Disclaimer: I do not own Nartuo, Masashi Kishimoto does.
In the shadows, Sakura wanted to pump her fist in the air in triumph. Operation Get Shino and Kumo Together was going well. Shino had the world's most unromantic way of asking her out, but he did so. The next step: She would work on Kumo, and sic Kiba on his teammate. She headed for the Inuzuka compound.
Knock. Knock. "What is it Sakura?" Kiba asked, puzzled.
"I need your help, or rather, Shino does."
"Why does Shino need help?" Kiba grinned. "Besides the obvious. He needs to learn to loosen up."
"That's exactly it. He asked a girl out."
Kiba choked, eyes wide in shock. "SHINO?"
Sakura thumped him on the back until he could breathe again. "Yeah, albeit in the most unromantic way possible. But he'll screw it up without our help."
Kiba gestured for the pink haired girl to come in. "Yeah, he's going to need a lot of help."
With that, the two began their plotting.
Sakura practically pounced on the unsuspecting girl. "I heard you have a date tomorrow."
"Of course you know. You're the one who knocked me into him." Kumo retorted.
"Yes, but now you have a date with the guy you like, so we're even. Speaking of your date, what are you going to wear?"
"Wear?"
"You weren't planning on going naked, were you?"
"No!"
"Well, then what are you going to wear?"
"Uh, clothes."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "What kind?"
"Uh…."
"Come on. Hinata and I are going to help you." With that, she hauled the other girl in the direction of the Hyuuga compound.
Meanwhile, Kiba hunted down Shino. "I heard you have a hot date tomorrow." Kiba grinned.
"…"
"You know, you'll screw it up with her if you act as robotic as you normally do."
His teammate still didn't reply.
Kiba decided to switch tactics. Direct questions were harder to avoid. "What are you going to wear?"
"Clothes."
"Where are you taking her?"
"To dinner."
"Where?"
"At a restaurant." Kiba was getting frustrated.
"Which one?"
"I don't know."
Finally, something he could work with. "How about Ming's Garden? It is nice, but not too pricey." Kiba suggested.
"Hmm."
"Now back to what you are going to wear. What sort of clothes are you planning to wear?"
"I have not decided yet."
"You might want to try something without a hood, and maybe ditch the shades."
"She does find them to be creepy."
"They are." Kiba agreed. "So ditch them for the date."
"Possibly." Kiba sighed. Preparing Shino for a date was a task beyond any mere mortal, he decided.
At a nearby clothing store the girls were having an argument. Kumo absolutely refused to wear a dress. Or a skirt. They had been arguing for ten minutes, and Kumo could tell that she had just about won from the expressions on their faces. "No." she repeated.
Sakura sighed. "Then I guess we just have to find a very feminine pair of pants and a blouse." She conceded. "Because you will absolutely not be wearing that on your date."
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
"You dress like a boy."
"These clothes are comfortable, and work well for training."
"Well on a date, you're trying to impress the guy, so no ninja pants or vests."
"But…"
"No." This time it was Kumo's turn to give in while Hinata giggled.
They had been looking at clothes for hours with little success, and Kumo was getting fed up. For a little while she had tried amusing herself with tiny partial transformations, but Sakura had berated her, scolding that some civilian was going to notice her eyes changing color, throw a fit, and get them kicked out of the store. Kumo thought that would be a blessing in disguise, but simply sighed and stared off over her friend's head. What is that behind her? Kumo ducked around her friend who was still talking. She drew out a hanger and looked at the shirt hanging on it. She hadn't liked anything that her friends had tried, but she might consider wearing this one. The material was silky and a burnt orange color with a spider web pattern twisting around the hem, collar and sleeves in gold thread. A spider's web seemed fitting, considering the name she had chosen for herself. She suddenly realized that Sakura had stopped talking and was looking at her and the shirt. "Hinata." She called softly.
"Ooh. I like it." The shy girl agreed.
"Try it on." Sakura encouraged.
Kumo needed little encouragement. She slipped into the shirt and almost sighed at the feel. It was so soft and smooth. Then she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and stopped. The v neck wasn't deep, it was pretty modest compared to what she had seen many girls wearing on dates, and it wasn't skin tight, but it lightly skimmed the curves that she had done a pretty good job of hiding so far, and she felt vulnerable. I've never worn anything like this before. I've never had clothes for anything but training. Hesitantly, she crept out of the dressing room towards the voices of her impatient friends.
Sakura clapped her hands at the sight. "You look amazing!"
"I-it does look good on you, Kumo-kun."
Kumo just looked at her bare feet. "I, I've just never worn anything like this before."
"Well you look great, and if Shino has even one hormone, he'll notice."
"You think he would notice me like that?"
"I'm sure he will." Sakura quickly assured her. He'd better not break her heart! Inner Sakura yelled. I'll beat him to a pulp if he does! "Now we just have to find you some dress pants, shoes and jewelry. Then we can do your hair and makeup and you'll be ready for your date."
"All that?"
"Yep. So get moving."
Back at the Aburame compound Shino was hiding in the garden when his father discovered him. "What are you doing here?"
"Avoiding fan girls." And Kiba. He added silently.
Shibi raised an eyebrow a hair. "Why are they particularly insistent today?"
A direct question from his father he couldn't just avoid. "I invited Kumo to eat with me, and it appears that they found out."
"A date?" Shibi's eyebrow rose slightly again.
"You could call it that."
Shino was holding his breath, expecting another date lecture like the one he had just escaped from Kiba. But to his relief, his father merely put a hand on his shoulder and said quietly. "Don't screw it up."