Note: I know I'm not a gifted writer, but I try. I edit my own things so if there are mistakes (and there will be), sorry in advance. I hope this entertains anyway. To everyone reading this and to those who have reviewed, thank you. I really appreciate it!

I've felt a heart before, and I'm learning what a heart is for. I believe a heart is made to feel the things that lay in front of it. And I lay before you. – Pardon Me (the blow)

Date Two (one? Did the first one even count?)

They were meeting in a small cafe on the quiet side of Konoha that neither of them really visited. The instant she saw Lee already there, waiting for her at a table, she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Okay, this needs to stop. Ino ran her hand over her face. Exasperation was not a cute look for her. Or maybe it was. She didn't have time to consider the idea. Joining him, she dropped her arms on the table and sighed heavily. "Lee, I shouldn't have to tell you that wearing your jumpsuit on a date is a bad idea."

The man looked down at his get up. That's what he always wore. "What is wrong with it?"

"It's hideous, Lee," she said matter-of-factly, steepling her fingers and closing her eyes. "Appearance is a big deal. Wear casual clothes on dates."

"You are not wearing casual clothes," Lee pointed out.

"These are my casual clothes!" Ino screeched, opening her eyes in a huff. Sure she was wearing her shinobi attire, but these were good enough for a date with Lee. "A person has to be comfortable and look good no matter the situation." She didn't want to make a habit out of hitting him, but if he was going to make stupid comments, it was going to be inevitable.

"Ino-san," He paused, his dark eyes widening slightly. "You are a confusing woman."

The blonde let her eyes roll this time. "All women are confusing. Just remember to wear something else when you go on a date. Make the girl feel like she is worth the trouble."

When he pulled a notebook out of his flak jacket and began to take notes, Ino couldn't help but smile even though she was confused at his willingness. Well, her plans couldn't work if he wasn't willing to take her advice. Don't question good things, Ino. She thought to herself as she gazed at his determined expression with a little bit of envy. What wouldn't this fool do for Sakura?

"Also, gifts. Girls love presents."

"Like when Neji would give Tenten things when they dated?"

Ino hadn't known a lot about Neji personally, but she couldn't help the surprised expression that slipped onto her face. Wasn't Lee one of people affected most by Neji's death? She could barely have a casual conversation about Asuma with Chouji or Shikamaru without crying a little, let alone with someone who didn't really know him. Suddenly, her hands became very interesting, and she cleared her throat. The conversation was going in the right direction even if it wasn't how she intended to go about it. "Exactly. Do you know what kinds of things Tenten likes?"

Lee's face brightened, a grin growing on his face. "I do know what Tenten likes! I am going to become the master of dating! Then I will win Saku – I mean, I will win the heart of any woman I want!"

Ino looked up from from her hands to smirk at him.

"For Sakura-chan!"

The kunoichi ran a hand over her face again. She really hoped she could make exasperation look good.

Tenten couldn't help but feel cornered when her blonde friend stopped her on her way home. It wasn't like she couldn't simply walk past and ignore her which had definitely been Tenten's plans when she first spotted Ino. She just had the feeling that the woman in front of her was going to ask something of her that would only make the brunette as angry as she had been when Lee had told her about their second date going well.

"Let's hang out this weekend." Ino moved to link her arm with Tenten's. They began to walk in the direction that the older woman had been going. "I haven't gotten the chance to see any of the girls lately with my work and seeing Lee during my free time. You've been pretty distant, Tenten. I have so much to tell you about that green goofball."

There isn't a thing you could tell me about Lee that I wouldn't already know, Tenten thought viciously although she was curious to hear about what went on during their date because Lee was keeping his mouth shut about the whole thing. Personal business be damned, she just wanted to know if Ino had sank her wanton claws into her teammate already. "What exactly – " was all she got out before Ino interrupted her.

"I'll tell you all about it when you come hang out with me this weekend! Saturday? Go on a leisurely hike with me, hmm?" The demands came out of the blonde's mouth as if they were what she had been wanting to say from the beginning.

Unwinding her arm from Ino's, Tenten looked at a sign on a building, pretending to read it as she thought. Was she curious enough? This invitation to hang out just seemed like a way for Ino to rub the fact that Lee was dating her into her face. She'd rather not hear all the gory details in case Lee and Ino had actually done something, like what if they had kissed? No way. It would only make her feel worse about the predicament. Ino was her friend, but this was ridiculous. Making her decision on where she stood in this situation, she looked at Ino, feigning a regretful expression. "Sorry, Ino. I have a mission this weekend. We can hang out some other time."

