"What in the world were you thinking?"

Ino cringed, the same question running through her mind at the moment. It was currently lunch period, and she had taken up her place beneath a tree, only to immediately find herself under the scrutiny of the one person in the class that she would have least expected.

Choji.

Yes, not Shikamaru, who sat across from her, his eyes still in their usual lazy demeanor, the person who was actually scrutinizing her decisions, asking her the hard-hitting questions and making her realize the error of her ways, was Choji.

"Well… I wasn't really… thinking?" she said meekly, which was somewhat understandable as Choji sat beside her, his normally round and cheerful face twisted into a narrow-eyed scowl.

His bag of chips lay in his hands, but they were unopened.

Really, Choji was a darling but no one really understood how terrifying the boy could be when he was taking something seriously.

"Yes, Ino, you weren't thinking." He said, shaking his head and making her shrink further as she turned to Shikamaru and sent him her best 'help me' look.

The pineapple-haired Nara turned his gaze away, pretending as though he had not seen her at all.

"Traitor!" she mouthed.

He looked as though he was going to mouth something back, before shaking his head as though he realized it would consume far more energy than he was willing to give, and instead, he resorted to another lazy shrug.

To her side, Choji sighed, his face looking far less intimidating as he began rubbing his cheek.

"Ino – you know you can't beat Sasuke in a spar right?"

She was the type of person who usually did not like being told whether or not they could or couldn't do things.

"Come on – I have a chance –"

"No."

Shikamaru said, placing his input for the first time in the conversation, and turning both of their attentions towards him.

"Sasuke might be the most arrogant person in the entire class, but most of it is well-deserved. He just might be the strongest Academy Student in Konoha, whereas, you occasionally struggle to defeat Sakura."

"Hey! Don't use Sakura as a measuring stick, you make it sound like she's…"

Choji's gaze looked over to her.

"Ino, I don't like admitting it either, but Sakura really does have the lowest taijutsu and shurikenjutsu performance in our grade, and you… well…"

He sighed.

"You…struggle to beat her. I don't see how you can go up against Sasuke and win."

Ino found herself biting her lower lip.

"Maybe – maybe he won't show up?"

Shikamaru shook his head.

"His pride won't allow it. Failing to show up could send the wrong message that he was too scared of you to fight you rather than you not being worth his time, and he'd never allow it."

She frowned.

"Then, what if I don't show up?"

Shikamaru and Choji glanced at her, and then glanced back at each other, silence resonating between the two boys before they turned back to her.

It was at that moment that Ino realized the weird strength of the dynamic that was possessed by the two boys, in which they seemed to understand each other without so much as saying a single word.

She was close to them, yes, that much was true, but a small part of her could not help but wish to have that same level of camaraderie that they had.

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To have that same level of companionship with someone.

Choji was the one to begin.

"Ino, no one will easily forget the day you challenged Uchiha Sasuke to a spar and then chickened out."

That much was true.

She would not be able to carry her face held high ever again without being reminded of the moment, the day in which she had marched up to the seat of Uchiha Sasuke, frightening Inuzuka Kiba with a glare as her own gaze met with that of the Uchiha, and so brazenly challenged him.

Warmth rapidly seeped into her face and cheeks as she recalled the entire thing.

God, what in the world had she been thinking?

Why did she listen to Takaie of all people? She didn't even know who he was.

That was a question that Choji also seemed interesting in discovering the answer to. "Really Ino, what were you thinking? I mean… you've never done anything like that. Ever."

She bit her lip.

"I – I was just angry! And annoyed! And maybe the lack of sleep played a part but –"

She groaned as she ran her hands through her hair.

"I just wanted Sasuke to look at them, at us, at any of us! To pay the girls who fawn over him at least some attention!"

Shikamaru and Choji remained silent.

"I mean, we can be annoying sometimes, and pushy, and thoughtless, but we do care about him. Sakura cares about him. Yet, I wonder if he even knows her name."

Silence wafted amongst the three friends, the only audible sound being Choji's rummaging of a bag and crunching of chips, as their small group could still hear the buzzing and chatter amongst the students, because there were numerous mixed feelings about her challenge to Sasuke.

"Troublesome."

