Chapter 33

"Mhn!" he sounds in the affirmative. "Do you think they have ramen flavored bird food?"

"I'm leaving," she yells over her shoulders.

With a shrug, Naruto reenters his home and sets the bird cage up in a nice spot near the window and opens the cage door, just in case the bird wants to fly.

INO

The week had been a test of wills for Ino. She hadn't given much thought to how difficult keeping up appearances would be. The days were unremarkable, and her routine could be as normal as any other day, but the moment it feels her deflowering was truly well in her past, something would jolt her back to that day, to that reality, and sadly, the physical response that came with it.

Her walk to meet her team could be peaceful, until she saw two dogs, or cats rutting desperately for that release, and instantly her mind returned to Naruto taking her doggystyle just as desperately, spreading her just as deliciously until she came, knotting her like she was his bitch. And until Ino can return home to relieve herself, the rest of her day is a constant battle against the rousing desire of her moistening quim.

A conversation with her mother about clothes could be as normal as it ever was, until she grips anything cylindrical with a curve, testing the firmness of a cucumber or banana, anything with sausage links, or sucking on a Popsicle, then Ino would immediately excuse herself. Couples with blond hair, stretching in a provocative fashion, or even bathing can all trigger a physical response. Ino found herself getting horny a minimum of five times a day. So she threw herself into training, finding the exhaustive focus a good remedy for her arousing thoughts of blue-eyed blonds.

She, of course, kept her 'old Ino' mask on with her team as much as her parents, but she couldn't quite be as domineering as she used to be. So much mattered far less than it did a couple of weeks ago. Her figure was still important, but the innocence she was saving for Sasuke-kun is gone now, so how pure could that gift for the man she loves really be; she'll always know what she did. She makes certain to chastise and heavily critique her teammates and sensei when she felt they didn't meet her expectation, but again, she lost her virginity to their class's Dead Last; a bigger idiot than Kiba. And she did it happily, with a hunger comparable to Chōji and his chips. How can she expect from them when she's failed her own expectation?

She knows her mask is creating the image she needs to present, but it's also a constant reminder of why she needs it in the first place: Naruto. The boy who's apartment she's currently walking toward under a knee-length cloak. Ino wouldn't willingly search the blond subject of her trepidation but she was given little option. If she wanted the money form the orchid, than she needed to see him.

It was so simple for her parents to wonder if they now had the only Red Slipper in Konoha, or if there were more. Her parents explained if there were indeed more of the expensive orchid, than they would sell the orchid on her behalf and give her all the money, but if not, than the best option for the clan would be to try and cultivate more. It would take years but ninja are patient and planned for the future wherever possible. It would be well worth the wait if, in fact, they were the only clan or business with the ultra-valuable flower. But of course, they needed to ask the source who found it in the first place, and she wasn't going to ever disclose his identity to her parents, ever, which meant she needed to ask him in person.

She concealed herself under a heavy travel cloak with the hood up and he lived alone, which was fortunate as the fewer people that spot her there, the better. However Ino's luck as of late was not a thing to rely on and as Ino spots Sakura walking toward her, she was certain fate is against her as well. If Ino had only kept still, Sakura may not have noticed her, but the knee-jerk reaction of turning away caught the pinkette's attention and the green-eyed kunoichi was on her in moments.

"Ino-Pig," Sakura says with a smile that's too self-assured. More than anyone, Ino knows how insecure Sakura can be. Even in her strongest moments the pinkette was always doubting herself. It's the safety net Ino always relied on when fighting over Sasuke-kun. Ino always knew that Sakura felt undeserving when it really mattered, and that's why she never truly worried about Sakura's advances. The pink-haired kunoichi was her own worst enemy, thus never really a contender for the beautiful Uchiha's affections.

But the victorious smile plastered on her face informed Ino otherwise. Her rival for Sasuke's heart was very happy, too happy, as if in a few short weeks, life had generously handed the pinkette a large home, a beautiful husband, and a prized career. It didn't look good on her face. A month ago was the last time Ino saw her rival, and even with that majestic perfume, Sakura never looked this happy. Ino was getting a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"It's been soo long," she says, her tone with an annoying level of levity. "We really should catch up. I'll go first. Sasuke-kun is mine and I'm going to be a medic-nin possibly as talented as the legendary sannin herself. How are you?"

Forehead's interest in how she's doing is so clearly fake, Ino needn't bother answering. Her anger however focused squarely on the only statement that mattered. "You know, living out your delusions is indicative of a psychological break, a severe medical condition by all accounts. But allow me to help you on your path to recovery. Sasuke-kun is NOT yours!"

"Oh, well, I can understand how you might think that," she mocks, her cunning smile broadening as she flicks her long pink hair back. "It has been a while, after all. But, now that I'm the teams medic, I get to touch Sasuke-kun every time he's injured. The tiniest scratch mars his beautiful body, and I'm there, my hands all over him. I've touched his arms, his back, his chest, which felt amazing, his face, which is it's own heaven, and pretty soon, he's going to invite me, the only girl he's ever really cared about, to his home, so I can touch him some more."

Ino had no idea Sakura was training to become a medical ninja. It would be a brilliant move if not for her rival advancing so much further than herself. 'That Forehead's touching him?' Ino's mind torments her with. Every female with any sense for seduction knows that skin contact is very influential in getting what you want. She's heard so many stories from her mother, female clan members, or the woman in the bathhouses, that Ino's regards its use as practically a jutsu. 'And now Forehead's taken an amazing step forward to take my man!'