A few weeks later

“I’m serious!” Ino answered, “today, Hinata’s going to confess!”

“She’s still not at the full conversation stage yet” Sakura replied with a grin, “besides even with her eyes, she still wouldn’t be able to get through a skull that thick.”

Ino laughed. A little mean, sure, but not inaccurate. Hinata was…kind of terrible when it came to expressing herself and Naruto…Ino struggled to formulate her current opinion regarding the knucklehead ninja especially after the last few days. Still, Ino liked having a gossip session with Sakura. After years of hating each other, it was nice to just catch up, head to a nice restaurant to eat, and engage in the oldest ninja bonding activity, sharing secrets and talking about people behind their backs. Plus, after running several B-ranked missions back-to-back, Ino had Ryo burn.

Sakura had just nudged open the door to the restaurant, when suddenly Ino’s adrenaline spiked. A pit formed in the blonde’s stomach. Her nostrils flared. Her lips dried. She smelled it before she saw it. It was Naruto at the far end of the restaurant nestled in one of the booths across from Hinata. Ino’s legs suddenly got weak and her skinned trembled, a sensation in her core suddenly surged up as realization dawned on her. Ino knew she could never hope to explain this to Sakura. She would be mortified if anyone found out.

Ino noticed it only a few days ago. It started as an unusual quirk, that being around Naruto made her feel….at first it was just pleasantness. Like a morning cup of tea, being around him find her feel refreshed…perkier than normal. He smelled nice and Ino could appreciate the pleasant things in life after all she worked in a flower shop. When she noticed him walking on the street, she felt an urge to stand close to him, talk, enjoy his refreshing presence. It’s not like he complained, when she started walking closer and closer to him. Or hung on his arm. And there wasn’t anything unusual about asking a friend to give you a piggy back ride so you can enjoy the feeling of being completely covered by their aura. It was just normal friend stuff.

Then, it got worse.