#so fox

for bzlc and orufrey

bzlcs easy bc dilucs constellation is an owl and baizhus slowly becoming one with changsheng so hes snake

an alt emoji combo of them is 🦉🐍

Now . orufrey...... qifrey is a fox to me... if not a plant/tree he is Fox. now olly...... Cat... stray cat vibes as fuck

Naruto had just enough saved up after that last job to get a new batch of seeds for his garden. He had all the vegetables he wanted, and his roof couldn’t support a tree, so he decided to try some flowers. Naruto also knew that if Ino caught him having bought flowers from anywhere but her shop, he would never hear the end of her nagging. So here he was, outside of her flower shop, afraid to enter.

He had never let anyone know about his hobby before. And he was lucky no one found out and ruined his garden. So he was very intimidated to be exposing a part of himself like this.

But he couldn’t become Hokage one day if he couldn’t be brave in the little moments, so in he walks.

The bell overhead tinkles as the door passes under it, letting the store hear his entrance. He is astounded by the colors and the variety of flowers and garden ornaments that he could see.

“Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers, let me know if you would like any help.” Came a cheery call from the next isle over, the source of the voice just out of view.

“Thank you, I will.” Naruto responded, hesitantly, but loud enough to be heard clearly.

There was a sound of a box dropping, and of clothes shifting against each other as the person presumably stood abruptly. There was a clattering of feet as Ino rounded the corner.

“Naruto!?” She looked ruffled, to say the least. Petals in her hair, with dirt sprinkled on her apron and part of her shirt. Some smudged on her cheek.

She still looked as beautiful as she does in class, Naruto thinks to himself.

“Hey there Ino, I was hoping I could get some help?” He was a lot more shy at this one. Being confronted with her directly. But he stood strong, only shifting away a little.

“Help with what? I’m not helping you with any of your pranks. Or with helping you get forehead.” She composed herself a bit from her earlier surprise, but still seemed sceptical at his presence.

“Well, I was hoping to get some flowers seeds. I have my vegetable garden going good, and I’ve kept it healthy and full the last few years, so I wanted to try something else. I thought flowers would be good.” He mumbled about half of it, and was looking towards his shoes for the last bit, expecting to be laughed at, or for her to not believe him.

“You kept your garden healthy for years? That’s great Naruto, it’s a really hard thing to do, and it’s so cool that you’ve done it. So what kind of flowers were you thinking of?”

Naruto looked up sharply in shock.

“You don’t think I’m lying?” He asked after a moment.

“No, why would I? You are a bit loud, but you aren’t careless, and you are certainly dedicated if your efforts with forehead have anything to say.”

“And you don’t think I’m lame for having plants as my hobby?”

“Why would I think that? I run a flower shop, plants are my thing. All kind of people come in for plants, even Hokage-sama and Iruka-sensei come in for flower supplies every so often.” She looked to Naruto as she finished talking, noticing his eyes a bit watery.

“Are you okay Naruto?”

Naruto quickly rubs his eyes against his sleeve to try to dry his building tears. His anxieties over coming for help and fear of being rejected both allayed by Ino.

“I’m fine, just a bit of dust is all.”

She clearly didn’t believe him, but decided to leave it be.

She instead started walking to a part of the shop, waving at him to follow and discretely allowing him to collect himself.

—————————————————————————–

“There you go, sunflowers should be good, and you can cook the seeds or plant them next year. And here is a book on different flowers for you.”

Naruto started reaching for his wallet when Ino stopped him.

“Actually, it’s on the house today Naruto.”

Naruto started at that. He was expecting to pay a lot for this trip. And no one ever gives him something for free.

“Really? I can just have these?” He stares at her with wide eyes. Hope and hesitation both clearly seen.

“Yup, on one condition.” He looked dubious at what she may say next. “You have to take me to see your garden tomorrow.”

He thought about it for a moment. She wasn’t one of the people constantly insulting him. Or one of the ones who avoided him entirely. She just wasn’t into most of the things he found fun. She was nice when she talked to him, and never hit him like Sakura does. Well, unless he really deserved it. And she likes flowers, so it makes sense she would be interested.

“Okay, but you can’t tell anyone about it. It’s a secret garden.”

Ino giggled a little at that. “Okay, I won’t tell anyone about your secret garden. It will be our little secret.” She smiled at him, glad he accepted.

“Great! So would you like to meet tomorrow by the fountain in the park?”

“Sure! I’ll be there around 3, so be ready then, okay?”

“You got it Ino. Thank you for helping me today, I really appreciate it.” Naruto says as he runs out of the door, bright smile shining and his eyes crinkled in happiness.

Ino blushes as she sees it, and luckily for her he doesn’t notice. She calls a goodbye after him and then sits back in her chair. The image of his smiling face not leaving her head.

