Every morning, Ino Yamanaka dressed in her purple best and did her makeup and walked the one mile walk it took to get to her job. She'd tell people that she killed two birds with one stone, she got in daily exercise and she got to work on time. Her work was her life, she loved it and she put all of her heart and soul into it. Yamanaka Coffee was passed down to Ino from her father, who had retired years ago. And today was no different, she dressed in a purple shirt and washed out jeans and she made her way down to the coffee shop with five minutes to spare.
"You're early," an elderly voice said as she approached the shop, and Ino smiled warmly at the little old lady that awaited her outside of it. Chiyo was a regular, and one of Ino's absolute favorite customers. She often told Ino that she came all the way over from Suna Street just to have her coffee, when Sandy Lane Coffee Shop was right beside her house.
Unlocking the door, Ino flicked the light on and smiled again. "Better early than late," she replied to Chiyo, tying her long blonde hair up and walking around behind the counter, while the old lady shuffled off to her favorite table by the large window that took up one wall of Ino's shop, overlooking one of the busiest streets of Kohona. Ino's family had been very fortunate to buy this place and now with the war over, things were better than ever.
She put on a pot of coffee while she started her day; counting the drawer and making sure that Moegi had stocked everything perfectly. The bell rang and Tenten's loud greeting could be heard as she said hello to Chiyo, and then hurried over to Ino. "Sorry I'm late," she said sheepishly, reaching up and rubbing the back of her head. Ino gave her a mock disapproving look, thought they both knew that she would let it slide. Tenten was almost always late, but she made the best latte art out of everyone, and the customers adored her.
While Tenten took a coffee to Chiyo, Ino finished opening up, and the morning thus started. She saw plenty of her friends from the Acadamy and a lot of her old teachers, though Asuma's presence was missed. He had died some time ago, and Ino missed him every day since then. He'd become like a second father to her, Shikamaru and Chouji. He liked to get a black dark roast, but Ino had a suspicion he had just been trying to show off how manly he was to Professor Kurenai.
Hinata, followed by Naruto and then Kiba, greeted Ino and Tenten as she excitedly walked toward the girls. They didn't have much of a chance to speak before Hinata had happily stuck her left hand out to them over the counter. Ino couldn't remember the last time she had seen her friend so happy and carefree, and so unlike herself. She smiled as everyone chatted amongst themselves, recalling when Hinata had once been so shy and afraid to blossom. She felt a swell of pride in her chest as she watched Tenten fawn over the ring, and Naruto awkwardly laughing behind his fiancé.
Her gaze then met Kiba's, and she could not mistake the look of regret or, perhaps, sadness. Feeling startled, Ino quickly averted her gaze before he noticed. No one else seemed to have caught the look, and Ino was not going to diminish Hinata's happiness by pointing it out. Instead, she smiled and joined the conversation, giving them both coffees before they waved goodbye and left, eager to go tell their friends the rest of the news. Only Kiba was left at the counter, then, and he placed his easy order of a black coffee, just like Asuma.
Ino avoided eye contact and she spoke as minimally as possible, much to his confusion. How do you bring it up that you caught his regretful stare? Perhaps he had been in love with Hinata this entire time, and now he was feeling terrible for never telling her. Or, perhaps he did tell her and Hinata rejected his advances! Ino could think of a million different scenarios in her head, but she was absolutely certain about one thing, and that was that she was not going to allow, under any circumstances, for him to mess up one of her best friend's happiest moments.
He said his thank-you and walked over to the corner, where he sat every morning, and opening the daily Kohona paper. Ino lingered behind the counter, feeling quite on edge, until she eventually pulled her apron off and hung it nearby. She then walked over to the table, and sat down across from Kiba. "I saw your expression," she blurted out before she could stop herself. "You aren't happy for them?"
Understandably startled, and maybe even annoying, Kiba lowered his paper to peer at Ino. This seemed to catch him off guard, but Ino could not seem to find why. Finally he shook his head and cleared his throat, laying the paper flat on the table. Ino could see a smiling Sakura on the front page, an article about a new medicinal herb she had found in Kirigakure. Her blue eyes glanced back up at Kiba, and she noticed how terribly anxious he looked, tugging at his collar and everything.
"It's… It's not that, Ino. It's not Hinata," Kiba said, sitting up a little straighter. Ino's eyes widened and she willed herself to not laugh at him. Was it Naruto that he was in love with, she wondered? Ino could understand being closeted, she had harbored a terrible crush on Temari for some years until she had moved on. Before she opened her mouth to speak, he continued as if the words were painful to spit out, "It's just that I… I'm in love with someone who doesn't even notice me. My best friend is getting married, and I can't tell the girl I like that I like her. How pathetic is that?"
Perhaps it wasn't as terrible as she had thought. Sitting back in her chair, Ino crossed one leg over the other and tapped her fingertips on her knee, before gesturing vaguely toward him. "You could try asking her out to lunch? You know, it's casual, and if it catches her off guard you could easily say it's just as friends," Ino suggested. Her friends often came to the blonde woman for dating advice, but Ino had been as single as a pringle for years.
He was staring at her as if he was thinking something very odd, and Ino glanced away, suddenly very interested in her nails. It took only a moment for Ino to realize that she was jealous of whoever this person was. Sure, she'd never told Kiba that she'd had a crush on him since the Acadamy, and that she had dated multiple guys in hopes of getting him jealous. Nonetheless, she could feel a heat rising into her cheeks, and she quickly stood. "Good luck, Kiba. I hope it works out," she told him quickly, flashing her best smile and then hurrying back to the counter.