AN: Thanks to those of you who reviewed! I hope to get more on this chapter ^^ Please enjoy!
Again I do not own Naruto…*sniff sniff*
Sunlight poured down on Konoha while sparse clouds drifted across the light blue sky. It was a beautiful day to be outside, but three kunoichi in particular had locked themselves indoors. In Sakura Haruno's bedroom to be exact.
"Okay today we'll work on strengthening your confidence level. We can start with un-male related things. For example, the way you walk." Ino said from atop Sakura's bench by the window.
"What's wrong with the way she walks?" Sakura asked curiously.
"It's not strong enough." Ino stated matter-of-factly. "Not to be offensive Hinata, but you walk with your head down a lot, or clasp your hands together in front of you like you're nervous all the time. And even if you do feel nervous, you have to try not to show it. When you walk, stand up tall. Pretend a plank of wood is taped to your back and as part of your ninja training it must be perpendicular to the ground at all times. In short, head up, back straight, and shoulders back. Not hunched forward, but back."
Hinata's head swam with all of the instructions. "What do I do with my hands?"
"Let them hang loose at your sides. Just walk like you have a purpose. Try it." Ino commanded.
Hinata's eyes widened. "Right here?" She glanced at Sakura for help but the girl simply nodded her head.
Ino placed her hands on her hips. "Come on Hinata, it's just us two. How are we supposed to know if you can do it if you don't practice in front of us?"
Hinata nodded, straightening her posture to that of a brick wall and let her arms fall to her sides. She walked from the far side of the room to the other mechanically.
Ino shook her head. "No, no, no. You gotta loosen up a little. Loosen up your shoulders and neck; you look so stiff and tense. Just relax. No one is judging you or anything. You're simply walking."
"Try thinking of blissful thoughts, Hinata." Sakura suggested.
Hinata let out a sigh. "Right." Thinking of a perfect world in which her family didn't scorn her and Naruto loved her was nearly impossible. She was a realist after all, and none of these thoughts gave her confidence because she knew they weren't true. Instead, she became determined and wanted to show everyone that she could look strong, even if she wasn't actually the strongest kunoichi ever. At least, not yet. She reminded herself. One day she would be.
"Uh, Hinata," Sakura broke the girl out of her reverie. "Aren't you gonna demonstrate your walk again?"
Hinata laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry." She walked confidently from one side of the room to the other.
"Perfect!" Ino exclaimed. "Very natural; that's what I like to see. Now do it ten more times and after that, for the rest of your life! And let's see some smiles while you walk!"
Hinata sweat-dropped. "O-ok…"
"Wh-what is it? Why are you two staring at me like that?"
"Sakura, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ino turned to the girl in question, crossing her arms.
"That depends." Sakura answered as she grabbed her purse from atop her dresser. "If it involves shopping, then yes."
"Oh yes. More than shopping, but yes, shopping is definitely in the mix." Ino's eyes gleamed over with a mischievous look. Sakura quickly caught on and smirked. Both girls stared at Hinata with a hungry, fiery look in their eyes.
Hinata gulped, suddenly feeling way more uncomfortable than she was a few minutes ago. "U-um, would someone please tell me what is going on?"
Sakura laughed lightly, waving away Hinata's words. "Oh don't worry Hinata. By the time the day is over every boy in Konoha, especially Naruto, will be begging for you to take them!"
Hinata's brows furrowed in confusion and disappointment. But all I want is Naruto…
"Come on," Ino grabbed Hinata's wrist and yanked the girl off her feet. "We're going to make you even more beautiful!" She dragged the rag-doll like Hinata outside with Sakura at their heels.
"So tell me, why did we have to go to your hairdresser?" Sakura frowned while absentmindedly flipping through a magazine in the waiting room.
"Because my hairdresser is the best, duh!" Ino twirled her growing hair around her finger. "After I cut my hair with that kunai during the chunin exams, Mitsuki-chan worked her magic and evened it all out. She even gave me a volumizing leave-in conditioner as a complimentary gift. Now it looks even more beautiful than before, don't you think?" She flashed Sakura a cute glance.
Sakura's brow twitched in annoyance. "Whatever, it looks the same if you ask me." She muttered.
