Hot Shop

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            It was an inconvenience, with his right arm – new as it was – being in the shape it was in.  But with what the Yamanaka clan had lost in the war, Naruto couldn’t say that they had suffered the same.  So he was at the flower shop, putting forth the effort to earn the respect, not just as a war hero, but as a citizen of Konoha.

            Honestly, though, it had been Sakura-chan’s idea, Sakura-chan’s insistence.  “You should do more than just lie around and eat ramen,” she had scolded him, dragging him by the scruff of his sweater to Ino’s flower shop, delivering him more like a parcel than a worker.  “Here he is, as promised!”  Sakura had bowed respectfully to Ino’s mom.  “He’ll do a great job, or he’ll pay.”  She sounded so cheery, yet Naruto felt a very ominous chill at the saying “or he’ll pay.”  Pay for damages?  Or – gulp! – pay dearly?  He remembered the story Captain Yamato had told him, of the meeting with death Ero-Sennin occurred when crossing Granny.  Not wanting to squander the life of peace he had saved from the jaws of Kaguya’s Genjutsu genocide, he looked at Ino’s mom and raised his thumb.

            “I’ll do my best.”

            The job wasn’t anything too demanding.  Inventory and merchandise placement; follow instruction, and the job was pretty easy.  Ino’s mom knew what needed to go where, how best to advertise, what the droopy plants needed to perk up.

            While he bustled around, doing the job to the best of his capabilities, Ino’s mom observed him with a certain kind of respect.  The boy who had engaged in raucous tomfoolery in his youth had honestly been reformed and had become a man.  Inoichi had spoken of Naruto to her; briefly, but it was with a fondness, that Naruto had learned to listen to his teachers.  Ino, of course, scoffed and said that while he may have grown taller, he was still an irresponsible kid.

            “By the way,” Naruto asked with his arms loaded with a box of empty flowerpots, “where’s Ino?”

            Ah, Sakura-chan must not have told him.  The mom’s eyes softened somewhat, though braced against the hurt.  “She wasn’t feeling up to work today,” she explained.  “She needed some time off.”

            Naruto didn’t really get it, but nodded anyway, and then grinned.  “It is hot,” he said, looking outside to where passersby were panting and fanning themselves.  It was hot inside too, his jumpsuit starting to become sticky and sweaty underneath.  He considered the zipper of his sweater with his fingers.  “I guess she’s looking for a way to BEAT THE HEAT-tebayo.”

            Turning from observing some tulips for no reason, before the scene can jump to what Ino was doing, copy-chan gives a thumbs-up.

ccc Elsewhere, Sai’s apartment ccc

            “It’s very nice when your breasts wobble like that.”

            “Hee-hee!  Oh really?”

            “Mmm, it feels very good when you go down.”

            “Mmhmm…”

            “I think—uhn!—I’m done.”

            “… Right.”

            Sai withdrew from her hot sheathe, and Ino propped to confirm that the reservoir tip of the condom was indeed filled.  He was potent, she’d give him that.  The amount of semen he poured out caused the cap to inflate to the point of drooping.  She wished he didn’t think it such a necessity, when she would have liked the hot rush of his passion to splatter all over her in claiming.

            She sat up, grabbed the tissues next to his bed, and cleaned up.  There was more to lament in their secret relationship than his reliance on condoms, though.  “Condoms prevent pregnancy and the spread of disease,” he had said when unfurling the latex around him, “Or so I’ve read.”  The Root, he had confessed, promoted sex within its ranks, to breed loyal kunoichi to install the next generation of the Root, and to keep the men docile.  And the Root was clean, checked after every escapade.

            And she wasn’t a harlot, so spreading STDs was a non-issue that she wished he’d stop bringing up.  If he wanted her to talk dirty, she’d let him know how filthy her mouth could be.  She’d regale him with stories of how she’d been fucked by mysterious men on missions, how she could invite her friend and his teammate Sakura into an erotic threesome with them, share fantasies of her being fucked between him and Sasuke-kun.  All of it was just talk, though, even if she’d sometimes wished that Choji wasn’t a docile fatty and Shikamaru an uninterested lazy ass; she wished they could have all just devolved to horny teens on their missions and just fuck every once in a while!

            Sai, now that they’d begun a sort of relationship, was willing, but lacked the severe drive of a lusty lover.  Everything he did was textbook – literally.  If she told him to finger her with those dexterous digits of his, he’d need to crack open a book first to look it up.  And while she could be patient with him – because he was a cutie second only to Sasuke-kun – his observations during sex were… distracting.  Her sense of dirty talk would be “You feel so tight around my cock” or “Your tits are amazing!” or “I’m gonna cum inside you”, but he gave her modest and astute ponderings.  She wanted to hear “I love how your tits bounce”, not “Your breasts look very attractive…”

            But they’d work at that.  They hadn’t been fucking for very long, their relationship was a bit abstract, and he was still getting into the groove of being his own person.  They’d figure it out, and in no time, they’d figure out each other’s bodies.

            Well, he would…  She had no problem making him cum; by hand, mouth, pussy, grinding, and teasing.

