The mall? Uhm... sorry, try again. [Ino/Closed]

[Kaboyashi Yumi]

Shopping. To most people it was just a pain-in-the-ass errand, that killed valuable time. But to a certain blonde-haired, high-school student named Yumi it was an art. And everyone knew that performing any sort of art involved skill, and knowledge. To Yumi there were three key things to keep in mind when shopping. One. Never shop by monitering price-- worrying about expenses were parent's jobs. Two. Always remember to bring cash and credit, just in case. Three. The most important rule of all; never, never, EVER, step foot in a mall.

Boutiques were just the more trendy and classier place to shop. In a city like Tokyo, not going to the mall didn't affect the shopper's experience since there were many boutiques anyhow. So that leaves us with the question of what the hell Yumi, the enforcer of the anti-mall movement, was doing standing in the front entrance of the mall.

Yumi pulled her knit-hat further down to cover her forehead. Her Chanel sunglasses shifted down with the movement of her hat. She was dressed in her usual expensive manner, yet fully covered. She was wearing a J-Crew trench-coat, last season's sheep-skin knee-length boots and dark jeans tucked into them. She looked more like she was dressed for winter, rather than the start of spring. In any case, Yumi was satified with her outfit and hoping that no one would recognize her. Even if all of her friends wouldn't be caught dead in a mall, anyway.

The only reason she was at the mall was to meet her father's friend's daughter. Her father informed her that they were almost the same age, and would get along nicely, while the girl stayed at her house for the weekend. Why her father had the nerve to set-up a meeting at the mall, instead of inviting her to just drive over to her house or at a cafe or something was beyond her. Yumi knew that it wouldn't be wise to rant on how wrong this all was, because of her father's obvious bad mood for that day. Some kind of stock-market recession, or something. Who really pays attentions to details anyway?

Yumi glanced at the digital time on her cell-phone. She'd been here for almost half an hour. What was taking this chick so long? Yumi thought for a minute. She didn't even remember what her name was. Great. This was just great.

[Yamanaka Ino]

"What?!" Ino's shriek was heard, most likely five-miles away.
"That's right," her father said, smiling?! How could he be smiling when his daughter was in so much distress?!
"But dad! You didn't say anyth-"
"Ino--just get ready and we'll leave."

She pouted, throwing her fists in the air. If he weren't her own father, she probably would have thrown him across the room. *How could he do this to me? It's not bad enough that I have to meet the girl at the junkiest mall in Tokyo, but I'm not dressed, and we're supposed to be there in TWENTY MINUTES?! No. I'll just be fashionably late. No sweat."

She looked around her room. The first things that caught her eye--the closet and mirror. She would desperately need both of them if she was going to get ready so quickly. She felt like screaming when she saw that most of her designer clothes were not there. She quickly ran to her dresser, where a little pink post-it was stuck onto her mirror.

-Ino-
Sorry I didn't tell you. I decided to wash clothes. Most of those designer clothes needed a good washing. You'll just have to do with jeans and a sweater. Bundle up--even if it's Spring, it feels like Winter.
-With Love,
Mom-

Ino angrily ripped her drawers of jeans open. She had about two drawers full--about fifteen pairs per drawer. She was only slightly relieved when she saw that her South Pole Jeans weren't in the washer as well. They were her best pair, and if they weren't there--she would have hit Rock Bottom. As if she wasn't close enough!

She waded through her vast closet, searching frantically for a nice top. Thankfully for her, one of her better looking shirts, more specifically, her Abercrombie Natalie Top, was there, ready to be worn. She slipped it over her head, tying the ribbon in the front. She pulled a blue-beaded bracelet out of her over-sized jewelery box. She styled her hair, threw on some lip gloss, and she was ready.

"Ready!" She said happily, as she walked down the stairs. She looked around. Both her parents shot her a chilled glare. She thought for a minute, "What's wrong?" she asked, a bit worried.

"We're already about fifteen minutes late," her father said a bit impatiently.

Ino shrugged. "Fashionably late," she said with a smile and a wink. Heading out to the care, they all began to drive. She tapped her purple, glittery nails against the window. After about ten more minutes, they had successfully parked in the mall's ghetto little parking lot. She rolled her eyes as she saw the stupid little stores. *Save-A-Lot?! Damn! Ghetto Mall!*she thought angrily as they continued to walk. Her perfect blond hair, pulled into the perfect pony-tale. She smiled, begining to strut through the hallways of the ghetto mall. For just wearing jeans, a top, and her perfect hair, she looked pretty good.

