Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine...really...no matter what the voices tell us...O.o Did I say us?
Though Asuma and the others kept expecting something to happen, the next few days were peaceful. It wasn't until the week was half over that someone thought to ask Iruka about the absence of the by-now- infamous team 7, only to discover that the four shinobi had left for a survival-training mission in the surrounding forests.
The Jounin's grumbles could be heard throughout the Ichiraku, but Ino, who just happened to be eating at the same restaurant for lunch, looked smug. Ha! She thought, Sakura won't be here to prove it, so I'll win the bet by default!
When she voiced her thoughts aloud, however, her teammates--whom she'd dragged along, Shikamaru to pay, and Chouji because…well, just because--looked skeptical.
"You think she didn't know about this mission when she made the bet, Ino? She'll be back in time." The dark-haired boy sighed as the blonde nodded agreement.
That dimmed Ino's glee a bit, but, since she was still sure to win, the girl wasn't as irritated as she normally would have been when her friend's didn't see her brilliance.
At the mention of a bet, their ex-teacher's ears had almost visibly perked; raising an eyebrow, Asuma turned to look at his former charges.
"Did you say something about a bet?" The Jounin grew quiet with interest. "Does this bet have something to do with team 7, by any chance…?"
Ino--who'd already heard about the Jounin's bet from a gossipy waitress, though the details were a bit cloudy--smirked, enjoying knowing something that her superior didn't.
"Yeah, I hear you have a bet of your own going, Sensei."
Again, the eyebrow went up. How did the girl always know everything…?
"Just a small wager with Kakashi, probably something like the one you have with Sakura?" The young woman twitched, causing Asuma to smile innocently. It always felt good to provoke her…after all, she couldn't yell at him. By the glares he was getting from the rest of the team, it was obvious who would be getting the brunt of the head-strong woman's anger.
"So, Ino…what exactly was the nature of your bet, huh?" He didn't even look at Kurenai when she kicked him under the table. If he didn't mess with his team, who would?
"Nope, you tell first, Asuma-sensei." The battle of wills would have gone on, if Kurenai hadn't taken it upon herself to kick her friend once more, this time with enough force to make him wince.
"We, uh, bet Kakashi that Sasuke…" Suddenly, he realized just how absurd the entire ordeal was, "isn'tgayandinlovewithNaruto."
Once she had deciphered the older man's words--a beat slower than her teammates Asuma noted--Ino's eyes widened. This threw the Jounins off, they'd figured that her bet with Sakura had been the same, now they weren't sure. The young woman looked too surprised for that to have been the case.
"Wait, Sasuke-kun! You bet that Sasuke-kun isn't gay? What I mean is…Kakashi--"
Asuma reminded himself to remind her to be more respectful when referring to upper-level ninja she didn't know well.
"--thinks that Sasuke-kun is gay!" Now her mouth was opening and closing like a beached fish. Shikamaru looked thoughtful, and even Chouji paused in eating to snort. What was that about, wondered Asuma.
He got his answer when it was Chouji who answered the earlier query. "Ino, and us, I guess, bet Sakura that Naruto is gay and in love with Sasuke."
For a moment, all that could be heard was Chouji's chomping as he went back to his meal. Finally, Shikamaru spoke.
"Evidently, he's told her that he likes someone pale with dark hair and a bloodline limit. We think that he was talking about Hinata, though."
Asuma nodded, "he has been spending a lot of time with her recently."
Kurenai was shaking her head, however, looking baffled. "No, she--" the Jounin woman blushed, sighed.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter at this point." Everyone looked at her curiously.
"Naruto's…been giving Hinata advice on romance, actually." Seeing that the faces of her comrades became even more confused at her explanation, she continued. "She and Kiba just confessed to each other."
Dawning comprehension filled Team 10's faces.
"But still…maybe he discovered his feelings while he was helping her sort out hers…?" Comprehension turned to desperation as Ino tried to understand what was going on.
The dark-haired woman looked unsure and, finding nothing to say, simply lifted her tea to her lips.
Shikamaru coughed, "well, it looks like we'll be getting our answers soon enough."
The sound of indignant screeching filled the restaurant as team 7 entered, looking slightly worn but otherwise fine. Well, as long as one knew enough to ignore Naruto's black eye, of course.
A/N: Well, it looks like this will be 3 or 4 chapters...Weird...O.o
Thanks to my reviewers: InExpressible, Nissie (as usual), Silvermoon123, Wolfbane2, silverfangedgoddess09, genbo, nannon, kawaiineziumi (you'll see how they prove it!), shizu2, Back of Beyond, Ano Saa, srusse87, and Aseret Kitsune!