Chapter 26

Though normally very reserved, her mother is sashaying from one foot to the other, before asking her daughter the pertinent question that seems to be on all their minds. "Soooo, who's it from?"

"Yes," Inoichi added, clearly uneasy about the gift and dreading what it could mean for his little girl growing too fast for his liking. "Please, tell us his name. I'd love to know who'd bring you quite the gift."

"To thank him," her mother exclaims, looking at her father warningly. "Not interrogate him." Her father's face grimaces, ready to argue yet, wisely picking his battles and remaining silent.

"What makes you think it's from a boy?" Ino hotly asks, quirking her brow in suspicion at her father as his overbearing fatherly instincts are already triggered.

"Honey," he plainly returns. "That block weighs at least fifty pounds and this type of orchid doesn't grow anywhere nearby. Someone quite strong carried this a great distance to bring it here. So..."

Ignoring the pleasurable pulse between her legs as her body agrees Naruto is quite strong, Ino can't help but think, 'I'm going to kill him.' In front of the man that raised her, his all-seeing eye staring at her, Ino falters desperately for a believable explanation, as the anger of her mind and arousal of her hot body interrupts her ability to lie. She wants to ease her father's suspicions, but lying to him has always been difficult; nearly impossible. It's why Ino generally speaks her mind because if lying doesn't work, than it's a waste of time to try. But she can't exactly tell him, 'Daddy, this is definitely a thank you gift from Uzumaki Naruto, you know, the worst student in our class, because I fucked him every which way I could for hours.' It's likely to give him a heart attack.

An errant thought in her mind wonders if this gift makes her a prostitute, a terrible yet somehow thrilling idea that awkwardly makes her blush at the worst possible time.

Her father's eyes easily picks up on her blush and judging by how his shoulders tense and how deeply he inhales, he didn't like it. Her mother mewls happily in her throat, then quickly rotates the teen by her shoulders, forcing her to march forward and away from a protesting head of their clan. Her mother leads them away as she tells her husband, "Ichi, be a dear and store the orchid in the greenhouse. I'll examine it tomorrow."

Being bypassed didn't help his fatherly anxiety as he calls out, "Wha- wait! Ino, I demand you tell me who's it from?"

His demand had no real heat to it and her mother easily returns, "if you can clear the table and do the dishes, I'd appreciate that," before they make their way up to Ino's room. "Now," she starts once they've both settled on her bed. "Ino, I know this is a... meaningful time in your life. You're just starting your career as a kunoichi, you're growing into a very beautiful woman, and making sense of the balance between the two will be challenging. So, even if you don't tell me everything, I'd rather you not lie, okay? Say what you can."

'I'm going to kill him,' Ino thinks, nodding her head since she didn't trust her voice at the moment. It's the only thought she could agree on as her mind desperately tried to think of a way out of this.

"I won't ask too much, because I want you to feel you can trust me with anything. But I do have to know, did a boy send you this?"

Recalling several countermeasures ninjas can use when engaging in duplicity, Ino felt the best way out of this was mixing omission with truth and letting her mother form her own opinions, because after all, there's no way they would believe the truth without sufficient time and proof. Ino takes a deep breath and asserts, "you know I have my heart set on Sasuke-kun."

"Is that who sent it?"

As much as Ino wanted to sing to the high heavens, 'yes,' if her parents—especially her intelligence gathering father—ever decide to investigate her claim, that lie could make things far worse for her down the road. Ino shakes her head no, her long blond hair flowing freely with her sway. "I... don't want to say who, mainly because the person who sent the orchid, just isn't my type, like at all! My heart is set on Sasuke-kun, so, in the end, whatever he was hoping for by bringing it here was for nothing."

"Oh, I don't know if it was for nothing, sweetheart. What does psychology tell us about this gesture?" Her mother asks. As a former psychologist, she's highly observant of behaviors, beliefs, feelings, relationship concerns, and even somatic responses. It's a very good reason, Ino's always felt more mature than many of the other girls from the Academy, though Forehead always manages to make her act like a child. "Come on, Ino. We may not be geniuses like some of those Nara men, but we know the mind rather well, and there's quite a bit of information we can deduce here. His card, for instance?"

Ino's shoulders slouch at having to suffer through this because of that idiot. "...I don't know, he has neat handwriting."

"Well, that's true," her mothers agrees, looking it over again. "Someone who possibly deals with seals on a regular basis?" Ino can tell her mother's fishing, so just shakes her head to deny the suspicion. "Can't blame a mother for trying. Anyway, let's consider the message. All he wrote was, 'I hope you feel better.' No elaboration, not even his name, which denotes caution to reveal too much, but concern enough to go this far for you. There's also the possibility he doesn't care about credit. He used, Ino-chan, which implies informality due either to his upbringing or he's simply that close to you. He's more than likely an engaging person, which is reinforced by the fifty-pound block of dirt he carried-"

"We don't know if he carried it all the way here," Ino interrupts. "He could've used a cart or something."

"No," she returns. "You don't know he carried it all the way here. Had you checked underneath, you would've seen hand prints. A young person's hand print, likely around your age."

Trying to give nothing away, Ino stays quiet long enough for her mother to say, "Listen, sweetheart, I don't want you to think I'm pressuring you into telling me something you'd prefer to keep to yourself—so long as you're not in any danger, of course. You've always been a headstrong girl, and your decisions, good or bad, have been your own for a long time now. I just don't want you to dismiss facts because they don't align with your beliefs. I know how you feel about the Uchiha boy, but life is full of unexpected challenges and it's always worth the time to consider if these challenges are hazardous traps or fortunate opportunity. You know your father and I'll support whatever makes you happy."

Ino stays quiet, unsure of how to think about her mother's caring words. They make a lot of sense, making her feel proud to have a mother like her, but of course, the older woman has no idea who the boy is or what they've done together. Maybe in another situation, she'd devote a fair amount of thought in the advice, but in this case, it's Naruto and there's no need for further reflection.

"Do you want to tell me more or would you like to be alone?" her mother gently asks.

"I'll think about it for a while, thanks, mom. I'll let you know if I do anything."

"Okay, goodnight."

"Night," Ino says, offering her mother a decently sized smile, while mentally thinking, 'he's dead.'

......

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