"Relax," Ino waved away Sakura's crossness. "Hinata's in good hands. Trust me."
"So, what do you think?"
"It looks amazing!" Ino exclaimed, spinning the heiress around in a circle in order to admire all the different angles of her hair.
Sakura sweat-dropped. It looks the exact same as before…She smiled warmly and nodded in agreement nonetheless.
"You-you really think so?" Hinata smiled shyly.
"Of course! Naruto's going to love it!" Sakura gave her a thumbs up. "Ok Ino, we got to go to your hair salon so we get to go to my favorite beauty salon next!"
Beauty salon? Hinata wondered. Why do I get the feeling this is only the beginning of playing dress up with these two?
"I'm doing your lips now, honey. Please don't talk. And please stop squirming." A rather robust woman with a pile of caked-on makeup held Hinata's face tightly with one hand while the other painted her lips a bright pink color. "Don't lick your lips honey, you don't want the gloss to smear." She chided.
"Um, no offense, Sakura-chan," Hinata said as quickly as she dared as soon as the woman had moved on to do her cheeks. "But is all of this really necessary?"
Sakura placed her hands on her hips. "Of course this is necessary! You do want him to notice you, don't you?"
"Oh, dearie you're doing this for that certain someone, hmm?" The makeup artist said suggestively. "Lucky for you I am an expert! We will have you looking so glamorous he won't be able to take his eyes off you! That'll win his heart for sure!"
But isn't personality just as important? Hinata suppressed a sigh. It felt like an eternity as she sat there, agonizing over the feeling of her face being prodded and plucked and painted all over. Her eyes kept watering, which only made matters worse because Mrs. Honey (as Hinata now liked to call her in her mind) had to keep reapplying the makeup that Hinata's tears washed away. Sakura had gone back to the waiting room to check on Ino, leaving Hinata in this foreign environment. The Hyuga was overcome with relief when Mrs. Honey finally exclaimed, "There we go, all done! What do you think, honey?" She held up a hand mirror so Hinata could see.
The Hyuga gasped. She looked…well, she did look amazing. Mrs. Honey left nothing out—the young girl was wearing foundation, blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara, and lipgloss, every shade the right color. The blush was a dusty rose color, giving her pale face some warmth, while her eyeshadow was a midnight blue, a lighter version of her hair color. Finally, her lipgloss was a playful light pink, showing that she was still a young girl despite the darker colored makeup she wore. I hardly even recognize myself; it's incredible how much this makeup accentuates my features. She breathed a "Thank you" while she continued to stare in awe at her reflection.
"Of course, honey. It was my pleasure. I even created a gift bag for you with each of the products that I used, and a makeup tutorial that will teach you how to apply it all." She beamed, feeling so proud of her hard work.
Hinata was taken aback but didn't forget her manners and bowed in gratitude. "That's very kind of you. Thank you very much."
Mrs. Honey smiled and helped Hinata out of her chair. "Now let's go show your friends how marvelous you look."
"Oh my—!" Sakura gasped while Ino's jaw dropped. They were both quick to recover though and started ooing and awing at Hinata's makeup.
"Hinata, you look absolutely beautiful!" Ino grinned at her. Hinata blushed, feeling a little self-conscious but also felt…happy more than anything.
"If you ever need any help applying your makeup let me know, ok?" Sakura smiled at her before turning to Mrs. Honey. "This one's on me, Onori-chan."
Ino watched Sakura walk away to pay before turning to Hinata. "Step two is all done now and step three is my favorite part! I've been looking forward to this all day!"
"What's step three?" Hinata asked, suddenly feeling nervous. She had a hunch and she could see this going either very good or very bad.
"Shoopppinnngg!" Ino chimed. "Sakura and I have picked out the perfect hot spots for clothes, haven't we?" She glanced behind her at the approaching kunoichi.
"Of course," She smiled warmly at Hinata. "Don't worry Hinata, we've got you covered."
"Well alright," Ino grabbed Hinata's wrist and dragged her out of the beauty store. "Let's go!"
"W-wait, I don't understand. Why do I need new clothes?" Hinata asked in confusion as Ino and Sakura both handed her various things to try on. The pile of clothes Hinata carried slowly turned into a small hill within a mere ten minutes.
