"Ino?" Naruto called out to her.
She turned and finally saw Naruto.
Ino scowled and said, "Why the hell do I have to meet a loser here?" while rolling her eyes.
"Hey, watch your words!" Naruto retorted.
"Hugh, whatever, just leave me alone," Ino huffed and started walking into the store.
But Naruto called her.
"Ino," Naruto said softly.
However, Ino ignored him until Naruto reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her.
Ino immediately shook her arm, trying to break free from Naruto's grip.
"What are you doing?!" she yelled, glaring at him.
Naruto, seeing her reaction, wasn't afraid. Instead, he found it funny and laughed a little.
"What are you laughing at?" Ino frowned even more and snapped at him.
Naruto realized his mistake and apologized.
"No, I just wanted to ask, what are you doing in a clothing store?" Naruto asked.
"Well, obviously, I'm here to buy clothes, what else?" she answered curtly.
"Fine, if you don't want to talk, then don't bother me," Ino said as she tried to walk away, but Naruto blocked her path.
Ino's frustration grew, her frown deepening.
"What I meant was, could you help me...?" Naruto decided to get straight to the point.
"Help? Help with what?" Ino asked.
"I want to buy some new clothes, but I don't know anything about fashion. Could you help me?" he asked, lowering his voice slightly.
"And why should I help you?" Ino asked in return.
"Because we're classmates," Naruto replied.
"Classmates?"
Ino paused to think for a moment.
"Fine, since I'm feeling generous today, I'll help you..." she said, nodding.
Naruto was happy about that because in both of his lives, he had no sense of fashion.
He sighed softly at that.
They immediately went to the men's clothing section, and Naruto picked out several shirts and pants he thought looked good. However, every time he tried them on and showed them to Ino, she immediately rejected them. She said the clothes he picked would damage someone's eyesight.
After several attempts and all of them being rejected, Naruto finally gave up and asked Ino to choose for him.
"Huh, why didn't you just say so from the start?" Ino said.
"Haha," Naruto chuckled awkwardly.
Ino then searched for clothes that might suit him and eventually brought three outfits to Naruto.
"Try this one first."
Ino handed him a brown outfit with a plain white shirt and matching brown shorts.
Naruto took it and immediately put it on.
After finishing, he came back out to show Ino and asked if it looked good on him.
Ino looked him over from head to toe. But for some reason, she found herself a little dazed seeing Naruto looking so fresh.
"Naruto, why does he look kinda handsome?" Ino thought to herself.
"No, what am I thinking!" Ino shook off the strange thought and immediately nodded.
"Yeah, it suits you..." she said.
"Finally..." Naruto sighed. Honestly, he was exhausted from trying on so many outfits.
"Do you want to try any others?"
"No, I think this is enough."
Naruto glanced at the price tags and counted the cost. Luckily, he had enough money to pay for everything.
"I'll take this one. After all, I trust your judgment, Ino."
Naruto smiled with a simple expression, but that look made Ino's cheeks feel a little warm.
Ino turned her face away with a slight smile and replied, "Of course!"
"Then I'll head to the cashier and wait for you there while you look for your clothes."
"Hey, wait! Just leave that there and come back, I need your help too," Ino called out to Naruto.
"You need my help picking clothes? Aren't you good at choosing clothes? Or can't you even pick for yourself?" Naruto asked.
"Are you kidding? Of course I can!" Ino snapped.
"Then?" Naruto asked again.
"Hah, obviously it's for Sasuke. I want to give him a gift..."
Upon hearing the name "Sasuke," Naruto's interest immediately vanished, and the mention of a "gift" made him even more gloomy.
Ino didn't notice the change in Naruto's expression and only felt the air around them grow colder.
Naruto's mood immediately soured. "Why are you giving him a gift?"
"Why? Obviously, because I like him," Ino answered simply.
"You like him, but all you get is his cold attitude," Naruto mocked.
"Hey! Don't you have a mirror at home? Aren't you doing the same stupid thing with Sakura, who clearly likes Sasuke?" Ino retorted.
Naruto's heart cracked. He was really upset with Ino, but he couldn't deny her words.
"Fine, do whatever you want," Ino said as she walked away.
Naruto stayed silent for a moment, then shouted, "DAMN IT," and ran after Ino.
Ino picked out a jacket and showed it to Naruto.
"Sasuke would never like something that heavy," Naruto commented after looking at it.
Ino nodded, feeling that it made sense, and continued searching for something she thought would work.
Then she found a bright red hoodie.
"Are you crazy? There's no way an Uchiha would wear something that bright..." Naruto said.
Ino, a little annoyed by Naruto's comment, knew he was right, so she stayed silent...
The clothing selection conversation continued with Naruto rejecting everything.
Even when they were choosing pants, they couldn't find anything that was a perfect fit.
In the end, they settled on two outfits: one black shirt with beige shorts, and a black shirt with gray pants.
They quickly went to the cashier to pay.
When they arrived, the cashier immediately calculated the price. Ino paid, but Naruto protested. Why? Because the total price was twice as high as the original price.
"What's this?" Naruto asked.
"What do you mean?" the cashier responded.
Naruto slammed the counter and angrily said...
"Do you think I'm stupid? I counted everything I bought, and you're charging me more than the actual price."
"Heh," the cashier snorted, "where's your proof? If it's just talk, it's useless. Besides, I set the prices here, so whatever price it is, it's up to me."
"Fine, I'll buy it at the price you're asking," Naruto said.
The cashier smiled, while Ino quickly said, "Wait, Naruto, if he really does that, don't you—"
Before Ino could finish her sentence, Naruto interrupted...
"Then I'll go to the Hokage's office and report it to the Third Hokage. Even though I don't have ninja authority and I'm just an academy student, with my connection to the Third Hokage, I think he can handle it..."
The cashier gulped and imagined his future if that really happened...
"Uh, never mind. It seems I made a mistake calculating the price, haha," the cashier quickly changed his attitude.
After the transaction was completed, Naruto rushed out, holding Ino's hand, who was still stunned by the whole situation.
Outside.
"What did you just do?" Ino asked, flustered.
"What?" Naruto asked.
Ino pinched Naruto's hand, "How could you go from almost being scammed to getting away with it?"
"Uhh," Naruto winced a little, "Why do you need to pinch me..."
"Enough with the drama, just answer," Ino demanded.
Naruto sighed.
He finally explained what happened and what would happen if he really reported it to the Third Hokage.
"Ohhh, so that's how it is. Alright, I get it," Ino said, patting her hands.
"Well then, we should hurry to the academy, don't you think? We're probably late," Naruto said.
Hearing that, Ino suddenly snapped to attention and started running.
"Damn it, this is your fault..." Ino shouted while running.
"Are you blaming me?" Naruto said, a little annoyed, "Aren't you the one who took so long picking clothes for Sasuke?"
"Well, this is the first time I'm late. Iruka-sensei will probably understand, unlike you, who's always late," Ino replied with a tease.
Naruto wanted to retort, but sadly, what she said was true...