            Despite the convenience of the condom, she took handfuls of tissues for the sweat.  True, she wanted to be fucked – harder and longer than what he managed – and the day’s heat exacerbated that need.  Two bodies, slick and sliding in sync, the closed room rank with the scent of sex yet the windows remained closed!  She blushed and swooned just thinking about it!

            “Oh, there’s some sweat under your breasts, Ino-san,” said Sai with a point, already mostly dressed, not giving a second for the basking afterglow of sex.  To his credit, he did express that he had a friendly meeting to get to at Ichiraku and it would be bad manners to keep his friend waiting.

            Despite the lewd bluntness of his observation, Ino took from her fantasy of hot, raw, passionate sex to smile at him and give thanks before mopping up the perspiration below her bosoms.

            When they had cleaned up and had parted ways, Ino headed home.  She considered the idea – a rather pathetic and delusional idea – to stop by and harass Sakura with regaling, erotic stories of her romps with Sai, if only to rub salt in the wound of Sasuke-kun abandoning her for who-knows-how-long on a quest of self-discovery and penance.  She’d provoke Sakura by asking what was the most effective contraceptive jutsu.  “Sai-kun is really insatiable,” she’d lie with an instigating grin.  “He just can’t keep his hands off of me and refuses to put a condom on.”  She snickered at the thought of Forehead Girl’s reaction, but there was pride within her to feel the bitter sting of saying such a blatant lie.  If she hadn’t persisted like a desperate whore, Sai’s dick wouldn’t have been inside of her at all today.

            And worse yet, she concluded with a sudden droop in her posture as she arrived at the shop and walked through the open door…

            “I’m back,” she announced despondently.

            … she was still horny.

            “Whoa!”  CRASH!!

            She perked up instantly to the clamor going on in the back of the shop.

            “Really, Naruto-san,” she heard her mother sigh in reproach.  “That’s why you shouldn’t overexert yourself.”

            “Heheh!  Sorry, with this arm, I’m still not really used to carrying heavy loads.”

            Ino arrived in time to see Naruto sprawled out amongst packs of potter soil while her mom stood over him, hands on her hips in admonishing, though the quaint smile on her face meant there was no damage done and that she enjoyed the little goofball’s company and help.  It was good to Ino to see that that happy smile was not lost to the widow of the Yamanaka.

            Grunting and getting into a crouch, Naruto began to restack the packaged dirt, promising to limit the load until he was used to it.  “That’s fine,” Ino’s mom said in passing, drifting her hand over Naruto’s head, through his hair, and he chased her with a small, sly smile of his own.  She looked at her daughter, addressing her for the first time, “Good to see you back, Ino.  Naruto-san has been a very big help today.”

            Ino smiled back, though hers carried a particular uncertainty.  Aside from being a hero, she’d only known Naruto to be a clumsy and unserious oaf.  Good to see that he was finally making use of himself and giving an honest try at being genuine instead of pulling childish pranks.

            “Ino.”  Her mom leaned toward her with a discrete hand at her mouth.  She lowered her voice, but not enough.  “You should get a towel and maybe change your shirt.  You’re sweating quite a bit.”

            Ino – though fair of complexion already – blanched at the terrible lack of tact, but glancing down, she saw that she was right!  Not profuse stains, but there were wet spots accumulating under her breasts, and her tummy was already beading up again from the heat.  Even so, she would have preferred some more subtly rather than blatantly announcing it.  And in front of loudmouthed Naruto, no less!  “Mother!”  She clutched her arms around herself to try to hide herself.

            Her mom just straightened herself.  No need for Ino to behave so explosively, but that was one of the perks of being young and in mixed company, though it was likely she’d act just as angrily if Sakura was in attendance in Naruto’s stead.

            She smiled rather secretively.

            “Since you’re back, Ino,” she said, her voice sweet despite the slight pucker of Ino’s pouting bottom lip, “I’ll leave the shop in your care.  Just… watch Naruto, help him around the shop.”

            Ino’s eyebrows pulled in, and she asked to amend the request, “Don’t you mean he needs to help me around the shop?”  It was, after all, the Yamanaka flower shop, not the Uzumaki flower shop.

            Such trivial matters.  Her mom halfway hid her quaint grin behind a polite hand.  “I suppose so.  Naruto”—She looked at him, and he gave her a great grin—“I leave you in Ino’s care.  Please be of assistance to her.”  She bowed modestly and formally, and got an “Alright!” and a playful salute.  “See you soon,” she told him, and left for home.

            “Tch, honestly,” Ino griped under her breath.  Hadn’t she proved herself worthy of trust, yet her mom still insisted on treating her like an unreliable child.  Maybe she had taken off all of a sudden to philander with Sai, but in ways, she was cultivating a secure future.  He wasn’t yet masterful at social functions, but he was already starting as a top-tier ninja.

            There were some things that Danzo should be given praise for, even if it robbed Sai of his beginning innocence.

            “Your mom’s right.”

            Ino blinked, turning to Naruto standing near her, gazing down at her body.

            “You are sweating a lot-tebayo.”

