Sleepover extras
Inoichi woke to fur brushing across his face, and shrieked.
Nozomi startled, nearly falling out of bed. The squirrel climbing Inoichi’s chest gave him an unimpressed look. Curled around its tail was a scroll.
“Damn it, Shikaku,” he grumbled. The sassy squirrels of their youth had only grown bolder. He took the scroll, and the squirrel vanished with a puff of smoke. With a flash of chakra, the scroll unfurled.
InoShikaCho dinner tomorrow - your house. It’s too warm for zosui.
He blinked. Shikaku had found something. But what?
“Need to go in?” Nozomi mumbled, already half asleep.
He smiled, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “Not yet. It’s our turn for InoShikaCho dinner.” But Nozomi had already gone back to sleep, letting out a soft snore. Inoichi chuckled. Even with running the flower shop, she never did like mornings. He may as well check on Sasuke and Ino.
When he knocked on Ino’s door, he heard nothing inside. “Blossom? It’s time to get up.” Nothing. Inoichi waited, before knocking again. “Ino?”
His heart began to thud. They hadn’t rushed this, right? Ino was ready to have friends over. She had her bracelets, he had checked that she had them. Maybe she was still sleeping.
(Or maybe she was—)
Inoichi flung the door open. Rumpled, empty sheets looked back at him. Sasuke’s futon was conspicuously empty as well.
He did not panic.
With hurried steps, he went to check the kitchen. No one. He knocked on the bathroom door. Nothing. It was only when he heard laughter that he began jogging towards the flower shop.
He looked in, and sighed, relieved. Ino was leaned over a flower arrangement, with Sasuke in the stool next to her. He caught the edge of his daughter’s grin as she crouched before the arrangement, moving the stems.
“See? It’s shin-soe-tai,” she was saying, as she gently bent a branch to the left. “Not Shin-tai-soe.” The arrangement looked like it was for the Hamasaki order, due tomorrow. Sasuke nodded along, almost studiously, as his daughter prepared the arrangement. There was a bouquet on the front table, and Inoichi could tell it was Ino’s handiwork. He ran over the meanings quickly.
Alstroemeria, friendship. Anthurium, hospitality. Bouvardia, enthusiasm. Cape Jasmine, joy. Chrysanthemum, cheerfulness. Oddly enough, he caught a sprig of red germanium. Protection. Who did Ino feel protective over?
“Good morning, you two,” he said with a smile. His heart had finally gone back to its normal rhythm. “Ready for breakfast?”