Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
A/N: Hi stranger. It's been a while. I feel like there's some noticeable mistakes in this chapter. But I wanted to post since it's been more than a month from my last update. Hope you enjoy it!
The sun rose high in the sky, showering its warmth and light onto a small garden located on the western side of Mito High School courtyard. The flower beds were being attended by three girls wearing sun hats to protect their necks from the increasing heat. Sakura stretched upwards, from her previously bent position, and made a satisfied grunt when a popping noise accompanied her actions. She glanced down at the bed of flowers she had been tending to, and smiled with a self-serving nod at getting rid of the pesky weeds that were there earlier. She turned towards her two friends, Hinata and Ino, who were finishing up a similar task, a small distance away from her.
The three were members of the Gardening/Flower Club. Both Hinata and Ino enjoyed gardening, or making flower arrangements as a hobby. Ino's mom owned a flower shop where the said teen worked part-time. Hinata enjoyed pressing flowers in her free time, if she wasn't dabbling with a new pastry recipe. Sakura on the other hand, was not an avid lover of the hobby. She joined the club to hang out with her friends. There's also the fact that Ino put her name down during orientation week, without consulting her. She was unpleasantly surprised at being called out by the President about missing past meetings. Sakura shook her head with fondness at the memory. Ino made up for it by joining the Trivia Club with her, quite unwillingly.
Speaking of the blonde, Sakura thought, she has been awfully quiet lately about her … schnookie. Sakura shivered inwardly at even thinking of the cringe worthy pet name. It's been about a month since Ino snagged herself a boyfriend, albeit in an unorthodox manner. Sakura had given up in trying to talk her friend out of the irrational idea. Seems the girl genuinely liked the equally deranged boy, so all she could do was be supportive and be there for her friend. Hmm, Sakura frowned, what if there's trouble in paradise? Coming to think of it, I've never spoken to the guy myself. Yes, she did talk to Sasuke, they had a few shared interests and lately started studying together via phone call. He was incredibly smart and challenged her logic with his own when they played trivia games during their study breaks. He reassured her that Naruto wasn't a predator in disguise and he was a genuinely good person. However, she needed to see this for herself!
Subconsciously, Sakura questioned whether she could handle both Ino and Naruto at the same time. Chaa! I need to make sure Ino-pig isn't taken advantage of, so suck it up, she told herself with finality. "Hey Pig!", she called out, causing an annoyed twitch from Ino to her satisfaction. "How are things between you and Naruto?"
Hinata, who was removing her gardening gloves from her crouched position, curiously looked over to Ino. Sakura debriefed her the next day at school, that Ino got into a 'serious relationship' and she immediately became concerned for her friend's safety. When Ino sauntered into class with a bright grin, Hinata listened to her recital of her amazing date with her … schnookie. Hinata had mixed feelings about the whole situation. She could tell Ino was elated as she gushed about Naruto and their upcoming dates, and she was happy for her. However, with how things came about, it was still worrisome because what if the strange boy had bad intentions? She knew Ino wasn't naïve, but the girl had a tendency to be way too forward at times, following her whims and desires. There was also the part where she didn't know the boy's name and Hinata had to stop Sakura from pouncing onto the blonde.
Ino quirked an eyebrow at Sakura, her eyes gleaming with hidden amusement. "Oh?", she drawled as she stood up and faced her two friends. "Didn't you say the other day, and I quote, 'Yamanaka, I swear I will chuck this chair at you, if you squeal one more time about your stupid schnookie sending you cat photos'?" She crossed her arms and waited for Sakura's response. Some thought she was a ditzy girl with an empty head, but Ino had a good memory and was a part of the high achieving students at school. A great thing about her memory though was that she always had some kind of dirt on others and could repeat insults and snarky remarks word for word.
Sakura looked slightly abashed and rubbed her arm awkwardly. "Well, in my defense you were being more insufferable than usual," she grumbled. "I know you were doing it to rub it in Ami's face. But you were at it for half the day!" Ami seemed to have made Ino her enemy, ever since Ino broke her nose when they were younger after the bullying incident with Sakura. Sakura knew Ino didn't particularly care for Ami's insults or challenges. Once again, she had to admire the blonde's confidence. That doesn't mean Ino didn't have her petty moments, although she never went overboard.
