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"Shut up..."
"What did you say?"
"Shut up, Ino."
At Yamanaka's Flowershop, the kunoichi and village girl simultaneously stopped painting. The banner blended hues of pink to fade into a pastel green with blossomed sakuras. Their design for the storefront was nearly complete, and they were transferring the finished product onto exquisite silk cloth.
Naruto, who had waved across the street and triggered this confrontation, was making his way into the shop to meet up with Adohira.
"Ew, why's he waving over here?" Ino rolled her eyes and dipped her brush into pink paint. There were several cups of different colored dyes around them. Her knees were tucked under her, as she sat across Adohira. Her pale fingertips had dried coats of magenta.
Adohira stopped painting the characters of the flower shop's name and lowered the brush. The black paint from the bristles dripped onto her newspapers shielding the floor.
"Are you talking about Naruto?"
"Who else? See, he looks so creepy waving over here... Oh, wait. Don't tell me. He's not waving at you, is he?"
Ino raised a brow, and the devilish mean-girl attitude came to her. It was something she hadn't entirely grown out of, after all.
"Say, why'd you leave with Naruto yesterday, anyway, hmm? Out of all the boys in the village, why that annoying loser? You're a pretty girl, you could do way better."
"Shut up..."
Ino furrowed a brow. She almost didn't believe it, but nope, she'd heard correctly. Her quick temper kicked in. "What did you say?"
"Shut up, Ino. You don't know Naruto. You're... you're just..."
She jerked her paintbrush with black ink all over the banner, ruining it with a chaotic void and scribbles.
"You're just like everyone else!"
"HEY!" Ino saw red. The promotional banner for the shop she hired Adohira to do was now unsalvageable.
Shit, shit, shit. Pissed off kunoichi. Adohira abandoned all the paint supplies and hightailed it toward the exit. At that moment, the doorbell chimed, and Naruto walked into the shop with a happy-go-lucky smile and hand in the air.
"Hey, guys~! How's the banner going?!"
"Mind destruction jutsu!"
Adohira stared into the empty box of Ino's hand symbol. Her face went blank, and she toppled over, nearly landing on her face.
Naruto jumped a foot in the air. "CHRIST! Why'd you do that for, Ino?!"
He grabbed her just in time. She folded like a rag on his arm.
