"Maybe we should go and have something to eat." Naruto proposed with a bright smile.
"We haven't even started shopping and you already want to take a break? No." Sakura replied.
The two girls were walking through the busiest shopping street in Konoha. There were more than a few clothing shops here. It was the middle of the day and the street was cramped full with people. The sun was out and it was bordering on uncomfortably warm.
"Maybe we can have something to drink before we start. You must be thirsty." Naruto said, trying again. This was a rare chance to spend time with Sakura. Buying girly clothes was not how she intended to spend this quality time. But as much as she had tried to lure Sakura to other locations, she seemed set on buying clothes for her.
"We're going to buy clothes for you and that's the end of it." The pink haired kunoichi replied firmly.
A sigh passed Naruto's lips. She really wasn't having any luck. Oh well, at least she got to walk the streets of Konoha with Sakura. That was already a step in the right direction. Right?
Naruto's smile was almost too wide for her face. Sakura did her best to ignore her companion's behavior.
Sakura lead Naruto into the first shop, it was probably the largest clothing store in all of Konoha. They had a fair range of clothing, for men, women and children for all occasions. The shop was packed with people, but it wasn't quite as cramped as it had been out in the street. Sakura started to select a few pieces of clothing; Naruto for the most part watched her work.
"I like orange." Naruto informed Sakura.
"I know." Sakura replied as she picked a dark shirt and held it up to look at it. "I'll pick out something orange for you too. But you can't wear orange all the time."
Naruto frowned and locked her hands behind the back of her head. She really didn't see why she couldn't wear orange every day.
"It really isn't easy to do this by myself." Sakura said as she put the shirt back down. "I usually go shopping with Ino or someone else. I just wish I had someone to bounce ideas off of."
"Maybe we can buy some clothes for you too Sakura-chan." Naruto proposed.
Sakura lowered he shirt she had been inspecting and inspected Naruto carefully a moment. "No." She said after pausing for a few seconds. "I want to get this over with quickly. So stop trying to distract me. Here." She pushed a bundle of clothes into Naruto's arms. "Try these on."
Naruto looked at the bundle of clothes. They were a mix of black and orange, at least these clothes matched her tastes in color. She started to inspect the clothing closer.
"Will you just try it on?" Sakura asked impatiently. "We'll decide if this outfit works when you're wearing it."
Naruto frowned. Did she really have to wear this in front of Sakura? But she could tell that the pink haired girl was almost out of patience. "I'll wear it, like a man." Naruto informed her team mate. After this declaration, which earned her a dumb founded look from a shopkeeper, she marched over to a changing booth. Once inside she started to take off her jacket.
"AT LEAST CLOSE THE CURTAIN PROPERLY!" Sakura growled as she jerked the curtain of the changing booth closed behind Naruto.
Now that Naruto was truly alone in the changing booth she could finally take a closer look at the ensemble that Sakura had selected. A black tanktop, an orange and black jacket, matching boots and…. Naruto paused as she held a clothing item in front of her. "It's a skirt, isn't it?" She asked. There was no answer. "They're not pants. Cause pants cover legs separately. I know the difference."
"Good for you." Sakura replied from the other side. "Now put it on."
"What? But… Well, wouldn't this look better on you Sakura?" Naruto asked in a soft voice.
"If you're not wearing it, I'm leaving." Sakura replied.
Naruto sighed. She didn't want Sakura to leave. She was just going to have to endure it. She put on the rest of the clothes. Black stockings and a black skirt, Naruto was grateful to find a set of dark shorts which she could wear under the skirt. It at least gave her a sense that she wasn't too exposed. Naruto got dressed and then stepped out of the changing booth.
Almost instantly she was met with Sakura's scrutinizing gaze. "You look cute." Sakura concluded.
It wasn't exactly the compliment Naruto had hoped for, but it was a compliment. "Handsome cute?" Naruto asked, flexing her muscles. There wasn't that much to flex though.
Sakura opened her mouth to reply but paused and then sighed. "Yeah. Sure. Handsome cute."
"Yata!" Naruto declared. Sakura had sort of said that she was handsome. In a weird way their relationship was progressing. Probably.
Sakura ushered her to a mirror. "Take a look yourself."
When Naruto stood in front of the mirror she was shocked. She really didn't look like her old self. Though the jacket had looked roughly the same in color it fitted around her far more tightly. Her curves were far more emphasized than when she had been wearing her old baggy boy clothes. Naruto had to agree, she did look kind of cute.