"Oh really?" Ino's eyes briefly narrowed as she crossed her arms. "Well, I guess that can't be helped."

When she was finally alone in her apartment, Tenten kicked her sandals off and wondered how she was going to get the hokage to give her a mission for the weekend.

She couldn't just let her plans crumble before they even begin. Ino sighed dramatically as she flopped herself onto her bed. So what, Tenten couldn't help that she had a mission. Huffing another heavy sigh, Ino rolled onto the floor, her hair covering the hard wood floor and her face. She wouldn't be defeated, but she certainly felt so. Her next date with Lee was on Saturday. He had suggested hiking because why the hell not, Ino thought. She had been hoping to enact phase one (phase one of one because why do plans need to be so complex?) of her plan by setting Tenten up on the date. Tenten would have been surprised. Lee would have been surprised. Maybe they'd kiss, she didn't know what to expect!

"Whatever could have happened definitely isn't happening now! It would have been so perfect!" she yelled, strands of hair flying away from her face. They would have met up, fallen in love through the power of hiking, and my job would be done. Why she thought things would ever be that simple, she won't really understand.

That's when she heard a knock at her door.

She wasn't expecting anyone. Maybe her neighbor was being fussy because she was yelling. That bitch. With a hop, Ino quickly went to the door of her apartment. It wasn't her overweight, hateful neighbor. It was Sai.

"Good evening?" Sai acted like he wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement. Nonetheless, he smiled.

"It is now." Ino grinned. She hadn't had any time to work on her own self interests (namely Sai and his cute butt) since starting this thing with Lee. She hoped Sai didn't know about it. He was the one person she didn't want to know. Although it was only an arrangement with the green beast, Sakura and Tenten both seemed to believe, thankfully, that Ino was actually dating Lee.

Of course, she could just tell them all the truth, but that would just be too easy. Heroines went through trials and roughed it out. Ino's trial was helping Lee in the "getting over Sakura" area of his life, matchmaking Tenten and Lee, and helping her best friend get an obnoxious man off her back. Besides, Sakura had dared her to do it. Maybe she wasn't twelve anymore, but she'd be damned if she couldn't handle a challenge thrown at her by the pink haired woman.

She just did not want Sai thinking she was the kind of woman who would cheat on her boyfriend however fake said boyfriend may be. She was a heroine in this story, not a villain.

"Is it?" Sai seemed curious though his expression didn't show it clearly. He held up a bottle. "Naruto said people bond over shared inebriation."

Ino grinned wickedly before pulling him into her apartment. "You're a life saver, Sai-kun." She didn't know why he was being so friendly with her. So romantic – no, romantic wasn't the right word. So flirty? No, still wrong. She placed the bottle on her kitchen table, giving the man a long look. He was only smiling at her. She always thought that women were much more mysterious and tricky than men. It was one of her gender's upper hands. Sai was an exception. At least when she was attracted to Sasuke, he had made his intentions clear. He had never wanted her. Sai did.

With that, all other thoughts were thrown away.

Date Three

This wasn't exactly Ino's idea of a fun date. She'd rather like for a strong, sexy man to be doting on her, fanning her and giving her cold sweets to fight off the heat of this absurdly hot day. Nope, this was not her idea. Standing next to her was the ever spirited Lee in what Ino had to admit were okay, although plain, casual clothes. A dark green t-shirt and gray pants. Good enough. They were facing the entrance of the path that he had decided they needed to take up the mountain. It looked simple enough to Ino, but it also looked boring.

"If I hike to the end of the trail before noon, I will get over Sakura-chan!" Lee threw a fist up, giving Ino a grin.

"Then get to it, lover boy. You have two hours." Ino knew he needed encouragement and tried to offer it when he wasn't grating on her nerves.

He raced off, and she couldn't help but feel annoyed that he would leave her behind. Sure, she told him to hurry. Yeah, she wants him to get over Sakura. That's the point, right? But this was still supposed to be a date. Kind of. She followed him up the path, letting the forest swallow her.

An hour into the hike, Ino found herself panting, ready to take a break. Why was it so hot? She gazed up at the tree branches above her, sunlight shining through the leaves before kissing her bare arms. She was wearing a t-shirt, too, like Lee. She wasn't dumb. Hiking was an easy task for a shinobi, who pretty much had to endure much worse nearly every day. Nonetheless, she knew proper clothing was necessary. Simple hike, simple clothes. It was a date, after all. Stupid Tenten for having a mission and not being here.