Hinata giggled at Sakura's response, as she remembered Ami's slackened expression when finding out Ino was no longer single. The girl tried to turn the tide by pointing out that Ino was practically dumping Sakura, in hopes of upsetting the two. She was the one behind the rumors of the two being together, not that many knew. This only prompted Ino to lecture Ami on polyamorous relationships, consenting partners, minding her business and her jealousy of Ino not being interested in her. Anko Mitarashi, their teacher, walked in at that moment and was more than happy to join in on the conversation, much to Hinata's embarrassment and Sakura's bane. "I think Sakura just wants to make sure everything is okay with you, Ino. It's the same for me," Hinata said in a placating tone.
Ino hummed in a thoughtful manner as she gazed at the Hyuuga girl. Hinata usually took on the role as the mediator in the friend group, before she pushed Sakura's buttons too much. Yes, she admits to actively riling up her friend, but it was her way of spicing things up in their relationship. Like Sakura, Hinata was timid when Ino first met her at school. She was - still is - introverted but Ino roped her into their current circle, after becoming a little bit violent with some upper year girls. Hinata came from old money, just like her, but her timid demeanor made it easy for others to try and take advantage of her. One day, some upper year girls corned Hinata, trying to get her to buy things for them, promising to be her friend. Ino's Big Sister Instincts activated upon sensing the situation. Next thing, there was Ino, appearing out of nowhere, confusing the bullies as she drop-kicked the leader. Inwardly, she patted herself on the back for that move, thinking that watching wrestling with Uncle Choza actually paid off. The bullies had been too shocked at seeing their downed leader to react, and only saw a flash of pale blonde disappearing around the corner, dragging a terrified, yet impressed Hinata.
"Hmph, well I suppose that's warranted," Ino stated with a small smile. "I know how much the two of you love me." She smirked when she saw Sakura rolled her eyes and Hinata giggled. "Naru-babe and I are doing great. Our dates are always fun and I like getting to know more and more about him. He's super sweet and thoughtful too. We made a shared album for our cute couple photos, and we're planning to get some matching outfits sometime," Ino said with a delighted expression.
"That's all good and wonderful," Sakura said with a dismissive wave of her hand, although she did take note of the new pet-name, "But we've yet to officially meet this guy." Curiosity killed the cat, she thought. But she couldn't help herself from being more interested in the blonde boy. Most teenage guys don't just agree to participate in some of the things that Ino mentioned they did for their dates. Their last date involved the two going to a private dance studio to learn the Dance of the Kitsune. Apparently, it was Naruto's idea. She wasn't sure if she should be worried that he came up with it, or that Ino willingly went along with it.
"Ah, you're right!" Ino exclaimed with a clap of her hands. "I'm meeting him in front of Leaf Time today, we're planning to go window shopping later. Why don't you guys come with me and you can get to meet him?"
Hinata and Sakura shared a surprised look. Well, that was fast, they both thought. The two had assumed that Ino would have wanted to plan something more … extravagant to introduce Naruto to them. Hinata frowned, remembering she had already made plans for the afternoon.
"Sorry Ino," the grey eyed girl said, sadness tainting her voice as she twiddled with her index fingers, a nervous habit. "I have a tutoring session with a new student this afternoon." Sakura and Ino both seemed to put off by her statement, which warmed her heart a little, knowing they both wanted her there. "But Sakura should definitely go, just to make sure he is really a good guy!" Sakura nodded at that with a small smile, she would call Hinata later to let her know what she thought of the boy to ease her friend's concern.
Ino suddenly tackled Hinata in a hug, startling the poor girl and causing her stumble a bit. "Hina-boo! This side of you is so adorable," the blonde cooed as she squeezed her friend. Hinata blushed as she giggled lightly and returned the hug. Ino was a compassionate person, who didn't shy away from being touchy with her friends, once they were comfortable with that. "I like your protective side too … it's hot." Hinata face turned red, as she registered what her friend whispered cheekily into her ear. "I-Ino!", she spluttered out, as the culprit laughed out.
