19: Do I Still Have a Chance?

"What kind of clothes would the two of you like to buy?"

The sales clerk stepped forward to welcome them warmly.

Tsunade looked Watanabe over for a moment, pondered what style of clothing would suit him, and murmured, "We'll buy a suit—the kind that looks calm and sophisticated."

Why are you looking at me? Am I the one buying clothes?

Watanabe stopped himself from speaking. He didn't have much money to begin with, and he didn't want to waste it on clothes; his two old sets at home were enough to wear.

Yet Tsunade had already brought him into the shop, and it was hard to refuse now.

"Very well, follow me, you two."

The clerk led them to the suit section, where rows of crisp, clean suits came into view. At first, Watanabe's eyes spun in confusion, but the moment he saw the price tags in the thousands and tens of thousands of ryo, his scalp went numb instantly.

Was this thing called a suit even meant for humans to wear?

He wouldn't be able to buy a single set even if he smashed his entire savings into it.

A subtle sense of insecurity bloomed in his heart, but Tsunade began picking through them with great enthusiasm, occasionally pulling off a piece to hold up against Watanabe's body and measure.

"What do you think of this one?"

Watanabe glanced at the tag—thirteen thousand ryo. Not bad, it looked practically criminal.

"It's all right, the color's a bit bright."

He forced himself to stay calm, treating himself like Tsunade's best friend as she dragged him out shopping for fun.

Anyway, there was no way they were going to buy clothes this expensive, and even if they did, he couldn't scrape together the money to pay for them.

"Then how about this one?" Tsunade continued browsing.

"The pattern's too flashy." Watanabe evaluated it with a professional air.

"What about this?"

"This one's not bad, actually."

"Good, go try this one on."

Watanabe: "..."

Ah?

Do I still have to try it?

Are you sure the boss won't beat us up for this?

Watanabe looked at the clerk, only to see an utterly indifferent expression on the other's face.

"Mhm, mhm."

Watanabe nodded with a guilty conscience, picked up the clothes, and walked into the fitting room.

Trying them on didn't cost anything, and girls were always like this when shopping; whenever they saw something pretty, they wanted to try it out.

Only, Watanabe felt that Tsunade would do well to break this particular bad habit.

Ignoring the five-figure price tag, Watanabe took off the old clothes that had been ripped to shreds by Inuzuka Kiba, put on the brand-new suit, and walked back out.

"How dashing!"

The clerk nearby immediately praised aloud.

As for Tsunade, her eyes lit up. Not to mention, once he put on the suit, Watanabe's steady and sunny aura became even more prominent, and his whole demeanor was exceptionally handsome and striking.

No matter how dashing I am, I still can't afford it...

Watanabe mentally complained to the clerk; sucking up to a poor person like him was useless.

"Tsunade, how does it look?"

Watanabe asked, though he was actually hinting that Tsunade should leave to avoid any awkwardness later.

"It really is quite dashing." Tsunade crossed her arms and smiled approvingly, as if she could already see what Watanabe would look like as a jounin a few years down the line.

"Miss, this outfit really suits your boyfriend!" the clerk added with an assist.

Tsunade's cheeks instantly flushed crimson.

Look, isn't this why working in customer service gets awkward the moment you say the wrong thing?

Watanabe felt powerless to retort against the clerk who had no filter on her mouth.

He didn't care about Tsunade anymore either, turning back toward the fitting room to strip off the clothes and leave.

"Wait."

Tsunade called him to a halt, then grabbed five more suits of different styles and shoved them into Watanabe's arms. "Try all of these on too."

Watanabe's lips twitched, and the look he gave her was complicated.

He really wanted to tell Tsunade that even though she was the granddaughter of the First, pulling this kind of stunt on a clothing store meant there was a very real chance the owner might beat them up.

There was no help for it; he and Tsunade were grasshoppers tied to the same rope, so he could only bite the bullet and continue trying on clothes.

With so many items tried on and not a single one being bought at the end, as long as neither he nor Tsunade felt awkward, the awkward one would be the clerk.

Soon enough, every single one of the five suits had been tried on.

"Miss, your boyfriend is a natural hanger; he looks handsome in everything." The clerk flattered him, sparing no effort to save face.

Still haven't realized you said the wrong thing?

Watanabe couldn't help worrying about her career. What were they supposed to do if she lacked situational awareness to this degree?

Tsunade nodded, not correcting the clerk. Returning to her usual cool and collected composure with a face that didn't flush and a heart that didn't race, she said to Watanabe, "Let's go."

It was finally over.

Watanabe let out a long breath and made to return to the fitting room to strip off the suit—

"No need to change back, just wear this one directly," Tsunade said.

Watanabe froze, not quite understanding what she meant.

"This young lady has already paid for it!" The clerk saw Watanabe's confusion and explained happily, "Along with the few you tried on just now, they're all packed up!"

Watanabe: "???"

This sentence truly left him dumbfounded, struck as if by a bolt of lightning, suspecting that Tsunade and the clerk had joined forces to play a prank on him.

He looked at Tsunade, but her gaze was wandering toward several shopping bags nearby.

"You carry the bags yourself."

With that, she turned and walked out.

Watanabe reacted quickly, picked up the bags, and hurried after her.

"Please come again!"

The clerk bid them a cheerful farewell.

On the street, Watanabe carried a heap of large and small bags as he walked side by side with Tsunade. Neither of them spoke.

A swirl of mixed emotions churned inside Watanabe until he finally couldn't help breaking the silence: "Tsunade?"

"Speak."

"I don't have that kind of money," he sighed. "These clothes are way too expensive."

Idiot.

Tsunade cursed him inwardly.

Couldn't he tell she was buying the clothes for him?

She originally wanted to say Watanabe didn't need to pay, but on second thought, Watanabe was proud at his core and might not necessarily be happy to accept her gift. Right now, he was very likely playing dumb while knowing the truth, so she changed her tune:

"Consider it a loan from me. Pay me back whenever you have money later."

Watanabe: "..."

He felt utterly despairing.

That was over sixty thousand ryo, after all, and since he currently had no source of income, when in the world would he ever be able to pay it back?

"Then... should I write an IOU?" he asked.

Tsunade hesitated.

He really was proud; he had even thought of writing an IOU.

"Write one," Tsunade said.

Watanabe felt like crying, believing himself terribly wronged for inexplicably saddling himself with a massive debt.

If he had that much money, he'd have to be out of his mind to spend it on clothes.

"Tsunade, Wata... Watanabe? Are you two out shopping?"

At that moment, a gentle voice rang out.

The two of them followed the sound and saw a blue-haired boy walking straight toward them with a rather surprised expression.

The newcomer was none other than their classmate, Dan Katō.

"Yeah, I'm keeping Watanabe company while he buys clothes," Tsunade answered indifferently.

Dan Katō found it incredible. "You're keeping Watanabe company while he buys clothes?"

Tsunade frowned slightly. She didn't like Dan Katō's shocked look, as if she weren't allowed to associate with Watanabe.

You people aren't anyone special to me, so what right do you have to judge me so much?

"We're going to get food next, so we won't chat anymore."

She walked away directly, and Watanabe also waved goodbye to him.

Dan Katō stared blankly at their receding figures, feeling a hollow, lost, and desolate void in his heart.

Watanabe was just an ordinary civilian orphan; there was no way he could afford the expensive suit he was wearing, so it could only have been bought for him by Tsunade.

When did those two get so close?

Do I still have a chance?