Soon, her father stopped, begining to wave. She saw another man there, with a....? WAS that a girl? She could barely tell, considering that she was wearing such an outfit! It made Ino want to gag! What kind of freak wears last-seasons.....everything?! God!

Walking closer and closer to the alternate family, Ino stared at the girl coldly. She shook her head, scanning her outfit. She worked at a fashion store, damn it! She couldn't help but to be a bit spastic about...THAT. Their fathers had come to look at eachother eye-to-eye. The girls, however....not so much. Her father smiled at the other girl, then said to the both of them,
"Why don't you two get to know eachother while we chat? Keep your cellphones on!"

Firstly, when DIDN'T she keep her cellphone on? She would have to be a total freak not to keep her cell on! Still flustered by the girl's outfit, she looked at her father, trying to find a command to talk to her, but all that she saw--their fathers walking away!

As she turned back from her stare at the two men to the girl, her glare as cold as ice. She couldn't contain her icy rage. "Okay," she said sharply, "What the hell are you wearing?"

[Kaboyashi Yumi]

With a gust of wind, a blonde-haired girl raged into the mall furiously. Yumi thingyed her eyebrow, as she grew nearer to her. "Probably that chick dad was talking about," she figured, straightening herself. Her father smiled as a man sporting the same golden hair as the girl entered the mall. Her father stood up and milled a little with her father as Ino approached Yumi. Yumi nearly yelled at her as she noticed her expression was gawking.

"What the hell are you wearing?"

"Excuse me?!" Yumi screamed. Her hands were clenched into a fist, as she refrained herself from lunging at the string-haired pregnant dog. Who the hell was she tell her something was wrong with her outfit?! Little upclass townie wannabe.... for God's sake she worked in a flower shop in downtown Konoha! By now, Yumi's face was red with fury, and she glanced at her father talking peacefully with Ino's father like they were both used to their fighting.

"I don't know what the hell your problem is," Yumi began. "But when I meet a person I usually introduce myself-- not make some ignorant comment like you just did!" Yumi knew she was just ranting now, but crap, at least have some manners! Yumi re-collected herself and stuxk out her hand. "Yumi." She pulled away quickly, and stole another glance at Ino.

Yumi crossed her arms over her chest, and turned to look a stall with a man selling Dead Sea Salt. The man seemed no older than 26, and he was dressed in a striped polo, and jeans. With every passer-by he gestured and convinced for them to at least sample his product, but most people walked away or simply gave a "No." The products looked nice to Yumi. On the stall there were bottles of different-scented lotions, manicure-items, and little jars of salt. Yumi would have ditched Ino had that not have been rude manner. Someone has to be the better person.

Yumi's gaze flickered back to Ino, and she began to walk away. When she saw that Ino was not following behind her. She said, "Seriously, are you going to just stand around in the mall or leave before someone sees you?" She turned her back to her before she answer and walked briskly away into the mall-corriuer. Yumi felt the edge of her purse to make sure her cell-phone was still there. She waited a few minutes for Ino, then lead her to her car.

"Well? Get in." Yumi was bored as hell, and if she had to spend the day with this pregnant dog, she was at least going to find some fun of it. Yumi dug into her purse and searched around for her keys, and jammed the key into the ignition. The circle around the hole lit up, and she put the car into reverse. She backed the car out of the parking-space and pulled away out of the lot. Yumi hit the heating, and blasted the stereo.

Playing on the radio she recognized an old track from the movie "Fast and Furious." Yumi resisted the impulse to sing along to the song-- I wonder if you know how they live in Tokyo-- Fast and Furious!-- Drift, drift, drift!-- her mouth moved with the words despite her wishes.

And she actually really didn't give a damn to whether or not Ino minded the song.

Yumi was driving along the crowded street, she said in a voice that could barely be audible over the blasting music, "Where to?"
Like with the song situation, she did not care whatsoever where Ino wanted to go, either. She was at least hoping she had a better taste in shops than clothing.