Aaaand the cute moment is gone, Sakura groaned to herself. Hinata still reacted the way Ino wanted when flirted with, which only spurred their devious friend. At least, it's better than before, she reasoned, as memories of Hinata fainting from Ino's actions, during the early stages of their friendship. "Ino release the poor girl, before she gets dizzy. Tenten isn't here with the smelling salts," Sakura urged, causing the two teens to separate and Ino sticking her tongue out at her playfully. She chuckled at their antics, absentmindedly wondering how Tenten was faring. She was their senior, and now a first-year student at Konoha University, studying Mechanical Engineering. The three girls missed their friend, but understood that she was swamped with more responsibilities than normal.
"Ah, that reminds me!" Ino exclaimed with a clap. "We should check with Tenten about her free time, so we can have a sleepover or do something as a group. We've got a lot to catch up on." The others agreed with her, and started packing up their gardening tools to head back into the building. The school day was coming to a close, which they all looked forward to. Ino more so, as she wanted to spend time with Naruto and calm her friends' worries. The three girls strolled over to the building closest to them, the one that hosted the club spaces.
"Say Hinata," Sakura started curiously. "Who's the student your tutoring?" She used to tutor in her earlier years at high school, but she stopped to focus on her final year. She planned on becoming a physician, and wanted to have the best grades for a scholarship.
"Oh! His name is Kiba Inuzuka," Hinata said with a shrug. "Papa went to University with his mom, and recommended me to help him with Math."
"Ugh … Math … the bane of my existence," Ino growled. Hinata laughed and Sakura chuckled while patting her friend on the back.
"Are you sure that I should come with you?" Sasuke asked wearily, as he hiked his bag up his shoulder. He glanced over at Naruto, who was shoving some papers with the words 'SN Support Club', in his bag as they made their way out of the school compound. He was slightly curious as to what they were about, knowing all the clubs Naruto was a part of. The two were making their way to Leaf Time Café, to meet Ino. Well, in his case, to officially meet her.
"You were just nagging me all this week about meeting her, now you want to back out?", Naruto asked, scowling at his companion. Sasuke's nagging was always subtle, but Naruto knew him since they were in diapers. Someone would think the boy was uninterested, but he knew the Uchiha was genuinely curious about his girlfriend. Not that he could blame him though, Naruto thought with a smile. Whenever he told the guys about his dates with Ino, their disbelieving looks were hilarious. Kiba argued that Ino was a figment of Naruto's imagination.
"It's not that, dumbass. You already planned to meet with her today. Me tagging along would make me an uninvited guest," Sasuke snapped at him. Unlike Naruto, he liked to inform people beforehand when he was coming over. He was not the kind to visit someone without notice. He did not make it a habit to enter someone's home through their window, like a damn burglar, eat their snacks - specifically the tomato-flavored chips -, take naps on their beds and basically make themselves at home. Sasuke didn't know why his mom still allowed the blonde to visit them. To top it off, his cousins, Shisui and Obito did the same thing!
"Oh that!" Naruto said with a raised brow. "I texted her during break and told her you'd be tagging along to officially meet her. So, don't get your panties in a twist." Naruto smirked when he saw Sasuke's scowl from his remark. "Besides, we have a shared calendar with our planned dates. There's also room for spontaneous dates. Any changes to the schedule need to be submitted within 5-7 business days to the committee for approval."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted tiredly. "Wait, what? A committee?" He did a double take at Naruto. Did he really want to know at this point, Sasuke thought. The less he knew would be better for his mental health. "I don't plan to stay for long anyway. The two of you sound annoying already", Sasuke replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Aww, Sasuke-chan is jealous of his boyfriend's girlfriend."
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched at Kiba's mocking tone. He was walking over to the duo with Shikamaru trailing behind, hand shoved deep into his pockets. The two had disappeared earlier with Naruto, to kami knows where. Sasuke frowned when he saw the same flyer Naruto had, stuffed into Kiba's shirt.
"Hn", Sasuke smirked, already having a comeback in mind. "Either way I see it Kiba, you're still single. Or being obsessed with dogs is working out for you?"
