckily, Ino's stomach took that moment to growl and clench uncomfortably making her grimace.

"Oh my goodness, listen to me going on about Naruto while you're standing here hungry! Go get some food and I'll see you girls later!" Mrs. Yamanaka practically shoved the girls out the door and they walked down the street in a bit of a daze.

"Do you think she's right?" Sakura asked Ino.

"In all my life I've never heard her tell any gossip that ended up being false. Granted, she's making a few leaps based on what she told us, but it's definitely possible."

"Do you think he knows about Hinata and Sasuke?"

Ino thought for a moment. "I think he does. He looked so jealous that day Sasuke went after her. There's no way he would have any reason to look that way if he didn't at least think something was going on."

"This doesn't seem like Hinata. I mean, going on a date with Naruto while doing what she's doing with Sasuke? It seems so… wrong."

"You're right. Maybe we did misunderstand what was going on earlier," Ino said thoughtfully as they entered the tea shop.

The kunoichi made their way to the counter to browse the menu when something caught their eye. Sasuke and Hinata were sitting in a booth with two almost empty plates on the table in front of them. Hinata wore what was unmistakably one of Sasuke's shirts.

Ino, too, watched in wonder as a waitress stopped by their table to see if they needed anything else. When the two shook their heads no, she asked "Alright, I'll be back to drop off your check. Will this be together or separate?"

Sakura's chest clenched painfully when Sasuke responded, "Together."

There you have it! Everything is coming to a head and we've only got a few more chapters to go. As always, please let me know your thoughts :-)