            “Grr!  How dare you!”  She took a swing at him, and though he had Sage reflexes and a Tailed-Beast instincts, he only narrowly evaded her fist with a yelp and an awkward jump back.  It wasn’t much of an issue to her – at the moment, anyway – but now that she knew Naruto regarded her perspiration, she clutched underneath her breasts to hide the saturation.  It would have been prudent to take that five or ten – or, being realistic, FORTY!! – minute shower and Sai’s, to clean away all evidence of sex and drop her temperature a bit.

            Bad enough the sex hadn’t been entirely gratifying without Naruto concerning himself with her sweat.

            “Fine!” she blurted out, her normally-graceful posture losing to the aggressive bends as she stormed past him, heading for the back room of the back room, the little shack where personal knickknacks of the Yamanaka were kept instead of merchandise.  Naruto smartly skittered out of her way, holding his hands halfway up in case she wanted to ambush him suddenly as Sakura-chan had the penchant to do.  Well, despite her initial fury and response to his earlier, crude observation, Ino liked to believe – wrongly – that she’d matured above the violence inflicted to boys who spoke out of turn.  A pro of Sai’s: he never intentionally crossed her.

            “If it matters so much to you and her”—She went into the family compartment, flicking on the little lamplight and rummaging through the boxes—“I’ll put on something more appropriate for the weather!”

            A costume change?  Over this?  Naruto cocked an eyebrow, his head tilting with it.  It didn’t make much sense to him, but then again, a lot of the kunoichi had their priorities muddled at times, like when Sasuke was an objective to all of them rather than being an outstanding shinobi.  “If I can make a jutsu that Sasuke-kun notices, I can die happy!”  Naruto was happy for his friend’s return to sanity and peace… but still, thinking about how most women fawned over him when side-by-side with the hero of the War made Naruto bristle with jealousy.

            Ino’s plan was a simple one: change to breezier, more contemporary summer clothes.  She had a thinner yellow button-up blouse that showed her midriff – which she didn’t mind at all, since she worked diligently to gain such a trim body – and really accentuated her bust, and a lavender miniskirt with ruffles and a cute bow on one side.  Naruto sure wouldn’t be commentating on her perspiration in that attire, she thought smugly, still looking through her effects… not yet frustrated that she hadn’t found it yet.

            And that this skirt was designed partly to flash the yellow-and-green striped panties would have him tripping over himself even more than he already had.  Heh!  He wasn’t her type, but she loved attention and making guys drool.  He’d probably start hating Sai if he knew that they were fooling around.

            Finally…

            “Where is it?!”  Her temper finally flared when she looked in the final box and only found receipts and other useless things… and a yellow string of fabric.  She blinked in curiosity.  Really, she’d brought clothes in here from time to time, as handling plants and hoses could sometimes cause a mess on her.  Maybe, she hoped as she dug the rest of the drawstring out, this was an outfit she might have forgotten about.  She bought so many that it wasn’t beyond impossible that she might forget an outfit or two.

            Clothes!  She perked up with a bright smile!  Perhaps she wouldn’t be flaunting the summer clothes she wanted to put Naruto’s perspectives in check, but it’d at least get her out of the sweaty clothes and into…

            A bumblebee bikini…

            It was absolutely erotic, and she loved how it looked – even if she’d forgotten that she bought it and stashed it in a box before her dad could see it – but it might have been a bit too much… or too little.  She could drop Naruto like a ton of bricks if she struck a pose in this number… but it might have been too much of a risk.  To stroke her own ego, she touched her flushing face, lamenting the curse of beauty and how it could drive men to behave horribly like animals.

            She then thought that it might even provoke a reaction out of Sai!

            “Hey, Ino,” droned Naruto from outside.  “I already cleaned up here.  What else do you need me to do~?  I’m not standing out here all day while you try on dresses.”

            This agitated Ino.  No wonder Sakura was so short-tempered with him, even if he was making these valiant attempts of serving the Village.  Her head popped into view, her teeth gnashing like fangs.  “Just hold on a second!  Jeez!  Don’t act like you’re not the one who caused this!”

            Naruto just looked flatly at her and said, “You were the one sweating.  Yah!”  He barely avoided the shuriken-thrown stapler.  Ino was not Tenten, but her anger had stuck the blunt object in the wall behind him.  He quaked in fear.  It was probably better for his health not to upset her anymore, even if he was just sitting around, waiting for her orders for the rest of the day.

            “That idiot!  I can’t believe him!”  She was now less excited about dressing up for Sai and trying to make him lust after her.  She didn’t like changing in this kind of state, but there was no helping it, though midway down the buttons of her top, she made sure to shout out to him, “I’ll use Mind Destruction on you if you try to peep!”  A very valid threat learned from her father.

            “… Right,” Naruto answered back, and she could tell by the distance of his voice that he had crept closer to the opening – as there was no door – with the very intent to do some Jiraiya-style investigating.

            Her top nearly peeled off, and she gave a habitual sight of gratitude.  Her mom may have spoken a bit too frankly, but Ino turned out to be glad for the chance to change out of these clothes.  Even her light bra was stuffy in this heat, so maybe the swimsuit was the best wear for this situation.

