There was a time in her life where working at the flower shop was a chore. It was boring, it was easy, it was a waste of time, and it wasn't being a ninja. Sure, some of the flowers might have had something to do with poisons or medical purposes, but most of those were cultivated elsewhere. Here at her mother's shop, things were just exactly as they were.
And that meant that they were just flowers.
Now that Ino was by most accounts an adult—aside from like, actually feeling like one—she had come to appreciate everything that she used to hate about the flower shop. It was easy, it was quiet, it was peaceful, it kept her mind busy, and she didn't have to go out of her way to do missions.
Ino hummed as she lifted the large pot up onto the table. The smile on her face was normally something that she wouldn't have noticed, but given her recent mood, it was hard not to notice and just enjoy being at least mildly genuinely kind of happy with herself.
"Maybe I should talk to mom about letting me work some more shifts." Ino adjusted one of the orchids in the pot, being oh so careful as to not damage the plant as she examined it more closely.
No wonder her apartment felt dead.
She needed plants!
Flowers!
Colors!
All those things that she had abundance during her childhood thanks to the hard work of her mother.
It wouldn't take much, just a few plants would make her apartment actually feel like someone lived there.
She glanced up towards the photo of her father that sat on the wall behind the register, a—relatively—small bush clover partially obstructed her view of him. "Maybe," she hummed, walking over to him and smiling up at him. "Maybe it's time I follow in your footsteps, huh dad?"
Yamanaka Flowers had been around since the first hokage, and had been in her family the whole time; the shop had kind of been the center of the Yamanaka clan. Now though, things were different. They had never been a large clan, and after the war, there were only a handful of them now. Most of them were looking toward her mother for guidance, as she was the late head's wife.
She reached up and grabbed the bush clover and placed it on the large table that acted as the countertop of their shop. The table was old; her father had bragged about how it was a gift from the First Hokage, and that no matter what happened, it, like Konoha, would endure. Endure it had, but even so, the table was a mess. It was nearly impossible to touch without getting dirt all over her hands no matter how much she cleaned it.
Perfect for a flower shop really, where proper care of something beautiful often required getting just a little dirty.
"Maybe," she began to prune the bush clover, an act that may seem brutal and cruel, but was healthy for the plant in the long run. "A bit of pain for a bit of growth."
"Maybe," she said again, taking slow, measured snips at the plant. She could picture how it would look in her head: a neat looking half-sphere that wouldn't block her father's view of his store. "Maybe."
"Maybe,"
"Maybe,"
"Maybe,"
"Maybe,"
"Maybe,"
"Maybe,"
"Maybe,"
"Maybe,"
"Maybe,"
She snipped the wrong vine and slammed the clippers down onto the table as her entire body began to shake. She felt like she might cry any second now, as that pleasant smile she had been wearing all day vanished, revealing the hole that was still there. She braced against the table before sliding down, bringing her knees to her chest while her feet remained planted on the ground.
It felt like the color was draining away until the whole world was left as nothing more than one of Sai's ink paintings.
Things like this, they didn't happen while she was still with him.
She could take the emptiness that her father left behind with strides then.
But now that hole was empty too, and things were that much harder.
She didn't understand why.
She still had her friends, she still had her mother, she still had Shikamaru, Choji, and even Forehead Girl. there were still plenty of people that cared about her.
Ding
The bell at the entrance of the store sounded, and Ino snapped out of it, jumping out from under the table with a bright and cheery smile on her face. Her eyes were shut tight. "Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers, how can I help you today?"
"Oh! Ino! I didn't know you still worked here!" The voice wasn't as annoying as it used to be, but it was still full of so much energy that she had problems believing that its owner actually slept. A twinge of annoyance shot through her body, a byproduct of how she used to react around him when they were young, but a wave of respect and something close to admiration swept through her before it showed on her face.
"Naruto!" She opened her eyes to see her fellow dumbass blond looking at her with that confused look on her face, his eyes partially squinting at her like he was trying to figure out the secret to life. "What brings you here today?"
He stared at her for a few seconds, his blue eyes making her feel like he was the mind reader among them as he pushed past her smile and saw the gaping holes that were still left in her life. "Are you okay, Ino? Your eyes are kind of watery."