She resisted the impulse to jump up into the branches above to catch up with Lee. He must have made it to the end of the path by now, right? It had only been an hour. She wasn't familiar with this place so she had no idea how long it would take. Stepping off the dirt path, Ino kicked a tree a few times before sitting on a large rock. Some date this was turning out to be. This was not only boring, but she couldn't see what she was getting out of it. Her bangs were sticking to her forehead, slick with sweat.

She wanted to go back to the village, take a hot bath, and talk to her girlfriends. Maybe even make out with Sai some more. He had left on a mission the night before, which irritated her. Just when things seemed to get heated between them, he leaves her to deal with Lee all alone. Never mind the fact that he doesn't know about the situation at all. She just knew that when this supposed date was over, she was not going to be kissing Sai when she returned to the village.

Worst part of the whole situation, she noted when her stomach growled loudly, was that Lee had their lunches. Standing up resolutely, she continued her trek up the mountain.

–

"Ino-san! I made it before noon!"

Kami, this can't be my life. Ino was near the end of the trail forty five minutes after taking that break. She wanted to beat Lee to a pulp as soon as she made it to the end of the path. First he leaves her behind, and now he was – what was he doing? She gave him a once over. He was grinning at her, sweaty, and shirtless. She couldn't say she was all that surprised by his muscles because being a taijutsu master had its perks. Still, she looked at him appreciatively for a few seconds before flopping herself down next to where he was standing.

Um, he just wasn't as hairy as she imagined he would be. That was all.

"Good for you. Are you over Sakura now?" Ino asked as she rested her arms on her knees, her chin on her arms.

"Yes!" Lee exclaimed, joining her on the grass. "Actually, I do not really know. I think so."

"If Sakura were here right now and wanted to kiss you, would you do it?"

"Yes!" was his immediate response.

Ino chuckled a little. "Then you aren't over her, you idiot. Would you kiss Tenten if she wanted you to?"

This he had to think about. Ino's green eyes grazed over his tight stomach muscles, then moved upward to see him frown slightly. "Probably yes. If she truly wanted me to."

The blonde raised her head, looking right into his eyes. "Would you feel bad about it? Like guilty because you like Sakura?"

"Yes. . ." He admitted, his frown deepening.

She sighed a little. This was what she was expecting. The power of hiking wasn't worth a damn, apparently. All it did was make her sweat in places that she hadn't done in a while. "I wouldn't mind some wind right now. It's so humid," she complained, her bottom lip protruding as she tried to blow a breath up at her forehead. Shouldn't be hard since she had a cute normal sized forehead.

Her train of thought stopped when she felt a hand move her bangs to rest behind her ear, then a cool breath caressing her forehead. "Is that better?"

Her eyes widened in mild astonishment. "What if I wanted you to kiss me?"

Wait, why had she said that? Must be the heat.

"Do you want me to, Ino-san?" Lee didn't look embarrassed, just confused.

She snickered, knocking away thoughts of any kind of lip lock with this strange man, before patting him on the cheek just a bit condescendingly. "If I wanted a kiss from you, I would just kiss you myself."

This time, he did blush. I take it back, Kami, this must be my life. Ino Yamanaka, making men blush everywhere, she thought. Giving his body one more appreciative glance, she got back to her feet. "Where is this spring you spoke of earlier? I'm hungry and sweaty so let's go."

He led her down a much narrower path leading away from the trail to a small secluded spring and was that a waterfall? How cute.

She promptly took off her shirt, revealing a swimsuit underneath. Nothing too flashy. It was a date, but she kept it tame for Lee. Not that he's doing the same for me, she thought to herself, sneaking yet another peek at her companion's muscular frame as he removed his shoes.

They ate lunch in a comfortable silence, their feet dipping in and out of the cold water. She noticed that he ate a lot and offered some of her food to him since she knew she couldn't eat a full meal; she never did. He smiled at her gratefully before he shoved some of her rice balls into his mouth.

"This feels great on my feet," Ino said, wiggling her toes in the water. "Good job, lover boy. Other than leaving me in the beginning, this date hasn't been so bad." She looked at him with a smirk, jabbing him in the side. Maybe it was so she could feel his muscles for herself. For whatever reason she did it, she knew she was flirting, and quickly pulled her hand back. Ino wasn't the kind of girl who flirted awkwardly. Especially not with Rock Lee.

"Yosh!" The boisterous man cried, pounding the air with both fists. "But when will we be done with this?"

