Bab 44: Chapter 59
"Ino-chan! I missed you!" I said with a wide grin as I walked into the familiar flower shop. Every time I saw the place, it was like visiting a memory frozen in time. Every year it was the same flowers, only their prices changing from season to season.
"Haru! You're back from your mission?" Ino asked cheerfully.
"Man, Ino's going to be really hot when she's older. It's only been a month and she already looks more mature." These were my secret thoughts that I would never translate into Japanese lest the Yamanaka learned more advanced mind jutsu in the future.
Instead of commenting on her appearance, I said, "Of course. It wouldn't be right if I didn't come by and visit my friends."
Ino crossed her arms over the counter, leaning forward. "So, how was the Land of Waves? You're on the same team as Sakura and Sasuke, right?"
"It was interesting. I got myself a cool souvenir and our sensei taught us a new technique that I'm still trying to figure out." I poked a bundle of roses. "Sakura and Sasuke get along just about as well as ever. Our teacher is a little weird but he's a good guy." I had missed the smell of the flower shop since I was last here.
"Say, Haru, now that we're genin, I was thinking that maybe we could make our relationship a bit more serious." Ino was looking down at the floor behind the counter.
"Does that mean you want to start training with me? I thought you didn't want to have regular sparring sessions with me. You said you were too busy with the store." I had always worried about what kind of trouble her Mind Body Switch Technique might get her into. I would feel much better if she had other options to rely on but I had enough on my plate than to try to teach someone who had already declined my offer several times before.
The girl I had known since childhood looked straight at me. "No. What I mean is..."
It was then that Sakura burst into the store. "You! I'll kill you, you bastard!"
"No! Ino-sama! Protect me from the Pink Devil!" I yelled as I hid behind the blonde and used her as a shield, keeping her between me and Sakura.
"Step aside, Ino," Sakura ordered her friend, cracking her knuckles as she followed me behind the counter.
"Hold it! What's going on?" Ino shouted at the ceiling.
"That bastard embarrassed me in front of Sasuke!" the pink-haird girl shouted.
"It's not my fault Sasuke likes my cooking more than yours." I ducked behind my female shield in case Sakura decided to break out the senbon.
"You didn't have to tell him it was poisonous!"
"It might have well been poison. Do you even taste the things you cook?"
"It was healthy! I specifically made it to help regain energy faster. It's good for you digestive system!"
"You didn't have to use up all of our rations to make your stupid food pills. You're lucky I had that bounty money to buy actual food with."
Ino deftly defused the situation by changing the subject. "Sakura, when did you change your hair? It's really pretty."
Indeed, Sakura had been wearing her hair differently since after the fight with Deidara. Instead of a symmetrical part, her bangs fell decidedly over the right side of her face, obscuring her right eye. It was a lot like how Ino would probably have styled her hair in the future. Or a mirrored version of Deidara's style, only pink.
"Um, in the Land of Waves. I thought I could use a new style to...um...catch Sasuke's eye." Sakura looked kind of embarrassed. I knew the real reason why she changed her hair style but I wasn't going to reveal a secret like that on a whim.
Ino turned to me. "Haru, I think you should apologize to Sakura-chan."
I scratched my neck. "I'm sorry, Sakura." "That you nearly killed us with your food experiments."
"I'm sorry too. I just wanted to help," Sakura said, wringing her hands together.
"There. Much better." Ino nodded and turned to her friend. "If that's all, Sakura, do you think you could leave us alone for a bit? There's something I wanted to talk to Haru about."
Sakura looked suspicious for a second as she stared at us. But then a look of understanding appeared on her face. "Oh. Sure. No problem. I'll talk to you later, Ino-chan." She shook her fist threateningly at me before walking out of the store.
"Whew, thanks Ino. You're a lifesaver." I walked out in front of the counter, glad to have the Pink Devil off my back.
Ino joined me in front of the counter. Standing next to me, I felt a tiny bit embarrassed that she was taller than me. I wasn't expecting her to lean into my personal space and say, "About what I was talking about earlier..."
Haku walked into the store. He was wearing his thin pink kimono that, in my opinion, showed an excessive amount of skin. "Haru-sama, there you are. I'm lucky I noticed your teammate leaving this building. Please don't leave me alone again. I still don't know my way around the village very well..."
"Who is this?" Ino asked, suddenly wary of the boy who joined my side.
"Oh, Ino, this is Haku. Haku, meet my friend Ino."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ino-san," Haku said gently with a polite bow.
"How do you know Haru?" Ino asked the androgynous teen.
"Haru defeated my master. Lacking anywhere else to go, he allowed me to accompany him. Now I belong to him," Haku said seriously with a rueful smile, definitely giving the wrong impression to Ino.
The blonde's eye was twitching and waves of killing intent were rolling off the girl. The air temperature of the store dropped, giving me chills despite my thick black coat.
"Ah ha ha, what he means is that he's staying with me until he finds a new purpose in life."
"He?" Ino asked between clenched teeth.
"Indeed. I am a man," Haku chimed in. Ino's head slowly turned to look at Haku. It moved up and down deliberately before turning to me.
I laughed nervously. "Yeah. He just happens to look really cute."
"UNACCEPTABLE!" Ino shouted as she uppercut me into the ceiling. "I won't allow it! It's not right for two guys to be in that kind of relationship! I mean, it'd be even worse if he were a girl but..."
As I slowly sank out of the plaster and fell to the ground, I wondered, "Maybe there was a better way to handle that situation?"
Haku caught me in his arms. "Haru-sama..." he said. For some reason he was looking at me and blushing. And then I heard a loud thump.
I hopped out of Haku's arms and I looked at Ino, who was on the floor. The lower half of her face was covered in blood from the nose down and she had an unfathomable smile despite being unconscious.
I preformed some hand seals and waved a glowing hand over the fainted girl. The diagnostic jutsu indicated that she was fine other than a sudden decrease in blood pressure. I gently picked up her body and carried her into the living areas in the back of the store to let her rest until she woke up.
Haku looked worried. "Did I do something wrong, Haru-sama?"
I shrugged. "Who knows? Sometimes I don't think I'll ever understand girls."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone