Blind fools.

{We need to take over shopping for blondie, as a team. They can't overcharge her if they don't know the supplies are for her. Groceries, kunai, the works. She can contribute from whatever stipend or basic income support she gets, but no arguments on this. Blondie no longer does her own shopping.}

"Ugh, yeah, they would. I'm pretty some of them give better deals to some of the clans, so I wouldn't be surprised if they're charging him more."

{Good idea.}

"S—my friend is suggesting that we take over his shopping—he can still pay, but we interact with the shopkeepers, so they can't overcharge him."

Hinata nods softly and takes a breath. "That s-sounds like a good idea. I don't get much allowance, so I can't contribute money, but if I do the shopping, I'll get the Hyuuga discounts."

"That should be fine. Naruto should have enough if he's not being gouged, and if not, I have a bit I can contribute too."

She finishes her lunch and packs away the box, resting it beside her as she prepares her things for their next class.

Hinata smiles slightly and nods softly.

{Hmm. We need to find out what she knows how to cook, before we start shopping. Dunno if anyone taught her.}

Sakura is briefly confused by Sable's wording, until she catches onto the attached intent referring to Naruto as "she".

Is that the right way to refer to… her, if she hasn't directly confirmed their suspicions or changed her body or… whatever it is she might do?

Well, Sable probably knows better, so she'll just follow its lead.

{Oh, yeah, that's right. From her lunch today, I'm guessing she at least hasn't been taught much.}

"…We'll wanna find out what s—he knows how to cook with before we plan any shopping, so we don't get him anything he doesn't know how to use."

{Mmm. You're actually right, I shouldn't be making assumptions. Blondie'll tell us when they sort their head out. I just have one hell of a hunch.}

"That is a g-good idea." She takes a breath. "M-maybe we should t-talk to Naruto about that after class, before we start training?"

"Good idea! Better to have that conversation before than after."

A teacher steps out into the courtyard and rings a bell, unenthusiastically shouting, "lunchtime's over, get inside!"

Hinata daintily eats her last onigiri, folds up her bento box, and heads in.

Sable wraps both Sakuras into a fierce mental hug.

{I'm so proud of my girls. This was a bunch of complicated conversations with new people and reaching out socially, and y'all handled it great.}

{I'm glad! It was a lot, but it's actually been kind of exhilarating.}

Sakura internally relaxes.

{Thanks. I've been trying, but a lot of this is really new to me. I'm glad you've both got my back.}

{And I've got both your backs.}

They can both have a mental cheek-kiss, as a treat.

Cute! Sakura blushes a bit, disguising it as she hops down from their tree and follows Hinata into the academy building.

Her next class is agility training with Matsuda-sensei, which she shares with Hinata. It's one of her weaker subjects, but she might be able to get some pointers from her new friend.

Oh? Hinata has never been asked to help someone in class before. Yes, she can help Sakura get a better handle on it.

This is kind of... nice.

It is! Sakura hasn't really had anyone to ask before—she's had a few people ask her for help, but usually what that meant was that they wanted her to do their work for them, which she didn't like.

With Hinata's advice and Sable's improvements, she manages to do noticeably better than usual—and more importantly, she feels like she's improving more than usual.

Sable cheerfully accelerates the natural repair of every micro-tear in Sakura's muscles, so her gains get even faster. Sakura's gonna be hungry tonight, though.

Hinata's glad to improve as well, and finds giving pointers about the agility exercises helps her internalize parts of it better as she thinks of explanations.