Ino knew what he was talking about, but played dumb, raising her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side. She wanted him to break off their little arrangement himself. As soon as he felt confident enough to approach another woman (namely, Tenten, Ino hoped) and let Sakura go, he would be able to figure it out on his own. She didn't need to be the one to tell him. "Huh?"

"This thing between us cannot go on forever," he supplied, his eyes piercing her in an unwavering gaze.

"But it could," she breathed, slowly putting a hand on his arm. She knew what she was doing was a bad idea, but she also knew that if she scared Lee a little bit, he would try harder to get over Sakura. Just don't fall in love with me, lover boy, she thought, sliding her hand up his arm and to the back of his neck. She leaned toward him, placing a light kiss on his collar-bone. "Think about it, I would get to boss you around forever."

"I-Ino-chan!" Lee jumped up, away from her.

All she could do was burst into vivacious laughter.

"How's the thing?" Sakura asked as she entered Ino's apartment.

"Don't you ever knock?" Ino said with a playful glare, placing the magazine she had been reading onto her coffee table. She sat up on her sofa, knowing if she continued to lounge, her best friend would just sit on her. She knew what Sakura was talking about, but the pink haired woman could be so purposely vague sometimes. The thing could have meant several things. But Ino knew.

"Whatever, Ino-pig." Sakura joined her on the small sofa, drawing her legs up. "Just tell me about your dates with Lee."

"They're good," Ino told her curtly while putting on a show of examining her nails. "Why? Have you heard anything?"

"I heard you guys went out into the forest for hours today and came back all sweaty. Lee was even shirtless," Sakura snickered, using her foot to jab at the blonde. "Is that really how it was today?"

Ino knocked the offending foot away and put on a sly smile. "It's true. He took me to this waterfall and confessed his undying lust to me. Then he ripped his clothes off, showed me his whopping package, and then we made sweet love for hours. Underneath the waterfall, of course."

Not a second later, Sakura smacked Ino on the shoulder in perturbation. "Yeah, right! What parts of that are true?!"

The blonde grinned mischievously, ignoring the horrid pain in her shoulder thanks to Sakura's hit. "You don't want to know."

"Good point," Sakura conceded with a solemn nod. "Anyway, I came to ask if you and Lee wanted to go on a group date with me, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata."

"You're kidding, right?" Ino's naughty attitude flew south, being replaced with annoyance. "Lee and I haven't been together long enough to do that." If they had a double date this soon, Lee would only be tempted by Sakura. Ino knew her best friend wasn't stupid so she must want to do this just to complicate things. It was basically like saying 'You think you can get Lee to get over me that easily? I'd like to see you try, Ino-pig.' Damn it, Sakura.

"If you've already seen his throbbing package, then what's a little date with other couples?" Sakura asked, prodding the blonde with her foot again.

"I said whopping. If it were throbbing, I wouldn't know what to do with myself," Ino corrected, trying to make light of the new challenge presented by her friend despite her annoyance. "I'll talk to Lee, and we'll go on the stupid group date. Just let me know when and where."

As her best friend left, Ino couldn't help but smile to herself. Count on Sakura to make life interesting, not as if her life wasn't interesting as it was. You're on, billboard brow.

As she layed out her bed roll, Tenten peered over at her partner for the mission she had practically begged the hokage to give her. He was lean and handsome; what she knew of him came from Sakura. "Sai, do you need help?" She knew he was far from incompetent, but she felt she needed a reason to talk to him. He didn't seem like the type who liked chit chat.

He ignored her.

Okay then.

The mission they were on had been simple; they were resting for the night on their way back to Konoha. He had first watch, but because it was such a hot night she laid awake, thinking about what Ino could be doing. She felt a little guilty for turning down the bossy blonde's invitation to hang out. Tenten didn't consider herself one to hold grudges anyway. When she returned home, though, she knew she was going to avoid the woman like a plague. A wind blew past her, making her sigh. That was the first relief from the heat that she had experienced all day.

"Can I paint you?"

The voice in the night shocked her, halting her thoughts.

"Pardon me?" She sat up, looking over at her stoic companion.

"You don't look like Sakura or Ino. You're different; I want to paint you."

Why would I look like either of them? Aside from the obvious difference in looks, I don't waste my time on make up or extreme hair care, she thought, feeling a little uncomfortable and annoyed. It was a full moon, but there was no way he could see her that well. Despite all this, she nodded.

When he smiled, she blinked before relaxing and letting out a small laugh, the wind carrying it away.

To me, Sai is a bit of an enigma.