Kakashi's Unexpected Love

Graduated

Five years have passed since then.

Today is the day Ino will be graduating from the academy. Her family is filled with pride over her accomplishments. On her way to the academy, she unexpectedly runs into her love rival, Haruno Sakura, which, of course, sparks an immediate argument. But it's not a "who will be the first to enter the class" competition—it's actually a "who will sit beside Sasuke-kun" competition.

As soon as they step into the classroom, their fight gets the attention of the other Sasuke fangirls, who immediately join in. The classroom is soon filled with screaming, squealing, and absolute chaos.

However, everything comes to an abrupt halt after a certain accident occurs...

Naruto accidentally kisses Sasuke on the lips.

For a few seconds, the class is completely silent.

And then, all hell breaks loose.

Sasuke's fangirls are outraged. After all, Naruto just stole Sasuke-kun's first kiss! Poor Naruto doesn't even have time to explain himself before he's getting mercilessly beaten up by an angry mob of heartbroken girls.

Just as the chaos reaches its peak, Iruka-sensei enters the classroom.

Everyone instantly freezes.

Without hesitation, they scramble to their seats.

Unfortunately for Ino, this means she has to sit beside Shikamaru and Choji. Ugh. But oh well—she better just sit down and shut up unless she wants to experience "Iruka-sensei's Big Head Raging Lecture"™ firsthand.

Team Assignments

Once everyone settles down, Iruka congratulates them on their achievement and announces their three-man squads. Cheers and groans fill the classroom as students react to their assigned teams.

When Ino hears her team assignment, she is... mad.

No, actually—mad is an understatement.

Not only is she not in a team with Sasuke, but now she has to eat lunch with her new teammates—Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi.

...But then again, it's not that bad.

She already expected this outcome, since the three of them are the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. So while she's a little disappointed, she's also kind of relieved. At least she gets to be with two of her childhood friends instead of some random strangers.

Lunch Break

While eating lunch with her teammates, Shikamaru suddenly speaks up.

"Look. Isn't that Sasuke?"

Choji pauses mid-bite. "And... isn't that Naruto walking into the room Sasuke's in?"

Shikamaru sighs. "I bet they're fighting."

Ino scoffs. "Well, if they are fighting, Sasuke-kun is obviously gonna win," she says confidently.

Shikamaru and Choji exchange tired glances before sighing in unison.

They're already used to Ino blindly defending Sasuke no matter what.

Still, deep down, they secretly root for Naruto. Even if it's impossible, they might as well cheer for their childhood friend, right?

Meeting Their New Sensei

After lunch, the three of them return to the classroom and wait patiently for their new sensei.

A few minutes later, a tall man in his twenties with a beard enters the room.

"I'm Asuma Sarutobi, the new sensei for Team 10. Team 10, please follow me."

Without hesitation, the three of them hurry after him to a training field.

Introductions

Once they arrive, Asuma tells them to introduce themselves—name, hobbies, likes, dislikes, and their dreams for the future.

Shikamaru keeps it simple. "I like cloud watching," he says lazily.

Choji, on the other hand, practically lights up as he starts talking about how much he loves BBQ Yakiniku and potato chips.

Then it's Ino's turn.

"I like flowers and helping my mom at our family's flower shop," she says.

...And both boys are shocked.

They honestly expected her to spend the entire introduction gushing about "Sasuke-kun this, Sasuke-kun that," but nope—she actually said something normal.

Shikamaru and Choji glance at each other, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief. Even Asuma-sensei looks a little surprised, considering he had already read about her obsessiveness over Sasuke in the report file.

But then—

Ino Being Ino

Feeling mischievous, Ino smirks and asks,

"Ne, Sensei~ Are you single?"

She even wiggles her eyebrows.

Asuma's eyes widen in shock, and his face turns red.

"Wh—why would you ask something like th-that?" he stammers.

Shikamaru and Choji sigh, shaking their heads.

...But they won't lie. They kinda want to know too.

Ino shrugs nonchalantly. "For fun? I don't know, I just felt like asking," she says, smirking.

Still trying to regain his composure, Asuma quickly turns away.

"Y-You guys don't need to know about that," he mutters, clearly flustered.

God, it hasn't even been a full day and he's already getting tortured by this team.

As sweat drips down his forehead, he gets a sinking feeling in his gut.

I'm going to regret taking this job, aren't I?

Poor future Asuma.

Actually—

Poor Asuma Sarutobi's wallet.

Hihihi.