’…He Is kinda cute.’

——————————————————————————–

They meet up at the fountain the next day and start walking over to Naruto’s building. They don’t stop at his room, luckily, because he didn’t clean it, and make their way straight to the top of the building. Once there, Ino is treated with something she definitely didn’t expect.

There was corn, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, peas, potatoes and even some cauliflower. Lettuce and cabbage could be seen too. But it looked more natural than man made. Like walking into a fairies garden.

“Naruto… How did you grow it all like this?.” Ino was stunned and was still trying to comprehend that it was real.

“Well, it started because I had a planter up here with some tomatoes In it, but then I was going to make a garden box. So I got more dirt. But before I could build the box, there was some peppers growing from the pile. Then there was some cabbage, but there wasn’t enough room for it. So I brought more dirt and moved it over some. It kept happening, so I kept moving the new plants to places there was space for them. I think it’s either the birds bringing the seeds or one of the foxes that lives around here.”

“And you kept the garden healthy like this for years?”

“Yeah, I just weed it every day, and make sure to clip out any diseased or rotting bits. They also seem to like when I talk to them, and when I practice my chakra control here.”

“This is beautiful Naruto.” She turned to him and grabbed his hands. “You have to let me come back here with you sometimes. Pretty please? I’ll help you with the garden, and I’ll give you a discount at the store.” She pouted and gave him her best puppy dog eyes.

Naruto couldn’t help but blush, she was so cute, and she was holding his hands. The nice sweet girl wanted to spend more time with him. And she was giving him better puppy dog eyes than Ayame did when he tried to get out of her hugs. He simply couldn’t say no.

“Okay, but only if you are with me. And you have to promise to be nice to the foxes.” She tilted her head at that.

“The foxes?” She asked. Almost on queue, a small fox, small enough to fit in Ino’s hand, pounced on her foot. Surprised, she jumped a bit. Startling the fox when ran behind Naruto.

“There you are Astraea. Where have you been missy. You didn’t come out yesterday when I brought dinner up.” He picked up the tiny fox kit and started petting her. “You had me worried you were hurt, or sick.” He looked back up to Ino and blushed as he realized she saw all that.

“Astraea?” She asked. Smiling at the cute scene.

“It is an old god of Justice, innocence and purity. The name means Star Maiden. And Astraea here has white freckles on her coat that will stay when she grows up. So she has a star coat.. I thought it fit.”

Ino reached forward slowly to try and pet the little kit. But Astraea dug her head into Naruto’s arm.

“I’m sure she will warm up to you. So do you agree to be nice to the foxes?.” He asked again. He suspected he knew the answer.

“Of course. How could I not love cuties like this little one?”

——————————————————————–

Naruto is walking home after a long day of training. He opens his door and is met with a flying mess of blond hair and grabby arms.

“Hi sweetie. Long day?” He asked. he got a muffled answer and a nod against his chest. He smiles as he wraps his arms around his wife of four months.

“Wanna talk about it?” he asks her.

She looks up at him and smiles tiredly. “Yeah, but not right now. I know you are tired from the meeting, and dinner is still hot. Lets make our plates and eat by the fireplace to relax, okay?”

He smiles at her and kisses her forehead. “You are too good for me, I swear.” He places a few kisses on her cheek and gets a small giggle in return.

She pushes off him and smiles as he backs away into the kitchen. “Okay, okay, enough of that or we might not get to dinner. And I made us something really good too.”

He followed her into the kitchen and smelled what it was right away.

“Ramen!” He smiled and hugged his wife again. He couldn’t help but fall in love with his wife again every day. She was so sweet. She kept him calm when he needed it, and she made sure he had his head on straight. He also loved that he could do the same for her.

It was pretty funny when she would try to beat up someone and he could just pick her up. She would rage and flail, but one kiss still made her blush and calm down.

He lets go of Ino and lets her get her bowl ready. then follows suit and they make their way into the living room. There are plants everywhere. Naruto kept up his hobby of gardening, and it really showed. He managed to breed tiny versions of every flower in Ino’s shop. Walking anywhere in their home you can find a true garden along every wall in wall planters, on shelves and in the living room, there are a few volcanic plants that are growing over the fireplace too.

As they settle in next to each other, they smile as Astraea comes over and lays across their laps. The fox is now big enough to pin Ino if she wanted to. and is just as happy as the couple.

Knowing the fox wont move any time soon, they set the bowls on her back and start eating. Naruto manages to sneak Astraea a fishcake without Ino noticing. not that she really would have minded. when they were done, they set the bowls aside to take in later.

They lay back, Naruto with his arm out and Ino cuddling into him, and start talking about their days. they both listen and take care to remember what the other is saying. Pretty soon they are both just tiredly cuddling. Astraea takes the moment to pull a blanket over them and starts on cleaning the bowls.