A/N: I'm on a roll! Let's keep going, shall we?
Disclaimer: NOT MINE.
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Ten minutes later, Ino stood on the grassy hill next to the parking lot in the twilight, all decked out in her violet velvet dress (including conical princess cap). She scowled and tramped up the hill, holding the skirts up so they wouldn't trip her. At the top a pink envelope awaited her.
For a princess, you make a pretty good knight. Your quest is more than halfway over. Under the bushes to the left you'll find a method of transportation. Use it to get home, where your last few clues await you.
"Please let it be a motorcycle," Ino begged, rolling her eyes. She went over to the bushes and separated them with her hands. Lying there were a pair of rollerblades.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Against her better judgment, though, Ino flopped down and strapped them on. She stood up and balanced herself, gathering the dress between her legs so she wouldn't skate over them and crash. "At least I'm a good skater," she muttered, beginning her descent down the hill. For the first few feet she skated gracefully, looking almost ethereal with the deep purple skirts billowing out behind her. Then she hit a tree root and slid on her butt the rest of the way down.
--
At first, Ino had been grateful that she lived within walking (or skating) distance of the school. She forgot that her house was at the top of a hill.
Struggling on her skates, Ino finally came over the crest of the hill and almost collapsed. "This had better be good," she grumbled, stomping to the porch of her house. Taped to the front door was a pink envelope. She snatched it off the door and ripped it open, letting out her anger on the letter before she unleashed it on a human being.
You're doing wonderfully, princess. And you're almost done. Follow the kisses to find your knight in shining armor.
Looking down, Ino saw a chocolate kiss at her feet. She picked it up, unwrapped it and popped it in her mouth, reveling in the taste. It was really good chocolate.
She opened the door and stepped in, looking around. Nobody there. She saw a trail of kisses going down the hallway. She followed them, the whole time watching for a sign of sentient life. She might've been in a deserted house, for all she knew. A thought came to her: How did this person get in my house?!
Ino cautiously crept upstairs. There was a kiss on every step and they led down the upstairs hallway. She followed them to the door of her bedroom.
Taking a deep breath, Ino straightened her shoulders and opened the door.
It was empty, save for a pink envelope on the bed. Angry (and more than a little disappointed) Ino trudged over to the bed and opened it.
If you thought I would be here, I'm sorry to mislead you. This is your last quest: take a shower. And change into something a little more formal. You've got reservations.
Ino gladly followed the instructions. She was sweaty from exertion and absolutely filthy from that roll down the hill. Stripping as she went, Ino headed for the bathroom.
--
After Ino had bathed and dressed herself in a normal black skirt and shimmery blouse (not some costume) she saw one last envelope on the back of the door.
Isn't it hard to believe how much happened in such a short amount of time? Now, head for the balcony, princess. Congratulations: Your journey is over.
Ino almost felt faint with relief and anticipation. She hurried for her father's room, which had a balcony.
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Ino put her hand on the doorknob and turned. The knob slipped out of her sweaty hand, and she wiped it on her skirt, her heart beating loudly in her ears.
She tried again. The knob turned, and the door creaked open…
--
And there stood Chouji, a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses in hand, and that sunny smile Ino loved stretched across his face.
--
Ino was frozen. Chuckling softly, Chouji took her arm and gently led her toward the balcony, where there was a table set up for a candlelit dinner for two. "I cooked it myself," he murmured, seating her. He sat across from her, looking a little worried. "If…if you didn't…I mean, if you don't like this whole thing…I'm sorry, I just thought--"
That was when Ino leaped across the table, scattering the table settings everywhere, and tackled Chouji. She put her hands on both sides of his face, looked him in the eyes, and planted a wet one.
--
Later on, after things had calmed down some, and Chouji had answered Ino's questions, he asked one of his own.
"Did you see the chocolate kisses?"
"Of course I did," she answered. "I had to follow them to get here, remember?"
"No! Did you see inside the kisses?" he pressed.
As it turned out, Chouji had replaced all the little paper slips bearing the name of the company with his own slips of paper. And on each was something he loved about Ino.
After gathering them all up, Ino excitedly opened each one.
The way the sun glints off of your hair.
The way your laugh sounds like golden bubbles.
The way the blue of your eyes gets deeper when you're worried about me.
The way you stay fiercely loyal even though I've done nothing to deserve it.
The list went on and on. Ino was stunned at the meticulous care Chouji had taken.
"…Is it too much?" he asked her apprehensively.
She stared at him in shock, then laughed. "You're crazy!" she said, ruffling his hair. "Too much? Too much? Of course it's too much! Why would you do this for me?"
Chouji replied, "Because you're you." He grinned.
"So is this official? You're asking me to the dance?" Ino asked.
"I'm not asking you for anything," he said, sounding offended. "I'm demanding. You're coming with me tomorrow night, whether you like it or not."
"I think I can live with that," Ino laughed, and went for his lips.
--
And at the dance, Food Boy and Barbie outshone every last one of them.
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A/N: THE END! Short but sweet, in my opinion. I'm happy. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside Ahh, if only I could find a guy like Chouji! Someone creative and playful and caring and warm…and comfy to lay on…lol. But he'd need to be taller than Chouji. I don't like short guys. I'm short enough for both of us. By the way, I'm doing this because in Spanish we were watching one of those corny videos and the girl was describing her dream boyfriend. Or "mi novio perfecto," if you prefer. Her perfect boyfriend was kinda fugly. Lolz. Oh, btw, that treasure hunt/quest thing actually happened to this girl I met. She really wanted her boyfriend to ask her to the dance, and it happened exactly like this. The only thing that I added was the part about the tree. She even dove into the pool! How crazy and romantic is that? She's in college now, and it happened when she was in ninth grade, but still. It's cool.
Now that this is done, I need to go work on my ShikaTem. Read it if you want. But I'm telling you right now, I demand that all of you write a review for this chapter. And a good one. Not just, "omg this was so good I luv it!!1!11!!" No, I want to know what was good, what was bad, what I can improve on…I already know I use too many commas, and I put a lot of spaces between my paragraphs, but it's because I'm claustrophobic. And…it's after midnight and I have to get on the bus in five hours. I hate school. XP
But I love you guys. Really. Do you love me?
Hugs and kisses! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Ariel (StoryOfMyLife975)
8/28/08