"No offense Hinata, but we want to experiment a bit and get you into something that flatters your figure more." Ino explained.
"You're a pretty girl," Sakura added. "But you hide everything in that baggy jacket of yours."
Hinata felt her face flush. It's true that she felt self-conscious, and that's initially why she began wearing her vanilla jacket, but it had come to grow on her—she wore it all the time and it carried all of her emotional baggage; she felt safe wearing it. After all, it was a symbol of who she was! "But maybe this is right," She murmured to herself.
"Did you say something Hinata?" Sakura asked.
The girl shook her head. If I'm to undergo this transformation, then it only makes sense to get rid of the old me. And this jacket shoulders my heavy burdens, stifled tears, and broken confidence. Everything I used to be. If I am to get rid of this symbol of my struggles, then I must replace it with something worthy of showing off my true hardworking character!
However, Hinata's perfect outfit symbolizing her "newfound character" didn't exactly match up with what she had had in mind…
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! A thousand times, yes!" Ino exclaimed, clutching her hands to her chest in pure excitement. "Hinata, you have to get it! It's perfect on you!"
"Y-you're sure it's not too…" Hinata gulped, feeling extremely awkward. "Revealing?"
Ino scoffed. "Revealing? Are you kidding me, Hinata, you have to show some skin if you want to attract the opposite sex!"
Hinata frowned. Sakura quickly waved her hands in defense. "No, no, no, Hinata. What Ino means is you just need to show off your figure a bit more. You don't look bad or slutty or anything like that at all!"
"My family's very conservative," Hinata's brows furrowed with worry. "I'm not sure if they'll approve."
Ino smacked her face with her hand. Sakura let out a sigh. "Hina-chan, I honestly don't think it shows too much. Since this clothing isn't as big on you as what you were wearing, it does flatter your body more and will also help you move better on the battle field. Not to mention, the colors are perfect with your skin tone. In fact, we can even send it to a tailor and have them stitch on your family's crest. I think it's perfect for you."
Hinata looked at herself in the mirror once more. Sakura did have a point. The colors were perfect and the outfit was fairly similar to her old one. She currently wore a long-sleeved vanilla tunic with a hood attached and navy leggings underneath that just went past her knees. There was a long rectangle made out of fishnet in the center on the front, which is what had primarily concerned Hinata. But she could easily wear a black or navy tank top underneath the tunic so it wouldn't reveal anything. The border of the fishnet rectangle was purple as well as the edges of the cuffs, hood, and hemline. The tunic did have a zipper going down the middle and front pockets near her waist. It hugged her body well, showing off her curves.
"I'll take it."
"Yay!" Sakura and Ino cheered. "We'll each pay for one; after all, you'll need multiple in case any get damaged beyond repair during missions!"
Hinata smiled and looked herself over once more in the mirror. She looked like an entirely different person and she felt different, too. Though it was different in a good way; she only hoped Naruto would appreciate the change.
"Thank you!" The three finished paying for the outfits and walked outside.
"So, what's our next plan of action?" Hinata asked curiously. She had been certain that the girls would be eagerly babbling about what was next to come like they had all the other times but they were oddly silent.
"We find Naruto."
Hinata felt her heart skip a beat.
"Wait, are you sure she's ready for that, Sakura?" Ino whispered urgently. "I mean, we haven't even practiced flirting yet. Sure, she's past level zero and level one already but we need to fix more than just her looks…"
Sakura bit her lip, deep in thought. The three kunoichi had stopped walking right in the middle of the road, causing random pedestrians to go around them. Well this certainly is a predicament; there's so many ways we could go about this. But which way is the best…?
"We can't have you running into Naruto under any circumstances, Hinata!" Sakura's eyes blazed with determination. "Not yet, anyway."
"H-Hinata? Is that you?"
The three girls instantly froze, not daring to turn around. For once, all three girls were thinking the same thing: crap.
Cliff hanger anyone? :3 I hope you liked it! Please let me know if you did or what I could improve on if you thought it could be better! Sorry if it was slow; this chapter kind of sets things up for the next ones hehe. Thanks for reading~ Akiko