Hinata didn't notice Naruto's little antics. Her attention was entirely on Takasaki.
When Takasaki held out his pinky, she hesitated for a moment. Her cheeks flushed faintly as she held out her own.
Feeling the soft, delicate skin of Hinata's fingertip against his, Takasaki felt a pleasant warmth spread through him.
His future wife really was easy to fool.
All it took was dangling the promise of a favor, and she was willing to help him cheat on the exam. If he came up with another excuse later, it probably wouldn't be hard to talk Hinata into stripping down and taking a bath with him, either.
Meanwhile,
Hinata's heart began to pound faster and faster.
It was the first time in her life that she'd made a pinky promise with a boy.
Did this count as holding hands?
Just thinking about it made her faintly flushed cheeks turn bright red in an instant.
"Takasaki, I, I, I'm going to school first!" Hinata touched her burning cheek with her other hand. Realizing how flustered she was, she quickly let go of Takasaki's finger, got up, and fled Ichiraku Ramen.
Takasaki watched Hinata run away and smiled contentedly.
When was Hinata at her prettiest?
Obviously, when she was shy.
And when was she even prettier?
Obviously, when she was shy and doing naughty things with him.
Takasaki was just about to get up and leave when Naruto called out to him.
Naruto looked at the notes in his notebook as he asked,
"Takasaki, I figured it out. Your plan today was to get Hinata to agree to eat ramen with you, so you could get closer to her, and then ask her to help you cheat. But I invited Hinata to eat ramen with me earlier, and she refused. Why? It seemed like she figured out I wanted her to help me cheat."
Naruto told Takasaki how he'd tried to win Hinata over earlier.
Takasaki shook his head as he listened.
"You made your intentions way too obvious. Sure, we're both at the bottom of the class, but I understand girls better than you do. Let me teach you."
Takasaki draped an arm around Naruto's shoulders and, like an old hand, shared his wisdom:
"If you want to get closer to a girl by eating ramen with her, don't invite her and offer to pay. Most people do that. Try doing the opposite and get the girl to treat you to ramen! Most girls have never seen anyone do that before, so they'll agree."
Huh? You could do that?
Naruto found it hard to believe, even though he'd watched Hinata pay for Takasaki's ramen with his own eyes.
Seeing was believing.
Takasaki had proved with his actions that it worked.
"I get it, I get it." Naruto continued taking notes earnestly.
"And then, as you saw," Takasaki went on, "you tell her you want her to help you cheat. In return, make sure she knows you'll owe her a favor. She'll agree."
"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm!"
Naruto nodded hard and kept taking notes.
Even several minutes after Takasaki left, Naruto stayed at Ichiraku Ramen, staring at the notes he'd just written and repeatedly rehearsing Takasaki's lines.
The more he rehearsed, the more confident he became.
Takasaki had tested all this right in front of him and succeeded. He could definitely do it too.
He just had to wait for a new classmate to take the bait.
Naruto walked out of Ichiraku Ramen and watched the students coming and going along the road. Before long, he spotted a boy from his class walking toward him with his hands in his pockets and a smug look on his face.
It was Sasuke.
Sasuke passed Naruto without even giving him a proper glance.
Naruto didn't pay Sasuke any attention either.
Sasuke's grades were good, sure, but every girl in the class liked him, including the girl Naruto liked, Sakura Haruno.
That really annoyed Naruto.
More importantly, Sasuke was a boy. The lines Takasaki had taught him were meant specifically for girls; they wouldn't work on boys.
The annoyance on Naruto's face quickly gave way to a smile.
He'd spotted a girl from his class walking over.
It was Sakura Haruno.
The girl he liked, too.
"What luck, I ran into Sakura! Just thinking about having Sakura help me cheat makes me happy."
Still, Sakura didn't look too good. She seemed rather down.
It was probably because the Graduation Exam was coming up and she was worried she wouldn't do well.
It was fine. Sakura was a good student. Even if she did badly, she'd definitely pass the written test.
Naruto put his notebook in his bag and strode confidently toward Sakura Haruno.
At that moment,
Sakura Haruno really was in a bad mood.
She'd waited all morning for Takasaki and hadn't seen him. That alone was bad enough, but because of him, she'd also embarrassed herself in front of Sasuke.
What did it feel like to be called an idiot by the boy you liked?
It made her want to hit someone!
"Sakura!" Naruto called out to her.
"Get lost!"
Sakura saw Naruto coming toward her and was already irritated. Worst of all, he was blocking her view of Sasuke.
Sakura's harsh words made Naruto feel a little intimidated.
He was intimidated, sure, but he couldn't let it show. Summoning his courage, he stepped in front of Sakura and recited Takasaki's advice word for word: "Sakura, let's go eat ramen at Ichiraku Ramen. You treat me."
What?
Sakura froze. When she realized what he meant, she looked at him as if she'd just heard the funniest joke. "You're inviting me to eat ramen with you, but you want me to pay? Is that what you mean?"
Naruto nodded repeatedly. "That's exactly what I mean!"
Sakura stopped and glared at Naruto, taking a deep breath.
She'd known for a long time that Naruto liked her.
Shouldn't he be trying to win her over?
Why was he asking her to treat him to ramen?
Did Naruto think he was Sasuke?
Or was even a dead last like Naruto making fun of her?
The more Sakura thought about it, the angrier she got.
Sasuke could make fun of her because he was good enough to get away with it. What right did a dead last like Naruto have?
With that thought, all the anger she'd built up that day erupted. "Naruto! You're asking for it!"
She let out a furious shout.
Sakura slammed a punch into Naruto's head. With a thump, she knocked him to the ground with a yelp, leaving a huge bump on his head.
"I'm warning you. Don't mess with me today!" Sakura glared at Naruto as he lay on the ground, stepped over him, and continued following Sasuke in silence.
Naruto clutched the bump on his head and climbed to his feet. "I did exactly what Takasaki taught me. Why did it turn out like this? I must've done something wrong."
He had the stubborn, never-say-die spirit of a cockroach. There was no way he'd give up.
Failure wasn't scary. If he kept at it, he'd succeed eventually.
He caught up with Sakura and stood in front of her, earnestness in his voice. "Sakura, if you help me cheat on the upcoming exam, I'll owe you a favor. I'll repay you later."
Sakura put her hands on her hips. After hearing Naruto out, her brows twitched with anger. "Do I need a favor from a dead last like you? Naruto, you're just making fun of me! Picking on a girl like this is too much! Aaaaaah!"
Sakura spun around, her pink hair whipping across Naruto's cheek.
Naruto didn't have time to savor the sweet scent of Sakura's hair. The sole of her shoe came flying toward his face. "Die!!!"
As Sakura kicked him flying again, Naruto's mind filled with confusion.
He'd done exactly what Takasaki told him to do. Why had it turned out like this?
What had gone wrong?
Before you continue