Bab 18: Chapter 18

(3 days later)

Laying in her bed, Ino thought back to her conversation with Naruto. For the past three days, she has been wondering why it was everything he said made so much sense. It was unfathomable to think that she would actually agree with the philosophy of someone locked in a mad house. It amazed her more so than anything. Amazing in the way that it had to be the most intellectual conversation she had ever had in her life. Of course, she only really got invested in her book smarts a little over a year ago, but still. Never before had she had a conversation like that.

She actually questioned why it was her father didn't want her to do this. He once told her that the reason he enjoyed working at the Asylum so much was because of the new viewpoints he would hear when talking to them. Claiming he believed some of them just saw life in a very different light than normal people do. Well, she definitely understood now. Naruto was like a book written by a scholar from another universe. His views on the world were so unique that he just made you want to listen. She couldn't understand how the redhead wasn't his favorite patient at one point or another. She'd ask, but they weren't talking these days.

When he came around, she would be sure to question him on what it was he and Naruto would talk about. Or, maybe if she got close enough, she could ask Naruto. Try and figure out what spooked him so much. Ino simply thought her father's fear for her working with him derived solely from the suicide of Dr. Yager. Ino couldn't accept that. It was too outrageous to be true.

She knew Dr. Yager had done it after a few conversations with Naruto, but for a man as level headed as he was she doubted the redhead himself was responsible for pushing him over the edge. There had to be something else going on in his life that pushed him to the edge of that abyss. Some people are just great at hiding their true feelings. With him being a veteran psychologist, Ino could guess he was better than most.

Ino also knew Naruto was responsible for more than a few suicides within the prison, but she had to rationalize it logically. Those men were in a maximum security prison, possibly for life, meaning they were most likely already at the end of their rope. Listening to the pessimistic views of Naruto would have been the most unfortunate thing for them at the time. He was very convincing if nothing else.

Checking the time, Ino sighed and stood to her feet. It was almost six o'clock. Meaning she should start getting ready. Tonight she was set up for a blind date with a guy Tenten had met a few days back. Apparently he was a wealthy merchant's oldest son or something. Tenten was very vague on her description. She really didn't want to go out tonight since she had just gotten back from a mission that afternoon and she had her second session with Naruto in the morning. But, Tenten insisted that she needed this so, she figured she'd give the guy a chance.

After showering, she picked out a form fitting black dress that had one strap on her right shoulder, and she picked out a pair of heels to match. She let her hair down for once and allowed her bang to cover her right eye. Then, she waited on her couch for the knock at her door. She waited… and waited… and waited until finally, forty-five minutes late, there was a knock at her door.

Standing up and sighing, she walked over deciding to just ignore it. Opening the door, a fairly attractive yet skinny guy stood there, leaning against her door frame on his forearm, trying to look cool. He had shaggy brown hair that was casually pushed to the side and held there with a little bit of jell, black eyes that traveled her form in approval, and an unimpressive build that seemed as if he hadn't done a single push up in years. His suit was nice though. Ino stared at him unimpressed as he pulled a rose from behind his back.

"You must be Ino." He said with a smile. "My name is Hidori."

Ino raised an eyebrow at him as she took the rose. "Thanks." She said. Holding it up, she noticed it was one of the free roses from her mother's shop that was set there for the kids to take for their mothers and what not. It wasn't even real. "I'll just go put this in water real quick." She said stepping back inside. He nodded at her and she shut the door. Leaning against it, she looked up to her ceiling, cursing Tenten out in her mind. She threw the rose in the trashcan a few feet away and opened the door again.

Stepping out, Hidori was still smiling at her. He held his arm out for her to grab onto his forearm. She turned around and locked her door before begrudgingly grabbing onto his outstretched appendage.

Sitting at a table within the white dragon, the most expensive restaurant in Konoha, Ino stared at Hidori as he tried to explain to the waitress that he wanted a different kind of wine that they just didn't have. "I am sorry sir, this is our most expensive." She said holding it out to him.

