Ino Yamanaka was not pleased with the results. Technically speaking, burning an extra 1,000 calories each day would mean losing approximately 2 pounds per week. She wanted to lose 5 pounds, which was why she started her strict diet and exercise regime two and a half weeks ago. She was tired and frustrated, but then why did she only lose one pound? Stubborn piece of shit body! Calm down, Ino, you don't want to get premature wrinkles. Let's see that toothpaste-commercial smile... and...beautiful! She supposed it wasn't so bad. The girl from the "Cherry Pie" video wasn't exactly skinny, just buxom - in which case she was all set. She was happy with herself for having thought of that. Sure, the music video came out five years ago, but five years is the approximate amount of time for something to get so played out and lame that it was cool again. Ino Yamanaka does it again. She hastily put on her red hat and trench coat (after all, she needs to be Carmen Sandiego until Shikamaru's parents left the house). Once she looked just right, she left her house and headed for Shikamaru's.
Hinata tried on the dress and became absolutely giddy. She was never really into dresses or clothes that did not look like potato sacks, but the halter dress that Ino made for her was absolutely gorgeous. It made her feel kind of - dare she say - pretty. Surprisingly enough, she was not embarrassed by the low V neck, and flower-patterned black lace over the silky beige fabric made her feel shockingly classy. Now the problem was coming up with a costume to go with it. A witch might be nice. She could just put on a hat. She grabbed a black felt hat and a mop (she couldn't find a broom) and waited for Neji to finish his shower so that they can leave.
"Shikamaru, you should be thankful Ino was kind enough to help you organize this party."
"Mom, Ino was the one who wanted this party in the first place."
"Well, I'm sure her heart was in the right place. After all, there will be someyoung ladies attending, won't there? Honestly, Shikamaru, you're 16 years old! You've practically gone through puberty–"
"Mom..."
"–and you've yet to express any interest in women. And Rosario tells me there are posters of that Beverly Hills fellow under your bed, and I really hope you don't use that to–"
"Mom! Those are Ch... Ino's. Now would you just go?"
"Whatwas that, young man?"
"I mean, you don't want to get stuck in traffic, right?"
"Well now, that's better. I didn't think I raised an bratty little..."
Just then, Ino walked into the dining room, making her last rounds inside the house before checking the pool area.
"Mrs. Nara, I can't thank you enough for convincing Shikamaru to go through with this. He's so lucky to have such a smart woman to keep him in line. Being around only boys for too long makes you dumb." Shikamaru scoffed at the irony.
"Ino dear, you are absolutely right. Now please take care of my son this weekend. Oh, and by the way, thank you again for that lovely evening gown. Mr. Nara thoroughly enjoys seeing me in it."
Ew, Shikamaru thought.
"Of course, Mrs. Nara! Have a lovely weekend!"
As soon as the door shut behind Yoshino, Ino immediately threw off and trench coat and tousled her hair. "I look soooo hot in this."
"Which street corner did you come from?"
"Shut up, prude. Besides, this outfit is really practical. I have my bikini underneath this Cherry Pie getup. Wanna see?"
"No. Hey, Chouji."
"Ey guys, the food looks good."
"Awww Chouji...that's not a costume! Wearing your football jersey doesn't count! You wear it pretty much to practice everyday. Why am I the only one here with a real costume?"
"Ionno, but you look hot."
"Ooh thanks! Chip?"
When Hinata arrived, the party was in full swing. She had been shocked to find that Ino's marketing tactics worked as well as it did. Even her cousin Neji had agreed to come, though he absolutely refused to wear a costume, and he rarely attended parties. When she walked into the house, her heart quickened a bit, and she hoped that she would not get sweat stains on her brand new dress. She scanned the room for her friends, and regarded every blonde haired male extra carefully in case Naruto was wearing heavy make up. Her eyes were drawn to Sakura, who was battling Ino for Sasuke's attention. Sakura was also dressed as a witch, but her black dress was much more form fitting and she wore a pair of lethal-looking stilettos that supported her slim, muscular calves. Hinata glanced at her own short, stumpy legs and her mop. Well, I guess I should be happy that I have this beautiful dress.
"Looking good there, lil' mama," said a voice behind her.
She turned around to see Kiba, dressed as Alex from Clockwork Orange(one of Kiba's favorite books - probably because it's one of the few he's ever read), and could not help but wonder why she had never noticed that her good friend was so handsome.
"Oh, hi Kiba! I like your outfit."
"Ehhh, the shirt's kinda too tight, but who cares?"
"Do you know when Shino's coming?"
"Nah, he said his new ant farm came in. It's supposed to be totally massive."
"Oh, I see."
"Man, I think I'm gonna bounce soon. The food here sucks. There's only, like, some carrots and celery and shit. And the chips are gone. What kind of idiot serves vegetables at a party anyway,"
"Oh, um, I think Ino planned everything. The decorations are nice though."
"Man, who cares about the decorations, this party sucks – Um, Shikamaru, hey."
Shikamaru appeared behind Hinata in brown slacks and an olive green polo shirt.
"Yeah, this party really does suck. Hey Hinata, so Temari and Naruto couldn't make it because they had to work overtime, and it's way too noisy to go to sleep right now. I was thinking of heading over to the shipyard and hanging out with them until things settle down a bit here. You can come with me or stay here if you want. I can drive you home if Neji leaves before we come back."
"I'll come! Kiba, would you like to come too?"
"Nah, you guys go ahead I think I'm gonna get some food soon."
Hinata hugged Kiba goodbye and told Neji to go home without her. After fetching the mop that she almost forgot, she caught up with Shikamaru.
Sakura and Ino were drawn to Sasuke like moths to a flame. He looked strikingly attractive and fascinating, despite not having a costume. Sakura concluded that it was because he was actually talking to them. Ino thought it was because of his dark blue satin shirt. Sasuke found Ino sexy (it was hard not to, since there was not much that her costume did not reveal, and Sakura beautiful, although he must say that he could not care less about the two girls. Especially Ino, that brainless tramp. At least I'll have some fun with her tonight.To his surprise, however, he actually found conversing with Sakura to be tolerable at certain moments. He'd much rather be working on his essays, but he thought of this as a type of exercise to test mental stamina. He found himself wondering if Sakura would be interested in reading some of his essays. Sakura's small sleek cell phone suddenly rang. Her face hot with irritation at the caller, she flipped open her small cell phone.
"What?" She smiled at Sasuke and bowed slightly before leaving the house to get better reception.
"So, Sasuke, have you looked up stuff for our project yet?" Ino silently cursed herself for not coming up with a more interesting topic.
"Yeah," he locked his dark eyes on hers, "Do you want to come to my house to look at it?"
"Sure," she cooed, "and maybe we can have some fun afterwards." Dammit, I'm leaving my party to go do homework?!
Sasuke noted how quickly she forgot about Sakura.
When Sakura returned, the two were gone. She suddenly felt uneasy, and left when she could not find them in the next hour.
Sasuke drove a black 1996 Mercedes-Benz S-320. No one in their class had one, since it was to be released the following year, but Sasuke's father had bought it for him for his sixteenth birthday. As it turned out, Sasuke only lived several miles uphill from Shikamaru. The Uchiha complex was stunning despite being a bit minimalist. However, Ino could not say she liked it. The cubic structure felt a bit too clinical for her, and the atmosphere felt rather icy despite the mild temperature.
Sasuke led Ino up a flight of chrome stairs into his room. Ino's hormones were raging, and Sakura was nowhere near her mind.
"Hey so, do you wanna study?" Ino said as she peeled off her costume, revealing her polka dot bikini, "Or do you wanna go for a dip?"
Sasuke felt himself stir just a little, despite his contempt for the blonde's vapid nature. Let's see how true this stereotype is.He put one arm around her waist, and tipped her chin up, and kissed her slowly. In a matter of seconds, she wrapped her right leg around his waist, demanding more. To her disappointment, he broke free from her kiss. He unzipped his pants but left them on.
"Kneel."
Ino stood frozen with her thin brows knitted and her mouth in a small circle.
"Wait, what?"
"I want you to kneel and open your mouth."
"Um....no, I don't do that."
Yeah and a fish hates water.
"But I thought you liked me."
"Sasuke, I do, but that's just totally gross."
"Get out."
"What? Why?"
"Leave, before I call the police."
For almost a minute, Ino couldn't move.
"I said leave!!"
She hastily picked up her clothes and shoes and left without putting them on.
When Sasuke was alone, he zipped up his pants. Hm, surprising.He was very irritated (not to mention embarrassed, as it was the first time he was rejected), but he was intrigued. Who would have thought that he would be scorned by that airhead of all people?
As soon as she got to the sidewalk, she started to cry. Normally she did not want people listening to her blubbering, but guilt overrode her self-consciousness. Sakura, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I wasn't thinking. Oh God, please don't let Sasuke tell anyone about this. Sakura, honey, I'm so sorry. Why do I have to be so easy?! She started to choke in an attempt to hold back her tears, and slime was dripping down from her nostrils. She blew her nose with the red top she was holding. When she calmed down, she became frightened. She realized she did not bring her phone or her wallet, and now she had no way of getting anywhere. She supposed she could ask some chump for a ride, but that didn't sound like such a good idea. Not to mention her face probably looked like an apple pie now after rubbing it so much.