Again, Shikamaru managed to convey her thoughts exactly in one word.

Still, she looked over to the boy, and realized that he was even usually more invested in her life than usual.

He was alert, listening, watching, his eyes weren't half-lidded, and his form and posture wasn't slouched and lazy.

This was the most she had ever seen Shikamaru interested or focused at something.

He caught her gaze, and his eyebrow rose. "What?"

"Nothing – I'm just… surprised. Glad I guess… I mean you rarely ever pay attention to anything… so…"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"If you get beat up by Sasuke, your dad would find out and he won't be happy. He'd complain about it to my dad, and my dad would mention it to my mum, and I'd be the one chewed out for standing by and letting it happen."

Her left eye twitched.

"Of course... once a lazy bum, always a lazy bum. Just when I thought you cared…"

"I do care. I don't want you to get beat up."

She tilted her head.

"Really?"

"If you get beat up, you'd be sore and grumpy, and considering I'm the one who seats next to you in class… that would be really troublesome."

More irritation flowed through her form as her eye continued twitching, a tick mark appearing on her forehead.

"Shikamaru doesn't mean it, Ino. He really just doesn't want you to get hurt."

Ino sighed. Leave it to Choji to abate her anger with a few choice words.

"Thanks guys, but you make it sound like I don't stand a chance against him – but, I'm a lot better than I look. I have a plan."

"No."

They both said at the exact same time, causing her to flinch back in surprise.

"Y-you didn't even listen to what it was!"

"Um Ino, the last time you had a plan, it ended with you looking for Naruto all over Konoha, and getting angry that you couldn't find him."

Her mouth opened, and then it closed with a dry clack.

"Trust me, this – this is totally different. It'll be different this time."

For whatever reason, the two of them gave her looks that showed clear disbelief, and a little bit of apprehension. Still, Yamanaka Ino was certain, that her plan would work.

What was the worst thing that could –

She stopped that train of thought immediately.

There was no way she was going to jinx it.

Nuh huh.

Not a chance.

She already had terrible odds enough, no need to stack fate on top of that.

----------------------------------------

[ Training Ground 5 ]

Hinata, lost in her daydreams beside the pond, couldn't help but blush and giggle at the thought of Naruto in his underwear.

Her private amusement was abruptly interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hello there, Hinata," Tenten announced, suddenly appearing behind her with a knowing grin.

"Hello," Hinata managed, her embarrassment evident. She wished the ground would swallow her up, especially upon seeing Tenten's amused expression. How long had she been standing there?

"So, where is Naruto with his orange undies?" Tenten teased, leaning in with a playful nudge.

Hinata's blush deepened, a clear giveaway that Tenten had overheard her mumbles for the past hour.

"I don't know," she stammered, wishing she could disappear.

"Well, today he is going to learn water walking. You know it, right?" Tenten continued, undeterred by Hinata's discomfort.

"Yeah," Hinata whispered, her voice barely audible.

"So, what did you bring to show off to Naruto?" Tenten jibed, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"What?" Hinata's voice was a mix of panic and confusion.

Sighing, Tenten shook her head.

"I thought with the water training, you might want to wear a swimsuit to catch Naruto-kun's attention."

The mere suggestion had Hinata looking like she might faint on the spot.

"Don't worry, I'm kidding," Tenten reassured her, though the damage was already done.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Tenten changed the subject.

"Hey, I'm curious, does the Hyuga Clan use weapons?"

"A-ah, shurikens and..." Hinata began tentatively.

"No, no, I meant like specific weapons, like the Uchiha used to use the gunbai. What about the Hyuga?" Tenten probed further.

"The Hyuga clan mostly relies on our Taijutsu," Hinata explained, her voice steadier now.

"Seems like a waste. I'm sure the Gentle Fist would go great with a weapon like Neko Te," Tenten mused aloud.

"D-Do you think so?"

"Of course, think about it. Gentle Fist but the fingers have metal claws that can channel chakra. Seems dangerous to me," Tenten suggested, her imagination clearly running wild.

Hinata gulped, curiosity piqued.

"C-Can we try it?"

Tenten's grin widened as she unfurled her scroll.

"Choose whatever color you want."