            The little hooks at her back were squeezed out of their clasp, and her breasts fell slightly in the cups.  She was so proud of them, even if they weren’t the biggest in the bath when Hinata was around.  Hers were pert, vigorous with youth and tone, but with pliant, heavy weight that made them wobble when she walked – unless they were secured with a sufficient bra or binding.  Sai was accurate to say that them jostling against one another was pleasing to the eye.

            Stroking her smooth and slick skin down to her candy pink nipples, sensitive only by the moisture trickling down her slopes, she smiled to her own glamor.

            There was a clean rag; her mom was a stickler for having tissue, towels, and other sundry items to dry or clean with, and she used one to pat her breasts down before grabbing the yellow-and-black striped top.  All strings but for the support of her bosoms; she placed the triangles over her nipples, supported them as she situated the string behind her, and then used both hands to tie them off before fixing them appropriately.  She lifted, tested the resistance, and was flattered if not a bit embarrassed by how loosely it supported her; lots of wobbling and bobbing, almost like she wasn’t wearing any support at all.  Dependable to attract the attention of anyone in her vicinity.

            And then there were her bottoms, pulling up and wedging just a little into the crevice of her butt.  She didn’t want to be pulling at wedgies all day – it was embarrassing enough to do it alone – but the outfit matched her perfectly, cradled where she wanted cradled, showed how much she wanted showed – which was quite a bit – and felt comfortable even as daywear.  Tying the strings at the sides of her hips completed the ensemble, and she noted with devious realization how low down the front came.  If she wasn’t freshly-waxed and made, she might have actually had to reconsider this outfit; she was glad that she made beauty pampering an unbreakable ritual.

            She felt herself down, sliding her hands from her chest over the hills of her breasts, careful not to disrupt the comfort of the bikini, down the slick skin of her abdomen – which now seemed enhanced by her perspiration – to her groin, fanning her fingers out as she passed her cleft and went on to her smooth thighs.  She was so beautiful!  She just couldn’t get over it, smiling to herself like it’d been someone else who had complimented her.

            For a moment, she paused in reflection of herself.  Should she really go out dressed like this?  Or would she only earn jealous scorn from the poor women whose husbands and boyfriends who would fall in helpless love with her?  Naruto, who had starved over Sakura and her flat chest for years, would not be able to resist.  The poor guy, Ino prematurely lamented for her fantasy.  Little did he know that she and her heart already belonged to his friend.

            Gushing like she was about to strut across a catwalk with cameras flashing, she made her move and strutted outside.  Hopefully Naruto was not carrying another load of supplies, she mused, though she entirely expected to be flattered by the sound of dropped pottery and a fumbling, mumbling Naruto picking his jaw off the floor.

            Naruto was not where she’d left him; sure enough, he had been creeping closer for a chance to get a look.  Yet she could not blame him for that.  It wasn’t his fault, it was hers!  She was too beautiful and knew that she should have sent him far away to attempt to resist the urge to peep.  Even under the threat of the Mind-Destruction, he was willing to risk it~

            “Why are you in your underwear?” he asked flatly, breaking the foretold delusion that she’d reduce him to a stammering mess worshipping at her feet.

            Her elegant look turned to wrath with the sound of shattering glass in her mind.  Her eyebrows furrowed together, rupturing her arrogant beauty with a set of angry wrinkles and a tight glower.  She dropped her posture, throwing her fists downward and stomping a foot.  “You idiot!  It’s a bathing suit!”

            Naruto blinked – and he was carrying a box from one side of the room to the other, so he was not so awestruck as she had supposed – and looked her up and down.  To her credit, and to his common sense, there appeared a tinge of pink across the bridge of his nose, and she couldn’t help but feel a little bolstered at how his eyes traced her legs most of all.  “Hmph!”  She tossed her hair back – though it fell back into place like always – and tried not to smirk too much in his admiring of her body.  “Don’t just stand there gawking.  We have work to do.”  She clapped her hands to break his trance – however light it was – and assumed authority.  “You have to continue stocking and accounting for inventory.  And I’ll manage the shop.”  With obvious effort, to tease him and leave him something to drool over – and he did take notice, his head following her – she swung and rolled her hips with each step toward the front of the shop.

            But rather than let her leave on a high note, Naruto called after her, “Should you really be out in public in your underwear?”

            She wheeled on him at the threshold.  “I said it’s a bathing suit, you dope!  And for your information…”  She postured again, pronouncing the curve of her back and setting a hand delicately on her chest, a dazzling and practiced smile on her face.  “This will bring in more customers.  Husbands, boyfriends, even little boys; they’ll all stand in like to buy something from me.  Heh.  It really can be a curse to be this beautiful.”

            Yet as she inflated her own ego, Naruto wasn’t entirely sure.  Yeah, she was pretty – to put it mildly for him – but she was also a renowned Sasuke fangirl until recently and was known to have a short fuse before exploding into fits of wild rage.  Ero-Sennin always warned him to be extra careful around those types of women.

            “You have a customer,” Naruto said with a lazy point from his box, interrupting Ino’s fantasy.

            “Oh!  Coming~” Ino called, rushing in a faux cutesy way with her arms up at her sides as if to support – or push – her jiggly breasts side to side in her stride.  And it wasn’t a far run; three paces, but she hammed it up for a good start of a day of flirting.  Too bad the one waiting to be helped wasn’t a handsome stud and was instead a weathered old man seeking flowers to put on his deceased wife’s grave.  Still, Ino had been in her father’s business a long time and knew to treat every customer special and kindly… even if they were not so in return.