"Why are you in your underwear?"
Ino jerked her head up and saw an amused looking Kiba (looking mighty fine too, she thought) in his 1967 Chevy Impala.
"Um excuse me, this is a bikini, genius. And for your information, the first thing you should do when you see a your beautiful friend stranded in the middle of nowhere, is to offer her a ride."
Kiba rolled his eyes as he leaned over to open the passenger's side. "We're not exactly friends, blondie."
Ino stomped over to the car, got in, and slammed the door shut.
"Thanks for being gentle to Agnes," Kiba said sarcastically.
"What? Ew, you named your car Agnes? That totally sounds like some ugly woman's name."
"That was my grandma's name, baby," Kiba lied.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it, where to?"
"I need to go back to the party. But..." Ino thought of Sakura again, "I don't wanna go back just yet. Just take me anywhere."
"Big Time Burger it is then. Your food really sucked."
As they neared the shipyard, Hinata tried very hard to contain her feelings. And failed. She could not help but smile like an idiot. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. When they arrived, Hinata stepped out of the car before it was fully stopped, to Shikamaru's dismay, and pranced around the sidewalk waiting for Shikamaru. They walked to the shipyard's break room, with Hinata walking at an unusually fast pace with the mop flailing about in her right hand. When they saw Naruto and Temari playing chess in the break room, Hinata's voice faltered as usual,
"H-hi guys. Are you, um, playing, chess?" Darn it, what a stupid question!
"Gah, finally you guys are here! This game is so boring!"
"That's because it's for smart people," a lazy voice drawled.
"No, stupid Shikamaru, it's for OLD people! Hinata, do you wanna get ramen with me?"
"Oh! Um, of course!"
The blonde and the chubby girl walked out, leaving the two more sardonic people.
"You can play chess?"
"Didn't you just see me play with Naruto?"
"Okay well, do you still want to play?"
"Fine, are you black or white?"
"Tch, you'll probably want to play white."
The Soviet raised an eyebrow. "You assume you are the superior player?"
"Yeah. I could be wrong. But I'm probably not."
"Hmph, time will tell," she moved one of her pawns two spaces, probably slamming it a bit harder than she wanted. "Go."
Ino never knew that this Tekken 2 was so fun yet so frustrating. Her hands were starting to smart from mashing on the buttons so damn hard, but her Nina Williams was still getting her ass kicked by Kiba's Paul Phoenix. Damn, at least he paid for my tokens. Ino admitted to herself that Kiba was surprisingly fun despite his roguish, ungentlemanly behavior. She wondered why she had never gotten to know him sooner. Plus, he was smokin' hot.
"Jeez, third perfect round for me. You really suck."
"Whatever, this game sucks!" Ino harrumphed and returned to their table to nibble her half-eaten burger.
"You know, if you're full, I can finish that for you."
"Um, hello, you've already had two!"
"Well, you don't wanna get fat, do you?"
Ino let out a cry of bitter resentment and coldly shoved her tray toward Kiba.
"Calm the fuck down, blondie, you're not fat." He pushed the tray back.
Ino couldn't help but smile. "Hey Kiba, you know that cashier's been checking you out this whole time."
"Hm?" His eyes widened as he turned to the cashier, who instantly averted her eyes.
"Yeah, in fact," she leaned closer to Kiba, "she's been staring at your sweet ass the whole time we were playing."
"Heh, well, maybe that's why you kept losing - 'cause you were staring at her and all," retorted a flustered but flattered Kiba.
"Say, uh, Hinata, you look really good tonight. You should wear dresses more. And uh, that's a really nice broom."
"Oh, um," Hinata started to giggle nervously, "thanks but no, um, I really don't look all that great. And, um, I couldn't find a broom and all I had was this mop." She waved her arm absently and the butt of the mop accidentally hit Naruto's head.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Naruto are you OK? I'm so sorry!"
"Hinata, I'm fine," he let out a raspy chuckle. "Oh, and I really did mean it when I said you look nice tonight. Say, let me buy you ramen tonight."
Oh my gosh, this really is turning into a date. "Um, it's okay Naruto, I can pay for us." She was lucky the velvet sky camouflaged the bright color of her cheeks.
"Hehe, nah don't worry about it. I wouldn't want you to, you know, put a spell on me or anything." Naruto giggled at his own lame joke.
Naruto, if I only could.