tampered | log; ongoing

Current Mood: busy

log; ongoing

When; RIGHT NOW.
Rating; ...PG? NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN, GOD.
Characters; Ino Yamanaka [

boobsorgtfo] and Yuri Lowell [

notflynn]
Summary; A date! Sort of. But not really. More of an edudate.
Log;

Ino was still a little peeved with Yuri. Not only did he totally ignore all the hard work she'd put into Estelle, but then he turned around and flirted right back at her. Ino. Not Estelle. And now Ino couldn't figure out if he was oblivious or stubborn or both. Or maybe just retarded. Her money was going on retarded.

Which was why she decided to take things into her own hands. Besides applying all her makeover skills on Estelle.

Ino was going to un-retard Yuri.

And the most important step was happening right now, as she knocked on the door to his apartment, dressed to the nines and ready to beat everything she could into his thick, thick skull. If she could deal with Shikamaru for sixteen years, then she damn well could handle Yuri.

"Yuri, it's me! Open up!" Did he have roommates? Oh well.

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Yuri had been lounging in the master bedroom (also known as the living room) and clicking around the network, a daily routine that now filled his every spare moment. The shriek just beyond his door was startling, unexpected, and familiar. It wasn't everyday he got a visit from the Great Ino.

He got to his feet and, stepping over the piles of blankets and pillows on the floor, made his way to open the door. "Uh..."

It was an appropriate greeting in Yuri-land.

"What're you doing here?"

"Yuri!" She sounded a lot happier now that he was following her orders, flashing him a wide, if devious smile and putting a hand on her hip. Unlike the other times she'd hung out with him, she'd dressed up for this occasion, with a nice, slinky dress and meticulously applied makeup; she'd found that she got her way a lot more easily like this.

"We're going on a date, of course," she explained loftily, flipping the end of her ponytail over her shoulder. "And before you get any bright ideas, it's a practice date."

Let him try to figure that one out.

Yuri crossed his arms and gave her A Look. Though he appreciated the eye-candy (as he always does), he still did not understand what she wanted from him. Practice date? Yuri Lowell did not need practice dates. Or dates at all. "As excited as I am, Ino, you sure you don't have me mixed up with someone else?"

In comparison to his glamorous friend, Yuri was dressed like a hobo, random clothes he'd found for good prices at the thrift shop. They looked good on him regardless, of course. Because he's Yuri Lowell.

Completely unaffected by his Look, Ino rolled her eyes and pushed past him, her high heels clicking on the floor as she strode into his apartment like she owned the place. Which she kind of did. Or owned him, because hello, hot girl asking him on a date? He should be falling at her perfectly pedicured feet.

But he wasn't. Obviously, she was right with the retard theory.

"God, why do I always have to explain everything?" she sighed, turning her gaze heavenward, as if praying for patience. There was a mirror there, near the front door, so she stopped in front of it, leaning forward to check her hair and makeup one last time.

"You have a serious problem, you know," she informed him, now smoothing down her flyaway hair. "I mean, I go to all this trouble making sure Estelle looks really cute in her swimsuit, and what do you do? Nothing. I mean, seriously." Her self-inspection done, she rounded on him.

"Obviously, you're retarded. So I'm going to help you out."

Man, thus just reminded him of Flynn calling him a fool at least once a day for anything at all, though he'd never been reprimanded about girls before. Did she want him to be more like Raven, the old pervert man? Ugh, no thanks. He'd always been content to just looking. "Didn't know I was supposed to do much of anything besides teach her how to swim."

Was she... primping in their mirror? The language and mannerisms of women would always be a mystery to Yuri. It never really occurred to him that he had to openly flatter Estelle in her swimsuit, either, though it certainly would have been fun to see her fluster.

"Help me out... with a practice date." He hoped that meant a nice candlelit dinner in their kitchen. Hey, he'd even offer to cook. That had to count for something. "I assume I don't have a choice in the matter."

Oblivious and retarded. Great. Did he not notice how Estelle was pretty much head over heels for him? It wasn't like the girl wasn't cute or pretty or anything, though she probably could stand to be a little less shy. Still, Ino barely knew her, and even she could tell that Estelle had a thing for Yuri.

"Of course you didn't know," she scoffed, rolling her eyes again. The urge to make things easy and simply tell him that Estelle wanted his bod or whatever was very, very tempting, but that would make things way less fun, wouldn't it? And like, betray Estelle's trust. Or whatever.

"So you finally caught on." Here she flashed him a serene smile, glad that she didn't have to beat him over the head or something. Because he was definitely right about not having a choice. "Now get changed. Let's go."

Wait. What?

"Go where? You mean you're actually dragging me somewhere?" There goes his plans of a nice, relaxing evening in the apartment. That meant he had to bring money, too. And dress somewhat nice.

Or not. He only had a few casual outfits and his one favorite set of clothes from home, nothing nearly as nice as what Ino had on. He hoped that didn't mean a shopping trip along with the practice date.

"Duh," she scoffed, crossing her arms and sending him a rather pointed look. That said move your ass because I don't got all day. "Going out on a date implies, like, actually going out, you know. I have to teach you how to do this right."