"Oi, oi, oi!" Kiba barked out. "I just haven't found the right girl yet," he grumbled, with an embarrassed blush. On top of being awkward around girls, there was also the fact that his mom and sister would make her life a living hell. They were firm believers that no one was good enough for their son/little brother.
"Being single is the better option," Shikamaru chipped in with a shrug. He and Kiba came from the weekly 'SasuNaru Support Club' [SN Support Club] meeting, hence the flyers. It was recruiting season. Now don't get him wrong. He didn't care much about shipping those two, especially with their toxic moments. However, the club room had a very comfortable lounging area, perfect for naps. How could he pass that up? Kiba was kind enough to gift him noise cancelling headphones for his naps, so he was more than happy to attend those meetings to catch up on his sleep. His attendance was taken, which went down as an after-school activity on his records. There was even a BBQ and movie night coming up. The club has his full support, once he can continue doing the bare minimum.
"You know what, Shika!" Naruto exclaimed with a wicked grin. "I bet you a month's worth of ramen, that you're going to end up with a blonde, troublesome woman. She'll be on your ass to do things, and you're going to be so whipped. Then the two of you should have a bunch of blonde babies."
"I hope you stub your toe, you bastard," Shikamaru glared at Naruto. An involuntary shiver ran through his body. I rebuke that, he thought.
That would be amusing, Sasuke chuckled to himself. The only blondes he knew that were in Shikamaru's life were Naruto and Ino. So far, Shikamaru has been avoiding being in the same vicinity with the two together.
"Anyway," Naruto said as he turned towards Sasuke, "let's get a move on. Don't want to be late to meet Ino-babe." Just then a gust of warm wind blew, and some of the flyers in his bag flew out. One of them, landed onto Sasuke's face.
With an annoyed grunt, Sasuke pulled the flyer off his face, only for his face to become blank as he saw the contents. 'SasuNaru Support Club: Movie Night starring Icha Icha! Melt His Heart' was the title, with details on the event's date and location. Tick marks formed on his forehead, as he slowly looked up at his friends and realized what the 'SN Support Club' stood for. Sasuke knew he shouldn't be surprised that Naruto and Kiba were a part of the club. When it comes to those two, you don't question too much. But Shikamaru!
"Explain," he demanded, as he glared at the three teens in front of him. Naruto and Kiba shared a guilty look whilst Shikamaru looked up at the sky, admiring the clouds.
"Huh? Itachi?!", Naruto suddenly shouted, pointing behind Sasuke with a surprised look. Caught off guard, Sasuke turned around quickly only to see that Itachi was not there. A growl escaped his lips, realizing he fell for such a stupid trick … again. He would admit, that he is a bro-con and his supposed friends continued using it against him. He whirled around to face the lying bastards, only to see Kiba and Naruto running in opposing direction.
"Fucking losers," he muttered and went after the blonde who was cackling like a mad man.
"The clouds sure are pretty today," Shikamaru yawned as he stretched. "I hope Kiba remembers he has a tutoring session today." He walked off to the direction Kiba ran off to, aware that the canine lover, most likely forgot about his appointment.
Outside of Leaf Time Café, Sakura and Ino were hiding away from the sun, on a shaded bench. Ino was currently lying on the bench, with her head resting on Sakura's lap. The two were talking about the recent addition to Mamori's harem at school.
"All I'm saying is, that you're mine, okay?" Ino claimed with a frown marring her face. "You can't, under any circumstances join her harem!"
"I never planned to," Sakura said in amusement, as she played with a loose strand of Ino's hair. "I'm glad you didn't decide to start your own harem. I worked really hard to talk you out of it too."
"Well, it still has potential," Ino pouted, "but you convinced me. It really made my heart flutter, when you pushed me up against the wall and said-"
"Ino!" Sakura yelped, her face turning red. "Don't phrase it like that! You tripped on your own feet and grabbed me, making it look like that." That situation fueled the flames for Ami, who spread more rumors about the two.
"Hmmkay!" Ino purred as she tugged at Sakura's tie, making it looser.
"Now, you're trying to undress me in public," Sakura muttered as she glared at the blonde girl in her lap.
"Woah! They do make a cute couple," a voice exclaimed.
