After a grueling four hour session stripping the green from her hair and recoloring it with a soft pink, Sakura felt as frazzled as her roots. Mercifully, the girls had gone to Starbucks to get her more coffee, doing themselves as much a favor as her. (They knew what she could be like without her coffee) When it was finished, Sakura had everyone pile into her Mercedes to go to the mall. They had an appointment with the devil.
" Everyone on your guard. Apparently they have some a prank in line for us here. Little do they know, we're going to get them first," Sakura said confidently.
" Umm, Sakura? We don't even have a prank planned. Much less props to set up a prank," Tenten reminded her.
" We'll win anyway. We have willpower, wits, and our feminine physique," Ino grinned, shaking her butt. Everyone cracked up.
" What should our plan be, guys? We have to have a plan or else we'll never beat geniuses like Shikamaru and Neji," Tenten stated the obvious. This threw Sakura for a loop. Frankly she had no idea what amazing prank to pull and time was running out. All she had to propel her forward was Sasuke's almighty smirk and the thought of him smirking at her like that for the rest of the year. Honestly, she loved him, but he needed to be taken down a notch for the good of Konoha.
" We should start with surveillance. Once we find the guys, then we can think about our prank. But the most important things is not to let the guys prank us," Sakura counseled wisely.
" I think we should split up. There are four floors of the mall. We could each take one," Tenten suggested.
" I like that idea," Ino agreed. " It'll give me a chance to get Shika alone. One on one." A slow smile spread across her face at the idea.
" How will we contact each other if something goes wrong?" Hinata voiced timidly.
" Oh you worry too much, Hinata. Everything will be fine. Besides, don't you remember what Sasuke said? ' We don't prank ladies,'" Sakura quoted sourly.
" If something goes wrong, we can call each other. We can meet here in... How 'bout thirty minutes?" Tenten asked.
" Perfect!" everyone agreed. Hinata waved as the three clambered into the elevator, Ino departing on the second, Tenten choosing to patrol the third floor, and Sakura staking her claim on the fourth.
Ino had chosen the second floor for a reason. There was a sale in Serenity that she wouldn't miss for the world. As she passed it's display, she had to desperately remind herself that she had a mission to accomplish. But it was all over when she saw the hat. It was the most darling little tweed herringbone equestrian cap, and she knew in that instant she couldn't live another day without owning it. It was a NEIMAN MARCUS, FOR PETE'S SAKE! Okay, so that was a little melodramatic, but she needed that hat.
Besides, wasn't it mainly Sasuke who had done all the provoking last year? Her sweet Shika wasn't bad at all. He didn't deserve to be pranked. Resolutely, she abandoned the mission and walked in, already unfolding the wad of money jammed in her wallet.
" Umm, ma'am?" she asked the cute brunette salesgirl. "How much does the Neiman Marcus cap in the window cost?" The girl looked up from the ugly "grandma" sweaters she was folding.
" Ooooooh. Good choice. You sure can pick 'em. It's adorable, isn't it?" Ino smile-agreed. The girl reached up and took it off the mannequin.
" You're in luck. It's on sale."
" Yesss!" Ino rejoiced. " How much?"
" One hundred and five dollars." Ino's jaw dropped. One hundred and five dollars for a sale item? Jeez, what was the world coming to?
" Umm... I think I'm going to come back for it," Ino stalled, as she walked out. Maybe she could borrow money from Hinata; she doubted Tenten or Sakura would understand. Outside the store, she quickly counted her money. She was off by about forty dollars. Slumping dejectedly on the floor, she didn't see the pineapple haired man watching her. She didn't see him hand a ball of cash to the salesgirl, or notice that he put something in her precious cap.
" Umm, ma'am? I'm sorry. I made a mistake earlier. The cap is fifty dollars," the salesgirl called to Ino. There was something suspicious in the way she seemed not quite sure if the cap was only fifty dollars, but Ino didn't notice it, being too busy reveling in the fact that she was about to be the owner of a trendy new accessory. She slapped it on her head after the brunette rung it up. " At last," she thought dreamily, as she spun in the mirror. " I wonder what Shika would think of it," she mused and cocked her head at her reflection. " Oh well, I'll find out later. It's not like he can see me right now." Little did she know, he could.
Hey guys!
I finally got around to putting more stuff up. Please don't lose patience with me. I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with this. Thanks you to those – Love is only a word, Unyielding Wish, Dark anonymous, etc., etc.—who have done me the great kindness of reviewing or favoriting my story. It is greatly appreciated!
- Uchihaflower14