            “So hot you had to take your clothes off, huh?” jested the elder after the transaction.  He turned, gave a kind smile, and said, “You won’t attract much business by being indecent.  Your father knew better.”  And then he waddled on off to visit the grave…

            … where his wife was the lucky one to escape him!  Ino ground her teeth so hard that it could have generated sparks.  “Damn old man,” she fumed, flushed down to her chest.  “He just hasn’t seen a girl as gorgeous as me in so long!”

            But then that could be said about the next customer, who was a woman who brought her daughter in to get flowers for a friend’s birthday.  Ino, of course, greeted them warmly and seeing the child, was excited to share some botany facts, kneeling down deep to say some things about the chrysanthemums the little girl was looking at.  But before the topic could be engaged, the stout mother harrumphed and tugged at her daughter’s arm, pulling her away.  “I thought the Yamanaka Flower Shop was family oriented,” fumed the prudish – and, in Ino’s mind, JEALOUS!!! – old bag.  “How could you come to work dressed so indecently?!”

            “Hey, wait a minute,” stammered Ino the saleswoman instead of Ino the hotheaded kunoichi.  She feigned a smile, trying to seem positive in this unwarranted criticism.  “It-It’s just a bathing suit.  For the hot weather…”

            “Come,” the woman said again to her stalling daughter, who looked entranced by the flowers rather than the blonde lady waving goodbye in defeat, trying not to look frustrated and angry.

            That could come when she was alone again.  Ino, behind the counter again, pounded her fists down on the table, raging over the adverse effect of her provocative choice of wear.  It was a swimsuit!  Harmless on the beach or at the lake!  Men, women, children!  They’d be in awe of her there!  But because she was running the flower shop…!  “Grr!  It doesn’t change the fact that it’s a bathing suit!”  The only way this could get worse would be if a bumbling helper caused more inventory damage!

            “Whoa!”  CRASH!!

            Ino was in a mix of relief and annoyance.  He was wasting more money than they were saving with his volunteer help!  And now, he’d get the pent-up wrath of Yamanaka Ino!  It was him who threw her off her groove in the first place!  If he’d just submit and be honest and drool over her like a lovestruck doofus, everything would be moving like clockwork!  Her confidence would be up and it would be infectious to anyone, be they old, stuffy men or overweight, jealous moms!

            “Naruto!” she shouted in scorn as she walked in to see the damage.  Two whole cases this time!  Broken potter pots!  Fallen from a top shelf!  And from his distance, it looked like Naruto had actively jumped back to save himself rather than take a bump on the head and save some of the inventory!

            And yet, that wasn’t the end of the shocker!  Ino was fully prepared to start screaming and smacking him – Sakura had done it enough that she felt she had a right herself – but realized that Naruto was sitting back on his rump… in only his underwear!  The wrath was gone, and now she seemed taken aback as she gasped out his name without the forceful malice.

            “Sorry, Ino.”  His apology was sincere, his smile not mocking or anything.  He brought his bandaged right arm – synthetically-made – and made a fist with it.  “I’m still not entirely used to it.”

            “Y-You…”  Dumbstruck, Ino took a moment to collect herself before finally exclaiming.  “What are you doing?!  Where are your clothes?!”

            “I took them off,” Naruto said matter-of-factly, like it was obvious.  And then his bandaged arm wiped under his chin, cleaning away the abundance of sweat.  “It’s so hot back here.  And since you said a bathing suit is like underwear…”

            “No one has ever said that!” Ino fired back heatedly.  “And it goes underwear is like wearing a bathing suit!”

            Flatly, his eyes squinting and his mouth pulling down in an unsatisfied pout.  “Isn’t that the same thing?”

            “It is not the same thing!”

            Naruto huffed and rolled his eyes.  There was no reasoning with her.

            “Now get up, get dressed, and clean this place up!  Honestly, you’re more trouble than you’re worth!”

            “Tch.  I’ll pay for the damages-tebayo.”  He moved to get up, his leg shifting to get his foot under him, and at that moment…

            Ino was more startled than before, giving a sharp and sudden gasp as she realized what it was leaning out of the loose and unreliable slot in his dark-green boxers.  But even when realizing it, she couldn’t bring herself to cover her eyes or even react beyond wordless gaping.  It was…!  This was Naruto’s…!

            “Ah!”  Naruto realized his misfortune and swiftly tucked away his uncovered penis, stuffing it back in his underwear with such haste like it’d suddenly erase from Ino’s mind.  He closed his legs, sitting on his knees now, bowing over them and containing it beneath his stacked hands.  “It was-It was honestly an accident-dattebayo!”

            But Ino was still reeling from the sight of it.  A long tube of flaccid muscle…  She remembered Sai once jesting about it, even bringing her to snicker and jape at the misfortune of the appendage between Naruto’s legs.  Sai had said that Naruto had to prove himself in a hot spring resort for him to believe in Naruto’s manhood.  But…  Well, it seemed implied that Naruto’s shaft was lacking!  She thought Sai was making fun of Naruto’s girth, not his manliness!