Sakura looked up to see a disheveled Naruto walking towards them. Sasuke following him, with a flyer clenched in his hand. She smiled shyly at the approaching boys, seeing as they caught her being somewhat teased by Ino. Her eyes landed into Sasuke's, causing her smile to widen a bit, remembering that Ino mentioned he would drop by to meet her.
"Schnookie!" Ino squealed as she got up from her lying position, and tackled her fellow blonde in a hug. She grinned at hearing a deep chuckle rumble in his chest, as he enveloped her in a tight hug. Everyone would assume the two haven't seen each other for years.
"Pookie! I missed you so much. All I could think about today was seeing you and holding you in my arms!" Naruto sighed and as he rested his chin a top of Ino's head.
"Aww," Ino cooed softly. "I missed you too! It's been 172,800 seconds without being able to hug you like this. It felt like the world was coming to an end." She sniffled at the end of her remark, nuzzling further into Naruto's chest.
The two kept up their banter, going on about who missed each other the most, the things they would do for each other and never wanting to let go of one another in their tight embrace. At this point, hearts could be seen surrounding the couple and was that music in the background?
Sakura felt nauseous at the overly sweet couple. "At this rate, I might get diabetes," she muttered. "Ino hates Math too. How does she know those exact number of seconds?"
"What the hell is this?" Sasuke whispered in a horrified tone. This might be just as bad as Lee and Gai's youthful embrace, he shivered.
However, the two were left forgotten by the blonde couple. Ino was now fussing over Naruto's dishevelled appearance and trying to fix him up, whilst an imaginary golden tail was wagging behind the teen boy excitedly. He was definitely enjoying being pampered like this.
"Haa," Sakura shook her head, and turned towards Sasuke. "Let's give them some time and head inside the café for a drink. I feel like I'm going to need some caffeine to deal with these two together." Sasuke teared his eyes away from the lovey-dovey couple, and followed Sakura into the café. Trauma from the Sunset Beach that appeared in Gai and Lee's embrace, was resurfacing.
Unbeknownst to Sakura and Sasuke, the two blondes were very much aware of them. Naruto was known to be a prankster from a young age. Practical jokes, messing with his friends or just stirring some fun drama was his main source of amusement. Ino liked throwing people in for a loop, and teasing her friends mercilessly. What happens when these two end up together? Meddling, blackmailing, pranks and dramatic entries and scenes.
"Oh Kami!" Ino choked out. "Did you see their expressions?" Her eyes teared up from laughing, as she glanced up towards Naruto. The two still in each other's arms.
"It was totally worth being this cringey in front of them, right?" Naruto grinned. The two were still acting the part, in case their friends peered at them from inside the café. With a playful smirk, he cupped Ino's face in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away her tears from laughter. He had half a mind to kiss her right there, but he should hold back a bit until they finished messing with their friends.
"Totally," she agreed, leaning onto him with a satisfied grin. "So, are you ready to annoy them some more?"
Naruto hummed for a bit, and then a placed quick kiss onto Ino's lips. "Now, I'm ready!" Ino blinked in surprise, only to smile coyly, and pulled him towards the café with red tinted cheeks. Oh, there's definitely going to be payback, she mused.
A/N: Thoughts, concerns, emotional outbursts?
There's some less cringe worthy pet-names now. The pain I felt when typing schnookie and pookie at times ... oof. I hope there's a good flow in this chapter. I wrote half of it in early March and then the other half tonight. Barely got through with editing and I'm now too tired to read through it again. Volunteer editor? Lol, we'll see. I think Naruto and Ino are going to have fun messing with their friends or trolling people. I planned on writing a longer scene with Sakura and Ino, but at that point the pairing would have changed to SakuIno instead. I read way too much GL/Yuri (lies, there's no such thing as too much GL/Yuri). Hmm, might just write a GL/Yuri fic, since it's been on my mind.
Alsooo, the manhwa that inspired this, NaruIno first meeting, is called Ooh La La by Jemin (? I think that's the author ... just checked anime planet). If you like rom-coms, I'd recommend this one. Thanks , I couldn't remember the name of the manwha at all.
Review ... if you want. Follow ... if you feel like it. Gotta stay vibesyyy!