Curiosity Broke the Scissors

Chapter 7

Last Time-

"Uh, it's kinda embarrassing to talk about." Star muttered as her cheek marks glowed pink.

"Come on, I won't tell anyone, promise." Ino begged with a cute pout.

"Oh alright, well it all started when..."

-And Now-

"...then I turned back to normal and celebrated getting my Mewberty wings with Marco." Star finished her story with a nostalgic smile. She and Ino were currently in the latter's room, with the princess sitting on the bed rolling up all the loose silk they'd collected from Naruto and Star's apartment into balls using two hands.

Several of these bundles of lavender webbing were currently soaking in bowls of warm water, while the other four of Star's hands started spinning into spools of fine thread that Ino then fed into a miniature loom, making a long continuous stretch of soft fabric.

"Man, must've been one heck of an experience," Ino said while stopping to look over her work so far for any mistakes or problems. "It's almost like you just crammed the entire process of puberty into a few hours."

"That's exactly what Marco said." Star said with a giggle that Ino shared.

"I gotta admit, this Mewberty of yours sounds a whole lot better to deal with, minus the whole kidnapping every boy you see and sticking them in a cocoon."

"Really? What's puberty like? I asked Marco once but he just got all red and stuttered a lot before taking a nap." Star said, causing Ino to burst out in giggles.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," The platinum blonde stated once she got herself under control. "Honestly, puberty is a bit of a rough time, from the random emotional outbursts thanks to the hormones, the constant worry of acne outbreaks, and annoying growing pains. Not to mention having to deal with all the new hair growth and sexual urges."

"Oh, that doesn't sound fun at all." Star said as her brain conjured up over dramatic images. "And how long does last? A few days? A week?"

"Pffft! I wish!" Ino exclaimed, once again bursting into a laughing fit that took several moments to calm down, wiping a tear from her eye when she did. "Puberty goes on for years Star."

As soon as these words reached Star's ears, she froze in what she was doing as she stared at Ino with bugged out eyes and a slack jaw. "Years? Seriously?"

"I told you it sucked. In fact, I'm already going through it as we speak and Naruto should be starting any time now." Ino said, her shoulders shaking from barely repressed laughter as she took in her new friend's reaction, before all the humor unexpectedly drained from her face as she looked towards her door in confusion. "Hey, speaking of Naruto, is it just me or has he been in the bathroom for a really long time now?"

Blinking in surprise at the sudden change of topic, Star followed her gaze with a curious and slightly worried look of her own. "Well now that you mention it... Should we go see if he's okay?"

"I'm sure his fine... but I'll go check on him just to be on the safe side." Ino said with a mischievous smirk as she grabbed a camera that was sitting on a nearby table. 'Hello new teasing/blackmail material~.'

Unaware of Ino's new... side quest, Star simply nodded in understanding before focusing back on her work as her fellow blonde left the room in search of the missing whiskered boy.

However, said search ended barely a minute after it started as Ino found Naruto in the store section of her home. This time it was Ino who was left stunned as she watched the normally hyperactive blonde watering and trimming the various plants in the store with a relaxed smile on his face.