"You're all red." Sakura said with a grin.
Naruto jumped, realizing a bright blush had worked its way up her cheeks.
"Don't know what to say for once?" Sakura asked before giggling. "Wait here and try not to do anything silly. I'm going to look for more clothes!" The girl spun around on her heels and ran off.
Naruto tried to calm herself down. This was more embarrassing than she had expected. 'Just think of it like hengen.' The blonde told herself. 'There is nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact I should be happy. This is a great chance to boost the power of my sexy ninjitsu.'
Then a voice jerked Naruto back to reality. "You look very pretty."
Naruto turned around. Lee had walked up to her when she hadn't been looking. "Wh-what?" Naruto asked shocked.
"You're so radiant; it almost pains my eyes to look at you. Truly I was surprised by your beauty at first." Lee continued. "But now I understand why you are so pretty."
"What the hell are you talking about!?" The blonde asked in a panic.
"You and Sakura are like two angels. Any man would be instantly smitten by you." Lee said, gesturing wildly with his arms.
It was then that Naruto noticed that he didn't have his crutches with him; Lee was standing on his own two feet. The blush disappeared from her cheeks and she looked the boy in the eyes. "You recovered? You're all better?"
This time it was Lee who was surprised. He stared at Naruto in confusion.
Naruto in turn grabbed Lee's hands in her own. "This is great! So the surgery went well? Are you ready for missions?"
"Gai sensei said that I…" Lee stopped. "Do we know each other?"
"I'm Naruto!" Naruto declared.
"What?" Lee replied. The boy deflated almost instantly. "But that means… that means project 'compliment Sakura's friends' is a failure."
"Project 'compliment Sakura's friends'? What the hell is that?" The jinchuuriki asked.
Lee smirked. "Through Gai sensei's teachings I've learned how I can capture Sakura's heart. Soon neither you nor Sasuke can steal the fair Sakura away from me." He clenched a fist. "Our love is all but ensured."
"So." Naruto started arms crossed over her chest. "You're going to win Sakura's heart over by trying to seduce her friends? Somehow I'm not too worried bushy-brows."
"Seduce!? I would never seduce another woman. I love Sakura and only Sakura." Lee explained.
"It sounded a lot like you were trying to seduce me. It was a little creepy to be honest." The blonde shook her head. "If you think this is going to work, you've got another thing coming.."
"I was just complimenting you with all the power of youth! Full hearted praise with all the power I could muster. A compliment should always be given with all the force of a hurricane." Lee gave Naruto a thumb up and a wide smile. His smile faded though and he looked Naruto over again. "But I'm confused Naruto. Why are you dressed like this?"
Naruto looked down at her clothes. "How did it turn out like this?" She asked herself.
"Could it be a special mission?" Lee asked excited, his eyes aflame.
"No." Naruto replied. "I decided to go shopping with Sakura. The two of us will probably spend the entire day together."
"That isn't fair." Lee stated. "You're using this situation to your advantage. That is so devious."
Naruto laughed as she pushed her chest out. "Everything is going according to the plan of the great Uzumaki Naruto. This is like a date."
"I don't think Sakura is interested in girls though." Lee responded thoughtfully.
"I'm not a girl. This is only temporary." Naruto objected arms flailing.
"Yes, of course. I'm sorry Naruto." Lee said bowing his head. "I wasn't thinking straight."
Naruto could tell that Lee was just being polite. Changing her clothing had defiantly been a bad idea. If she went around like this more and more people would start thinking of her like a girl. But Sakura had put a lot of effort into getting her something nice. If she were to never wear any of the clothes she'd probably be disappointed or angry.
She'd just have to figure out what to do about the situation later. "At least the surgery went well." Naruto said, trying to change the topic.
"Should you really be glad that one of your rivals has recovered?"
Naruto smiled back. "We're not only rivals. We're friends too. Of course I'm glad you've recovered."
The two exchanged smiles.
Sakura returned she was carrying a mountain of clothes in her arms. "Oh. Lee!" She declared. The pink haired girl promptly dumped the clothes on Naruto. "You're already walking without your crutches?" She asked.
Naruto tried her best to balance the pile of clothes.
"It really isn't easy to pick out clothes by yourself." Sakura said again.