            D-Dammit!  Ino felt her knees suddenly start to strike together, her fists loosening and her hands shivering.  I-I never knew it was so…

            Naruto, trying not to seem awkward under her gaze while also trying veer attention from his exposed crotch, noticed movement behind Ino, in the shop.  And the flash of pink hair was recognized even before the call came out: “Ino, it’s me.”

            “It’s Sakura-chan!”

            “Sakura?” gasped Ino, turning while Naruto flopped over onto his hands and knees and tactfully scurried out of sight.  Being undressed in front of friends and strangers was one thing, but he knew all too well how badly it would end if Sakura-chan caught him half-naked.  The little shop of flowers would turn into one of horror if she saw him like this.

            And… to preserve… something… Ino slapped on a smile, turned around, and hurried to meet Sakura at the counter.  “S-Sakura, how’s it going?” she said rushed, a bit flustered.

            But Sakura didn’t pick up on the mood, instead interested and amused by Ino’s choice of wear for the day.  With a bit of a deadpan – maybe even envious – grimace, she pointed at Ino’s body.  “Wh-What are you doing dressed like that here?”

            “Oh!  Well!  It was hot,” Ino explained, fanning herself a little so that the blush on her cheeks seemed to be from the heat.  Sakura surely was feeling it too; there was a sheen of sweat that made that giant forehead of hers gleam like a lightbulb.  “I decided to switch out.  I haven’t worn this outfit yet.”  For her own satisfaction, she made the usual, seductive pose with a hand behind her head and the other on her thrust-out bottom, winking and sticking out her tongue.  “It drives all the customers wild.”

            Sakura sulked just a bit.  Yep, that was envy, and Ino would accept it as currency.  “Well, I had Naruto sent over here to help out with your mom.  I thought she’d be here instead of you.”

            Ino went rigid from the mention of Naruto, having forgotten that it was Sakura who had coerced him in the first place to do some volunteer work around town now that he was settling down.  “Um, Mom!  She-She went out for a little bit.  Naruto’s been here.  Uh, he’s been helping.”  Helping by making a mess of things and getting her all flustered, unable to focus on a conversation.  Her mind pulled the recent image to mind, causing her stomach to flutter.  It didn’t help that she was still pretty horny after hooking up with Sai.

            Carefully, hoping to relieve some of her blush to seem less flustered, she looked at Sakura.  And the question sprung to mind: did Sakura know of her knuckleheaded teammate’s ‘gift’?  Did Sai possibly inform her?

            “Is he here now?” Sakura asked, leaning to look past her friend and peer into the back room where Naruto was meant to be helping.

            But Ino leapt in front of her, holding up both hands and saying, “He went somewhere to get something.”  Vague, and Sakura arched an eyebrow questionably but thankfully didn’t pursue a follow-up.  “He’ll be back in a little while, but he’s been helpful.”  Even to cover for Naruto, that little lie made her face twitch.

            “Hmm…”  That brain behind that big forehead was working.  Dammit, why couldn’t she just leave well enough alone?  Ino didn’t have time to throw her off the scent – what scent? – while stumbling around with Naruto behind closed doors!  She was stressed!  She needed something!

            She suddenly burst out with laughter and began to flap her hand at Sakura.  “There’s no need to worry about him, Sakura!  He hasn’t been any trouble at all!  Thank you so much for making him help out here!  Ha-ha-ha-ha~”

            Somewhat baffled by the outburst, Sakura eyed her friend queerly.  Ino was not the jubilant type, her laughter usually reserved for flirtatious meetings… or to compensate for something.  Again, she scrutinized… but decided not to make a big deal about it after all.  Instead, if Ino and her mom were okay with his help, Sakura at least felt it her duty to warn Ino, leaning in to privatize the conversation, especially when the Hero was of topic.  “Well, just between us,” she grumbled with a frown, “you shouldn’t dress like that around him.  He can be a big pervert at time.”

            Without thinking, her intrigue struck, Ino went wide-eyed, smacking her palms down beneath her and leaning in, asking with intense curiosity, “How big?”  Like she was going to catch some subtle slip that would hint at some secret of Sakura’s and Naruto’s relationship and answer some newfound questions that she now had.

            “Um!”  Sakura pulled back and blushed, not expecting this sort of reaction, and even Ino realized her slip, pulling on a smile while drawing up fully and putting a hand behind her head innocently.  Really, though, the bathing suit was absolutely flattering.  Her breasts continued to wobble when she laughed and made gestures of her arms.  “Well, he can be a bit of a peeper,” Sakura confessed with a cross of red over the bridge of her nose as she made a stubborn frown.

            “Of course, of course,” Ino giggled.  “All guys do that.  Sakura~ you shouldn’t be such a prude~”

            “I’m not a prude!” Sakura defended herself, even though all evidence was to the contrary.  Composing herself, lifting her nose pompously, she said, “I just have standards… and I don’t want to be ogled.”

            “Well, there’s no ogling going on here,” Ino flat-out lied, the thought of Naruto’s cock hanging out of his boxers flashing in her recollection.  “So you don’t need to worry.”

