Hinata was not usually one to look forward to school, seeing it as yet another stage to showcase her lack of success in pretty much everything.

However, there was one, brightly shining exception to this dreary outlook: Naruto-kun.

Just the thought of him could light up her day, and today, she was determined to make a Bento for him, hoping to capture his heart through his stomach.

In the Hyuga household kitchen, Hinata stood surrounded by an array of ingredients, meticulously planning the perfect meal. "Naruto-kun loves meats," she murmured to herself, carefully selecting the juiciest cuts while purposefully ignoring most of the vegetables.

"But he hates vegetables... except for red beans," she continued, remembering his peculiar taste.

"Only in red bean soup, though."

With a smile, she began to assemble the Bento, her movements graceful and filled with care, imagining Naruto's delighted face.

In her head, the scene played out perfectly. "Naruto-kun, I made you this meal!" she would say, her voice filled with hope.

And he, with stars in his eyes, would reply, "Hinata, I couldn't have asked for a better wife." At that thought, Hinata blushed a deep red and let out a giggle, lost in her daydreams.

"What are you giggling at, big sister?" a curious voice interrupted her fantasy. Hinata spun around to find her little sister, Hanabi, along with a few of the household servants.

"N-Nothing," Hinata stammered, her face now matching the color of a ripe tomato.

"I was just making a few bentos."

Hanabi's gaze drifted to the small mountain of bentos Hinata had prepared.

"Are you trying to gain weight?" she asked innocently, her question loaded with the naivety only a younger sibling could possess.

Hinata's heart sank, and her imagination took a nosedive.

"Do I look fat? Does Naruto-kun like fat girls? Ahhh! Does he hate me because I am the fattest woman in the world? No!"

Observing Hinata's sudden shift from dreamy bliss to utter despair, Hanabi could only sweat-drop at the dramatic change.

"Typical," she thought, understanding all too well her sister's tendency to overthink and take the words of others a little too seriously.

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Hinata tiptoed into class, her eyes scanning every corner for that unmistakable mop of blond hair.

But Naruto-kun was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, I thought he was getting more punctual," she sighed to herself, a little disappointed.

The day dragged on, each tick of the clock stretching longer than the last, but Naruto-kun never showed up.

"Was he sick?" she worried, her imagination conjuring up images of Naruto laid up with a cold.

As soon as school ended, Hinata dashed off to the one place she was sure to find Naruto: Ichiraku Ramen.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him, but it plummeted the next instant.

There he was, with another girl.

The girl's dress was vibrant, hugging her form with elegant lines and a high collar. It was adorned with intricate patterns, swirling designs that seemed to dance with each movement she made.

"No! I was too late!" Hinata's heart ached, a lump forming in her throat.

But then, the girl spoke, "Can I get a vegetarian ramen?"

Hinata's eyes widened.

"Gah! What unholy monstrosity is that? You have defiled the sanctity of ramen!" Naruto's accusation cut through Hinata's despair, bringing a bizarre sense of relief.

The girl, unfazed, pulled out a giant page that looked suspiciously like a contract. "Anything else to say?" she asked Naruto, who could only grumble in response.

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"I am helping you," she insisted, to which Naruto protested about the "unholy vegetable."

Their argument was cut short by Ayame, who wielded her wooden spoon like a weapon of justice, smacking Naruto on the head.

"That hurt!" Naruto complained, rubbing the sore spot, only to notice Hinata standing there with a look of utter confusion.

"Oh, Hinata, I didn't see you there. Please tell me you came to order something holy," Naruto said, eager to restore some sanctity to his ramen sanctuary.

Hinata, however, was stuck on a different thought.

"You didn't come to class today," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Oh, yeah, I was helping Mr. Higrashi and Tenten clean the *ahem* mess in his shop," Naruto explained, coughing awkwardly. "Which you caused," Tenten chimed in, accepting her vegetarian ramen with a smirk.

"Excuse me, it was both of our mess," Naruto shot back, turning his attention back to Hinata.

"Anyways, Tenten and I are trying to figure out a way to make some money to pay for the damages," he said, taking his ramen from Ayame.

"Can I help?" Hinata blurted out louder than she intended, her cheeks flaming red. "Thanks, Hinata, you are a true friend," Naruto beamed, sending Hinata's heart into a fluttering mess, almost ready to faint. Meanwhile, Tenten raised an eyebrow, her expression saying clear as day, "No way."

Naruto, slurping his noodles with unabashed gusto, broke the silence. "Okay, any ideas? Because frankly, I have none."

"Don't speak while eating," Tenten scolded, then quickly shifted gears. "Do you have some skills we can use?"