Secure in the fact that he would listen to her--because who wouldn't listen to her, seriously? This was all for his own good, anyway--she turned, sauntered over to the closest piece of furniture, and sat down quite primly. Waiting. For him. Just. Waiting.

Because obviously, he would be stupid not to listen. Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "Oh, and bring your wallet, too."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." With a sigh and handwave, Yuri shuffled into a corner where his clothes sat neatly in a tilting pile. He grabbed what he needed and made his way to the bathroom. Couldn't change in front a lady, right?

After a short moment, wallet in hand, he sauntered toward Ino, giving what was supposed to be a respectable bow.

"This good enough for you?" He chuckled. "Well, lead the way."

Good. That wasn't even very hard. Maybe Yuri wasn't quite as hopeless as she'd thought before--

But he was still pretty hopeless.

"That's just your normal clothes," she complained, but hopped up anyway, ready to go. It would be kind of pointless to begrudge him a decent wardrobe, since she hadn't actually given him warning. But still. What kind of guy didn't carry around a decent dress shirt with him? He was definitely getting an F on this one.

"We'll work on it later," she said, sliding her hand into the crook of his arm and tugging him along. "But first, you have to get me flowers. Oh, and compliment me."

Ino was just full of surprises, wasn't she?

"Don't tell me you're going to do this all night." He looks down to give her a perplexed stare. Did he really have to do all that? Couldn't they just go somewhere to eat and get it over with?

For a brief second, he pondered bringing his sword. Ah, but the Great Ino probably wouldn't allow it. Bummer. How did he end up in this situation, again?

"This is a date, Yuri," she said, exasperated, as if talking to a small child or someone mentally incompetent. Which she was. "And the whole point of a date is to get the girl to actually like you, so you have to make her happy. That means presents."

As she was explaining, she dragged him down to the street, towards the closest florist. She knew each and every one in the City, and while none of them would ever be as good as the shop her family owned, at least this one would pass. At first, she'd planned to let him loose and watch him sink or swim, but she found herself quickly modifying her plans; who knew what he would pick out?

"Your best bet is a rose. Not yellow or white, ew. Pink or red, definitely." Her sage advice dispatched, she paused, tilting her head thoughtfully. "And tell me I'm pretty."

Yuri was torn between actually complying and questioning everything. Why buy a rose when he could just pick them? Didn't she already know she was pretty? This made no sense.

"Shouldn't the girl already like me if we're going on a date?" As her student, he, of course, allowed her to lead him wherever she pleased. Again, he didn't really have a choice. He refused to do anything until his questions were answered.

...Oh. Ino mentioned Estelle- did that mean she was preparing him for a date with Estelle? That didn't make even more sense. He hadn't planned any dates at all. "What about something a little cheaper? Men aren't made of money, you know."

God, he really didn't get this, did he? For all that he bragged about practice, Ino had to wonder what kind of practice he'd actually been talking about, because it couldn't possibly be with women. It was basic stuff. Tell her that she was beautiful, pay for as much as you could, be all strong and manly and confident and never ask stupid questions.

"Even if she does, by some miracle or something, that doesn't mean you can just give up!" she insisted, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, heedless of the crowd around them, hands on her hips. "Seriously, Yuri, you have to at least tell her she looks nice tonight or something!" If her voice was starting to turn shrill, it wasn't because she was still bitter over his non-reaction to Estelle.

No, it was.

"God, I'm working with an idiot." Grumbling, she continued on her way, back to pulling him along behind her like an anchor. "They're made of money for the first date, that's for sure. Seriously, one rose isn't going to break the bank."

She shoved him at the florist's door.

Yuri sighed. Was Ino always like this? He really felt sorry for that teammate of hers, now. Having to be Ino's slave all the time must really suck. Though she did remind him a little of Rita with her persistence and general attitude. Maybe a combination of Judith and Rita, taking Ino's appearance into account. Wow, he missed his friends.

"All right, all right!" He waved his hand in surrender as he nearly stumbled into the building. She was way stronger than she looked. "You look great tonight, Ino, as usual."

So...flowers. Yeah, he didn't know a single thing about them. They looked nice, and girls apparently liked them?

Edited 2009-07-05 23:53 (UTC)

"Better," she pronounced, glowing under the praise in spite of herself. Even though she'd bullied it out of him, a compliment was still a compliment, and Ino would take what she could get.

Now if only he'd done this with Estelle. "Keep it up. Girls never get tired of compliments."

She waited as he stared at the flowers. And waited. Arms crosses, toes tapping an impatient staccato on the floor. God, he was so hopeless. It was really quite fortunate that he had a friend like her, who was watching out for him and willing to put in all this time to help. If it wasn't for her, he'd never get laid or something. Looks only went so far.

"Rose," she prompted flatly, rolling her eyes.

"Isn't that a little overkill?" Wasn't one enough? Geez. He was starting to get the feeling that he'd never understand women. It was his own personal view that girls should be confident enough not to need compliments. But then again, Yuri Lowell is a stupid boy.

He glanced around the store and spotted a colorful array of roses. Red and pink, she said. With a sigh he picks one - pink, just like Estelle. Huh, he should probably get one for her and Nia, too. So he picks two more from the bin without a second thought.

"This good enough?" A smile, because he was actually a little amused.

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