A bet on Love

24 | Trust

Ino waved goodbye to a group of girls as they walked out of the studio. Her hands dropped as the automatic door slid closed, leaving her alone in the reception. She let out a quiet sigh as her optimistic smile dropped, her hands lowering from the former position. 'I'm so tired I wanna sleep,' she thought to herself, a yawn leaving her lips. She turned round to return to her office where she would probably spend the night again, when she bumped into none other than her fiancé. "Sai!" She exclaimed, surprised evident in her voice, "What are you doing here?" She giggled,

"U-um..." he cleared his throat before straightening up, "I'm taking you out for dinner. Dress fancy." And then he walked off, his movements as stiff as a log. His words sounded scripted and something he had rehearsed for a while but it was demanded. She frowned slightly, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Okay...?" Hesitantly, she turned towards the exit of the building, a change of plans resulting in her change in destination. She drove silently back home, his tone not sitting right with her. He was usually calm and held up fake faces and expressions, but just a few minutes ago. He was forcing himself to show a genuine expression. Her lips pulled back into a small smile and she drove into the Yamanaka Compound. "Dad! I'm home!" She called, slipping her shoes and bag off, keeping them away in their respective places.

"Oh! Welcome home, are you hungry? I was about to cook something." A blonde and slightly older man stepped out of the living room, both hands in his trouser pocket,

"Nah, not today. I'm going out with Sai." Inochi raised an eyebrow and his daughter and she returned with her questioning stare, "What?"

"Nothing...I thought you didn't like him with the business...and stuff."

"Oh no, I didn't like the fact that I had an arranged marriage but if for a year for work so it's fine. Might as well get myself comfortable than grumble for a whole year but marrying me off to someone I was not familiar with was low," she answered, hands on her hips as she lectured her father. The said man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly,

"Yeah sorry about that, I didn't have much of a choice either. As you can see the top companies in Tokyo have been involved in family negotiations recently to boost their name, the board recommended it but in the end it was compulsory." Ino shook her head,

"The board, the board, the board, those people should find something better to do than to mess people's lives," she muttered striding towards the stairs, "I'm gonna go get ready for my very fancy dinner with my fiancé so don't miss me too much okay?" She blew a kiss like she would do to Hinata or Temari making the older man physically cringe as she disappeared into her room.

After a while, the doorbell rang and Inochi quickly travelled to the door, opening it rather enthusiastically. A very sweaty and nervous Sai stood at the door, a bouquet of flowers in his clammy hands and although he tried to mask it, his face was tensed and stiff. "Good evening Mr. Yamanaka, Sir. If it is alright with you, I'd like to court your daughter tonight."

Inochi stifled a peal of laughter, examining the younger boy. He's so formal and scared it's hilarious, maybe I should give him the talk, he thought, a sly smirk pulling on his lips the more he tried to hide it. "Well-"

"Dad don't even start, you'll scare him away," Ino called from behind, fixing the lace on her shoes. She wore a long black off-shoulder dress that reached to her feet with a long slit to her thighs. "How do I look?" She asked, throwing her hair behind her shoulder,

"Like the goddess I created, now you two go on and have fun, don't be home late or I'll get the police involved okay? Bye, honey, love you," he kissed her forehead and she returned the gesture, then stepped out of the house with the ravenette. His nervousness had subsided and he stood by the open passenger door with a dazed and out-of-the-world stare. Ino snapped her fingers in his face, slight amusement on her red lips,