"I can make seals," Naruto offered, a bit of noodle dangling from his mouth.

Tenten paused, weighing the confession. "I know I should be surprised, since Fuinjutsu isn't easy, but... yeah, I think I can sell a few storage scrolls to some Genins and Chunins I know."

"Yatta, we're done," Naruto declared triumphantly, taking another victorious bite of his ramen.

"No, because I can probably get around 5k Ryo from selling low-grade storage sealing scrolls," Tenten mused, a plan forming in her mind.

"Excuse me, but I can make medium-grade storage seals," Naruto interjected, his pride wounded.

"And how long would that take you?" Tenten prodded.

"Depends on the yield," Naruto replied.

"About 20, give or take," Tenten estimated.

"A week," Naruto concluded, and both sighed in unison, realizing the enormity of their task.

"A-Ah, how much do we need?" Hinata chimed in, her voice tinged with worry.

"50k," Tenten dropped the bomb, causing Hinata's eyes to widen in shock as she glanced at Naruto, her expression screaming, "What the hell kind of damage did you do?"

Naruto just silently ate, avoiding the question altogether.

"What about you?" Tenten turned her attention to Hinata, who gulped nervously.

"I-I am not that good at anything," Hinata confessed, her confidence faltering.

"That's not true, you're amazing," Naruto said, causing Hinata to blush furiously, while Tenten wore a knowing smirk.

"Like what?" Tenten prodded further.

"Well, she has this weird eye thingy, like your jerk of a teammate who you like," Naruto teased, enjoying the moment.

"I don't like Neji," Tenten stammered, caught off guard.

"And you were looking at him and blushing when we first met," Naruto added, his voice deadpan, leaving Tenten scrambling for words.

"I just think he's good-looking. Annoying to listen to, but good-looking, so it balances out," Tenten tried to explain, but Naruto just looked at her, his eyebrows twitching in disbelief.

"First, it was Ino, and now Tenten. Why do girls only care about looks?" Naruto lamented, turning to Hinata with a mock-serious tone. "Hinata, please tell me you don't go for looks, unlike some shallow people."

In her mind, Hinata crafted a heartfelt defense, "But Naruto-kun, you're the most handsome to me. Does that mean I shouldn't like you? Of course not! I adore Naruto-kun for so much more than your looks. Your kindness, your bravery, your caring nature... and, okay, maybe your handsome face a little bit." Her internal monologue painted her cheeks a vivid shade of red, though none of her passionate thoughts made it past her lips.

Naruto, misinterpreting Hinata's flustered silence and rosy complexion, sighed, believing he had proven his point.

"See? Everyone goes for looks," he concluded, placing his face in his palm, unaware of the epic saga of admiration and love Hinata had just silently narrated in her head.

"So, skills?" Tenten asked, turning the conversation back to their money-making dilemma. Hinata, feeling a bit lost, glanced down, only to notice the Bento she had packed earlier.

"I can... cook," she whispered, almost too softly for the others to hear.

Tenten acknowledged the suggestion with a nod.

"Great skill, but I don't think we have the budget or time to make a food stand," she reasoned, shooting down the idea gently.

At his wit's end, Naruto, fueled by frustration, tapped into Spirit Possession, sparking a sudden burst of inspiration. "I know how we can make money.

"How?" Tenten inquired, clearly skeptical, taking another slurp of her soup.

"E rank missions," Naruto declared, as if it were the most obvious solution in the world.

"Don't worry, Hinata, I'll think of something. Naruto clearly doesn't have a brain," Tenten muttered, dismissing the idea before Naruto could even elaborate.

But Naruto was undeterred. "I'm serious. You're a Genin, so you can get E rank missions. All we have to do is select a bunch of E rank missions and divide them amongst ourselves. We use the Transformation Jutsu to disguise ourselves as Tenten so no one gets suspicious," he explained, his plan unfolding with each word.

Tenten opened her mouth to protest, to point out the sheer absurdity of the plan, but the longer she thought about it, the more it seemed to make a weird kind of sense.

"Okay, but we have to avoid any missions where we're in close proximity to other ninjas so that we don't get caught," she finally conceded, laying out the one condition that made this bizarre plan somewhat palatable.

Naruto and Hinata nodded in agreement.

The idea of all of them transforming into Tenten to complete missions without raising suspicion was so ludicrous it just might work. The visual alone was enough to bring a smile to Hinata's face, imagining several Tentens running around Konoha, trying to be stealthy and probably failing miserably. The plan was a comedy of errors waiting to happen, but it was the best shot they had.