"Are you serious? Wow, I thought Konoha was a little more classy than this." He said under his breath, insulting both the waitress and Ino. The waitress looked over at Ino visually asking her if she was serious. Ino just sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you gonna stand there or pour it?" he asked her rudely. She just smiled and poured their glasses. When she walked away, Ino took a sip of the wine. Hidori looked at her apologetically as if he expected her to be offended by the taste. "I'm so sorry. Tenten told me this place was the best." He explained.

Ino just raised her eyebrows. "It's better than anything I've ever had." She said taking another sip of the wine.

He chuckled as if it were a joke. "Are you serious? Oh wow, that's sad."

Ino just shrugged her shoulders. "Fine dining isn't a luxury most shinobi villages have." She informed him.

"Oh, I'd beg to differ." He said smelling his glass of wine. "Kumo has this amazing restaurant called the Mountain top and, god. That place has the best scenery and high class wine." Again, he whispered under his breath, "Not this shit."

Ino was beyond annoyed at this point. "That sounds lovely." She remarked with a fake smile.

"Oh it was. I'll take you someday. Maybe for our honeymoon." He said slyly with a chuckle as he looked around for the waitress, missing the death glare she sent his way. "Hello! Excuse me!" he yelled to the waitress that sat them who was currently serving another table. Her smile dropped when she saw who called him.

"She's helping someone." Ino informed him as if he were blind.

Hidori just shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry about it. We're VIP. Hey! Yeah, we'd like to order!"

Ino was on the verge of kicking the shit out of this pretentious prick. Her hunger at that moment just so happened to outweigh her irritation, lucky for him. The waitress came up with a stoic expression. "May I take your order?" she asked pulling out her notepad.

"Well, I mean if you're not too busy." He said sarcastically holding up the menu. The waitress rolled her eyes when he was no longer looking. "Ok, well I'll have the uh… the Shrimp platter, hopefully that's edible." He joked. Ino sighed in frustration again pulling up her menu ready to order.

She ordered a plate of Sushi and ignored the look of surprise from Hidori. "Wow, that's impressive." He said as the waitress walked away.

"What? Ordering normally?" she asked.

He smiled. "Nah, most girls that look like you don't really eat that much." He remarked.

She mocked his smile with her own. "Yeah. Impressive."

From there, the date continued in the same horrible way it had been going. Ino couldn't wait to get the food. She tried to at least make conversation with him so that he didn't patronize anyone else further. This man had to be the most uneducated person she had ever met. If it wasn't about the trade market he didn't know what she was talking about. To make matters worse, he had the audacity to insult her intelligence when she told him she was a Psychiatrist. Just before she got ready to slap the shit out of him, the waitress returned having read her mind.

"Here you go sir." She said handing him his plate of food. He was confused when she handed Ino a to-go box. "I took the liberty of packing your stuff ma'am." She said with a wink.

Hidori gave the girl a confused look until Ino stood up. "You. Are. a lifesaver." She said pulling out a big tip for the girl. "Thank you so much." She said hugging her. Hidori was so confused when Ino walked around the table and slapped him in the side of the head hard enough to jerk his head to the side.

"Ah! What the hell!?" he yelled out as she walked away. "Got damn, you bitch." He said under his breath. Another hand jerked his hand the other way. "Ah!" the waitress looked at him daringly. "What the hell is wrong with you!? Where is the owner!" he yelled out getting to his feet trying to threaten her. Soon, a big man in a business suit walked out of the backroom to deal with the commotion he heard. Hidori gave the waitress an angry look that promised her she was going to get fired.

She only smirked at him until she heard the man call out. "What is going on out here?" he demanded walking over to the table.

Then, she began dramatically crying. "Daddy! He hit me!" she yelled out pointing at him.

Hidori began pleading his case yelling to the surrounding customers who witnessed what happened. To his horror, they sided with the waitress making up a ridiculous story that did not happen. Ino watched from the door with a smile before heading home. Thankful they get an amazingly convenient waitress.