            “Well then.”  The blush took a more innocent shade of pink, and a parcel was picked up from below the counter; something Sakura had brought and hadn’t yet made visible.  With a bit of obviousness, she set it down and said, “Your mom doesn’t need to worry about feeding him.  I picked this up for him today… as thanks.”

            Ino took a moment to do the easy math, and then smiled slyly.  “Finally making your move on him, Sakura?”

            “N-No way!  It’s just a small lunch!” the medic fumed while her blush spread.  “Just give it to him when he gets back.  I need to go home for a bit, but I’ll be back to check on him soon.”

            It was good to that they could be in such high spirits, Ino thought; with all the tragedy and loss lately from the war, there was solid proof that they could get back to living again.

            With both hands, she pulled the bento to her and promised that Naruto would get it.  And with that, Sakura took her leave, once again saying that she would be back in a little bit.  “Maybe to help out if Naruto makes a mess of things”—She gave a wink, imitating Ino’s earlier playfulness—“and you can have a chance to get dressed.”

            There was nothing wrong with this outfit!  Ino brushed her fingers over her bust, giving a squeeze and finding that the nipple underneath the top was taut.  She moaned inwardly, taking a glimpse and certainly finding two hard nubs noticeably shoving out against her yellow-and-black cups.  And she couldn’t blame it being cold.  She, even in this sparce outfit, felt the run of sweat down to the small of her back, seeping into her bottom crevice.  Shuddering in distaste, she thought she’d need to have a towel on hand all day to keep from this embarrassing sweat.  But then… maybe it was embarrassment itself causing her to sweat.

            Alone again…  Last she left him, he was scurrying for cover to (wisely) hide from Sakura.  But had he taken Ino’s advice and put his clothes back on?  Doubtful, Ino thought.

            She all but forgot the parcel left for Naruto, for she had her own package of interest, and wandered back into the storeroom.  “She’s gone,” she called out in a singsong voice, her cerulean eyes coasting from side to side.  As a former prankster, Naruto knew how to make a quick escape, yet, seeing him peek out from a cabinet, Ino had to say it was a bit too obvious.

            “Whew.”  He looked genuinely relieved, and then gave a smile to her.  “Thanks, Ino.”

            “It wasn’t for you,” Ino said bluntly, lacing her fingers behind her head, leaning casually with a bent knee, glancing uninterestedly in another direction.  “Forehead girl would get the wrong idea if she saw you naked back here while I’m dressed like this.”

            “Guess you shouldn’t walk around in your underwear.”

            “Like you’re one to talk!!” raged Ino, but then she reconvened her more serene composure when Naruto crawled out and stood up.  After an unintelligible instant of fumbling over her tongue, she coughed into her hand and said in her best even tone, “I thought I told you to get dressed.”

            “I couldn’t in there,” said Naruto nonchalantly, now being the one to put his hands up behind his head.  “It shouldn’t matter anyway, right?  It’s hot like you said.”  His body did show signs of heat; flushed and perspiring skin, just like herself, and it was an honest thing to undress for the occasion.  But Ino wanted to forbid it!  Her eyes had gone back to his boxers against her will, her intrigue too resounding not to.  Unfortunately…

            Unfortunately?

            By happenstance, Ino rightly corrected herself in her head, Naruto’s boxers were flowy and didn’t cling to his body to give an accurate definition to the package of her interest.  She thought of Sai and his little quips about Naruto, how she would laugh at the ribbing of masculinity, never thinking to follow up with questions.  She also thought of how Sai might not appreciate her interest in another man’s…  Ahem, well, another man.  Then again, she considered that he might not care.  His aloofness to most things could be charming or endearing – it showed how much she mattered to him that he made an effort to learn from her – but it should be critical for a man to show some flare and passion for his woman!

            Her mind went back to earlier.  The poor dirty talk, the haste of it, how she had to pursue him – which could be fun – but how he seemed to act at first like it was a chore.  He touched her in all of the right spots, true… but that was practiced, researched knowledge.  Mechanical.

            “You know it’s just improper for a guy to undress in front of a lady,” Ino suddenly told Naruto, her fair skin becoming finely flushed.  Like him, like before, like they were in a contest to see who could seem more carefree, she put her hands behind her head again, which pronounced her chest, much to Naruto’s fast notice.  He couldn’t help it.  When the drawstrings moved on her lifted shoulders, they hoisted her bosom; maybe not by a lot, but a guy always noticed.

            As if she didn’t notice him noticing her, she walked a few aimless paces, dropping her hands slowly to the back of her neck as if to massage some tension away, sidestepping the mess he’d made and had yet to clean up.  “If people saw you back here, there could be rumors.”  She whipped to Naruto in such a frenzy that he thought she would smack him.  He tensed up, ducking his head and raising his hands.  “And I’m not going to let it get out that I’m messing around with you!”

            slip…flutter…

            Those drawstrings were thin and certainly unreliable, it seemed.  Her spinning to Naruto had thrown her breasts in a full cascading jostle which was too much for the skimpy top.  Almost yieldingly, the straps came apart, and the light fabric stooped, failing their station and freeing their charges.  And with a sharp yelp, Ino popped back up, her hands pulling up helplessly at her sides, her chin tucking as she stared down and confirmed that, yes, her tits were out, on full display, lunging in freedom, all for Naruto to watch.