"Allow me to assist you Sakura!" Lee shouted, standing at the ready.
Sakura and Naruto both looked at Lee who was sporting his usual green spandex attire. "No thanks." The two girls replied in unison.
"Naruto. Go try on the rest of these clothes. I don't want to be here all day." Sakura instructed Naruto.
The blonde did as she was instructed; she tried on the different clothes that Sakura had picked out for her. Each outfit was scrutinized by Sakura. Lee reacted in his usual hot-blooded fashion. He made it sound like Sakura was a herald of fashion. Though embarrassing at first, Naruto had to admit she kind of liked all the attention she was getting.
When sporting a summer dress, probably the most girly thing she had worn yet, she exited her changing booth to find that Ino and Tenten had joined Sakura and Lee.
"You go girl." Tenten declared with a bright smile.
"Are you trying to make her look like an old woman?" Ino asked Sakura.
"It's a cute dress. Don't butt in Ino pig." Sakura replied.
Naruto struck a combat pose, trying to appear as masculine as he possibly could in this horrifically embarrassing situation.
"What is with that pose?" Ino asked unimpressed.
"Even now Naruto's warrior spirit is burning brightly." Lee explained clenching both of his fists tightly.
"That's right!" Naruto agreed.
"I liked it better when you were all flustered." Tenten cut in. "That was adorable."
Naruto closed her eyes. She wasn't going to win this. Girls were dangerous in situations like these. The following two hours Naruto put on a show for the group of young ninja. At first she was reluctant, but eventually she got used to the idea that Tenten and Ino were there too.
It was the end of the day, the sun was setting. Naruto was spent. The five of them had spent the entire day together. After leaving the shop they had had dinner together. Lee ended up paying the bill, he had insisted. After dinner Tenten, Ino and Lee had gone their separate ways. Naruto was left with Sakura. Naruto was wearing the first outfit Sakura had selected for her, the orange and black jacket with the black skirt.
"You should wear it tomorrow." Sakura said, she was proud of her work. Even Ino had appeared to approve of this outfit. And she had been a tough critic.
"I don't know. I think the skirt is… it's too much for me." Naruto said, fidgeting a little.
Sakura appeared disappointed but after a moment she nodded. "Fine. In the end you should do what you feel comfortable with. Just wear the pants we bought instead of your old ones."
Naruto nodded once in response. They had also gotten an outfit that almost looked exactly like her boy clothes had. Only this outfit was made to fit her new figure. She'd probably stick to wearing that for now. She didn't think she was ready to face Sasuke and Kakashi while wearing girl clothes.
"Right. I'll see you tomorrow Sakura-chan. Thanks for spending the day with me." Naruto said with a smile.
"I actually had a lot of fun." Sakura had to admit. "Maybe we should-" Sakura stopped and suddenly a bright smile spread across her face. "Sasuke!" She shouted in delighted.
Naruto's eyes widened and she froze on the spot. 'No. This couldn't be. Out of all the people they could meet out here, why did it have to be that raven haired jerk?'
Sasuke's cold eyes were on Sakura a moment, but soon they were directed at Naruto's back. "Hmpf."
"Did you come looking for us?" Sakura asked barely able to contain her excitement.
"Kakashi insisted." Sasuke replied. "He wanted me to pass a message onto you."
Naruto was still frozen in place, she didn't dare turn around, maybe he wouldn't notice if she stayed still.
"What's the message?" Sakura asked sweetly.
"Simply that we are to meet at the lake tomorrow." Sasuke told Sakura, afterwards he eyed Naruto. He started towards her in a slow walk, a small smile starting to play on his lips.
Sakura looked on in confusion. "Oh. Ok." She muttered.
'This was bad. This was really really bad. Maybe she should run? No that would make it even worse. She had to do something. She just didn't want to face him like this.'
But it was too late, Sasuke had walked passed her and with a sidelong glance he got a look of her. For a moment their eyes locked. She could see the disdain in his eyes. "This doesn't change anything between us." Naruto managed. Sasuke held her gaze a moment longer before in a flash he disappeared.
Sakura looked on in the direction Sasuke had disappeared.
Naruto in turn sank down to her knees. "I'm still the same Uzumaki Naruto." She whispered to herself. "I haven't changed." She continued louder. "I'm Uzumak Naruto! BELIEVE IT!" She shouted as she pushed back to her feet.