"Huh?" she touched her eye with the back of her hand and found that she had almost been crying. "Oh, uhh, yeah, some plants make me cry, ya'know? A bit like onions."
Fortunately, she was still a good liar.
Probably. Naruto could be oddly perceptive at times, even back when she thought he was a dumb kid, back when she was also a dumb kid.
"Oh! Ayame does the same thing when she has to cut onions!" Naruto smiled to himself, probably at the thought of ramen.
Then again, this was Naruto, and even if he was the greatest ninja in the world, there was a reason why he wasn't Hokage yet. Hopefully, all the studying would help to fix that soon though.
"Well, anyways, what can I do for you, Naruto? As you know, I can't let you have any ninja plants since you have to be at least a chunin for them, and you're still a genin."
"Oi! Ino! That's mean!" Naruto stomped his foot and pouted. "I'm still studying to be a jonin and Kakashi-sensei won't let me take the chunin exams because it wouldn't be fair! And he also won't just make me a chunin!"
"Yep, and do you know why?" She smiled brightly at him.
"Because you guys think it's funny!"
"It is funny!" Ino snapped her fingers and pointed at him. "Temari even said that Gaara chuckled at the idea."
The look of shock and terror on Naruto's face was pure gold. Tormenting him ever so slightly never failed to put a smile on her face.
"Gaara too?" Naruto's shoulders slumped.
"Yep, but we can only make fun of you for so long, Mr. Seventh Hokage." She winked at him and stepped out from behind the table. "Now then, what are you after? Looking for some flowers for Hinata?"
"Huh? Oh yeah!" Naruto's smile bounced right back up. "Hehe, Seventh Hokage has a good ring to it."
"Careful, if your head gets any fatter, the hat might not fit."
He pouted.
"Oh, right, I uhh, wanted to know what would be good flowers for uhh, saying sorry?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Sorry?" Ino asked, "Naruto, what did you do?"
"Nothing!"
"Why do I just know that's what the problem is?"
He opened his mouth, and for a few seconds, nothing came out before his shoulders slumped. "I uhh, I've been busy with studying and things, and I completely missed her birthday!"
"Naruto."
"And our anniversary."
"Naruto!"
"I know I know, I'm dumb, that's why I want to try and make things up to her!" Naruto flailed his hands around. "And I figure flowers are a good way to do that."
"Yes, you can use flowers for an apology, but that's like for when someone dies or is put in the hospital, you know, you're sorry for them, not when you're the cause of the problem." She flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and crossed her arms at him.
"Then what should I do?"
"Give her flowers that show your feelings for her, and flowers that she likes. You know, like roses for love, tulips for loyalty, peony for beauty, carnations for fascination, and white sundras."
"What are those for?"
"Huh?"
"The white sundras, what are they for?" Naruto asked, his eyes almost closed as he glanced around the shop, looking for anything that he could recognize.
"Oh, apparently, they're flowers that have a chakra pattern in them." Ino gestured towards a side exit where the outdoor garden was. "We don't have many right now, but once they're in season, I'll let you know."
"Oh! I didn't know that! I think I saw Hiashi tend a garden of white flowers before! I thought I sensed something in them." Naruto tapped on his chin before a big smile broke out on his face. "Ino! Can you show me how to grow some? I might have an idea!"
Ino blinked in confusion, her eyes going wide. Oh, right. Naruto could use Natural Chakra, couldn't he? "I mean, sure, but you'll have to let me know what you're planning so you don't fuck it up."
She poked a finger into his chest. More than just Shikamaru needed to have their happily ever after. After everything that Naruto and Hinata had been through, the two deserved it. And while she might be too late to play matchmaker, she was going to make sure they stayed together.
Not that she really needed to do anything; Hinata had been in love with Naruto since they were kids.
Back when she loved Sasuke and Naruto loved Sakura
Ino shook her head and then turned her head towards the flowers that were ready today. "Right, well, here, let's get a bouquet that will make Hinata's whole month, and make her feel so loved she'll explode!"
"Yeah!"
The only thing was that Naruto was still as broke as ever, and there was only so much free stuff she could give him.
AN: o/