            “Gah!”  Naruto’s eyes bugged out in white circles, his jaw dropped, and his left nostril spouting blood.  They’re big-tebayo!  Not huge like Hinata, or gigantic like Baa-chan, but they were big!  And round!  High on the chest, but still with hanging weight!  Even without the fabric around them, they were close enough to form an attractive cleavage.  And then there were the nipples!  Pink and oval in tension, sitting plump and audacious in the center of either breast.

            “Don’t look!” wailed Ino, though her reaction time to cover her body with her hands was suspiciously slow.  And her anger and reproach were entirely misdirected on Naruto, who had only been watching events unfold and reacted expectedly.  A hand for each breast; it seemed like she’d entirely forgotten about her boastful swimsuit, which could holster the twins back in place with suitable cover, instead of her turning halfway, which seemed to do nothing but give Naruto a better idea of their shape and a new vantage point.  “You pervert,” she derided him with a pouty frown.  “Sakura warned me that you were like this.”

            “Wha-What?!”  Naruto wiped at his nose – the bleeding had ebbed – and frowned at her criticism.  “I-I didn’t do anything!  You’re the one who wanted to walk around in her underwear-tebayo!”

            “That’s you!” she reminded him, and her eyes went to see.  And she almost lost a victorious smirk.  The results were in.  Those boxers of his now betrayed him, bulging and strained to one side down his left leg, rearing up the hem of his shorts before the clothing lost its slack.  It wasn’t the kind of gauging that Naruto’s eyes got when her bikini slipped off, but it settled the resounding dispute of whether or not Sai exaggerated Naruto’s shortcomings.

            The speed of his response was quicker than his thought.  With the undoubtably the most beautiful of the Rookie 9 standing topless, it was hard for Naruto to really grasp his situation.  Even if he had pined for Sakura and had started pussyfooting around a romance with Hinata, it was undeniable proof that Ino was the one who held the most natural beauty amongst them!  It was practiced and perfected!  If not for that outrageous temper of hers, she could really garner greater attention!  But right now…  Naruto felt his cock surge to life, tugging at his boxers’ leg, lifting it and making a commotion all its own!  And knowing what that would mean if it was found out – if it hadn’t been already – Naruto instinctively contained it under his hands, crouching slightly, trying to lean his thigh into the positioning of his cock.

            But it was far too late.  Ino had gazed it.  Oh no!  She’s going to tell Sakura-chan and Hinata!!  His romantic life… and maybe life itself would be over at that point!  Hinata would write him off as a deviant right before Sakura-chan went to work to pulverizing him into mush!

            “I can’t believe you, Naruto.”  Ino’s tone carried the edge of scorn… yet Naruto did not feel the cut of it.  More like it was a threat to other leverage.  Her hands tightened on her breasts, her fingers sinking lightly into the plush flesh.  She sharpened the edge to keep him on his toes.  “You do know that I’m involved with Sai-kun, don’t you?”

            “You-You are?”  Naruto really hadn’t known that.  He and Sai didn’t discuss such things, after all, not after the disastrous attempts of Sai’s to help Naruto’s love life with Sakura-chan.  Hearing this news didn’t really make him afraid; more unnerved.  He wasn’t sure if Sai would really take offense to this whole situation…

            “That’s right!  And he’ll get really mad if he heard about this!”  Ino moved an arm across to support her chest so that she could hold a finger up in front of Naruto.  All the while, as he strained not to look at her compressed chest, he wondered why she hadn’t just reapplied her top!  With only the bottom drawstrings intact, it had begun to slip further away from her bust, easily moving by her slender abdomen, to halt closer to the spread of her hips.

            But also, her comment about Sai expressing any emotion but altruistic boredom didn’t really strike Naruto as plausible.  Sai would react to spilled ink more than he would about his supposed girlfriend – if that was what Ino was – flashing his best friend – if that was what Naruto was.

            “So!” Ino bluntly interrupted Naruto’s thoughts and put him into focus with a stern glare.  “This can’t get out, can it?!  There’s no one here!  No one else watching!”

            Naruto drew back, confused as much as he was panicked.  “What do you mean?”

            “You have all the leverage here, don’t you?”

            “I do?  But-But…!”  Naruto risked his hands taken away from his arousal to flail out in front of him.  “I didn’t do anything, honest!  I’ve been back here the whole time!”

            Ino moved in closer, now jabbing underneath his chin with her accusing finger.  “You saw me without my top on, and you kept looking!  So now…”  She settled back, covering her breasts with her arms crossed.  “I think it’s only fair… that you take off your underwear and let me have a look.”  She seemed so blasé about it that it almost seemed like it could make sense.

            But not to Naruto.  “That doesn’t make any sense-dattebayo!”  He recoiled defensively, now squeezing at his boxers to keep them on.  “Why should I have to do that just because you were walking around in your underwear?!”

            “It’s not underwear!  And if you don’t do what I say…!”  She flashed a wicked smirk.  “I’ll tell Sakura all about how you’ve been ogling me all day.”

ccc