[Yamanaka Ino]

Ah, the fight. Ino was expecting this. She too lowered her eyebrows, making them point towards eachother in anger, and clenched her fist. She leaned forward, ready to lash the girl with as many words as she threw at her.

So, okay. Ino was not a rich girl. Her father owned a flower shop. It wasn't like she was living as a millionaire. However, she could afford to buy herself designer this or that every once in a while. She earned her own "wages" at both the flower shop and at her part time job in the Fashion Shop. The Fashion Shop was in a mall--but not this one. This mall was full of crappy clothes, emo crack-shops, and probably more than one shady corner of freaked out guys with trench coats going up to you saying, 'Hey girlie! Wanna buy a watch? A watch, girlie? My watches are nice. Real nice.' Ino shook her head. Those guys always reminded her of that bug-obsessed guy from her class...Shino. That was his name. Shino. She didn't care for the guy, but she didn't totally despise him either, like she despised this girl already.

After the girl finally finished gnawing her ear off with her pointless babbling, she finally introduced herself.

"Yumi."

She shrugged mentally. If she was going to cough out her name, Ino would as well. They probably hated eachother equally, anyway. Why would she care if the girl knew her name? Just another way she could adore her.

"Ino," she said with a flip of her golden locks.

She reached inside her purse, pulling out her pocket mirror. Smiling into the glass that showed her one of the prettiest things in that ghetto mall--herself. She smiled brightly, her pearl white teeth shimmering like light. She then sighed, wondering why this mall could be more beautiful. More trendy. Smarter. Just like...just like...well, her. She closed the mirror's pale pink lid that just snapped easily on top of it. She slid it gently back into her purse, not even looking down.

As she looked back up, her aqua eyes met with a different pair of icy blue eyes that belonged to her new enemy. As her eyes, (not to mention the rest of her), began to fill with rage, the girl said,

"Seriously, are you going to just stand around in the mall or leave before someone sees you?"

She actually had a point.

But who would see her? Most people would have enough sense to keep away from there. Then it hit her--someone like that Shino kid, or maybe Naruto (Save-a-Lot? Sounds like that idiot,) would be there and see her. Then, when they saw her, they would tell their friends, who probably knew her as well. Then their friends would tell their friends and their friends would tell their friends, etcetera etcetera, etcetera! Somehow, she would live to regret it. For once, she admitted, inwardly of course, that her enemy was correct.

Soon, she was following Yumi to her car. It was pretty nice...she supposed. That was right! Ino remembered her father saying something like...um...well, she wasn't really paying attention to her father at the moment, but she remembered the word 'age' coming up here or there. Yumi must have been a year older than her--just old enough to get her driver's license.

"Well? Get in."

Ino couldn't stand the tone of her voice. Yet, although she would give anything to tell her just to drop her off at home, she figured that her father would throw a fit. She just shrugged, opening the handle of the car door, placing herself in the passenger-side front seat, and then closing the door. Well, at least they were out of that d*mned mall.

Music. Yumi had turned on the car radio. Ino's eyes widened a bit. I wonder if you know how they live in Tokyo-- Fast and Furious!-- Drift, drift, drift!-- Those lyrics! That voice! It was...that song. That song from the movie, "Fast and Furious." She bit her lip, trying to hold back a spot of laughter. Ino actually liked this song, God knows why. She usually didn't care for that kind of music. But this song had an exception.

Over the music, Ino could hardly hear the other girl say,

"Where to?"

Ino sighed. Where to, indeed. There was the mall that contained the Fashion Shop. But there, they might ask her to take a shift. How embarrassing. It happened so often, too. Maybe the small cafe on the quieter side of town? No. What would they talk about for all that time? The theater? Ino loved the theater. Or Starbucks?! Starbucks was a secondary primary source of life, after all. Besides. Ino needed a cup of coffee more than anything right now. Maybe it would soothe her pounding head. And maybe--just maybe--they'd see...Sasuke-kun.

A smile curled into Ino's lips. She tried to speak kindly. That seemed to work a little better with this girl. The girl's personality seemed very familiar though... Ah, Ino had no idea where she'd heard of someone like that before.

"How about Starbucks?" she said in a tone that was questioning, yet decided. She was still restraining from giggling and mouthing the words, yet, she couldn't help but let out a small laugh, hopefully unheard by Yumi. There was a good chance that she was unheard, being that the music was blasting loud.