Happily Ever After
(Prologue)
" I will never let you fall/I'll stand up with you forever/ I'll be there for you through it all/ even if saving you sends me to heaven "
Ayumu Kawazoe rubbed her eyes and hit the alarm button. As much as she would have loved to listen to the rest of her favorite RJA song, today was an important day, and she didn't have time to waste. Today marks one year since she had met her best friend and crush Naruto, and she did not want to miss it. She quickly put on her favorite outfit; black jeans with a yellow-and-black striped polo, regulation ninja sandals, and, of course, her Forehead Protector; brushed her hair and teeth, grabbed her present, and rushed out the door.
We now turn to our favorite knuckle-headed ninja as he walks down a busy street. He was not aware of the impending attack that was about to befall him; he was too dejected to think of such. He was rejected, once again, by his beloved Sakura-chan. He had asked her over to his place for a lovely candlelight ramen dinner and all he got as an answer is a slap to the face, she thinking that he was hoping that she was going to be sucking much more than ramen.
Ugh, why does Sakura-chan hate me so much? Naruto thought to himself. He rubbed his cheek subconsciously; hoping today wouldn't be soured by this morning's snit. Then, while he was still plunging into a state of depression, a cry rang out:
"SUPERFLYINGTACKLEPOUNCE!" With that, Naruto fell to the ground with a giggling kunoichi pinning him in place. "Hey Naruto!" Ayumu giggled.
"Oh hey Ayumu-chan!" Naruto said in surprise. He grinned and pushed her off. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Just bored, is all," she said nonchalantly.
"And so you decided that you needed a handsome guy like me to keep you company, is that it?" he asked with his trademark foxy grin.
"Whatever floats your boat" she replied with another giggle. Ayumu always seemed happier whenever she was around Naruto then she was with other people.
"Whatcha got there?" he asked her while pointing to the parcel in her hand.
"Happy anniversary!" Ayumu squealed. She held out the envelope and Naruto quickly grabbed it out of her outstretched hands.
"Wait, anniversary? Of what?" he asked with a confused look.
"You dobe, it's the one year anniversary of the day we met! I should of known that you would have forgotten!" she replied with a playful pout.
"Crap, sorry Ayumu! I'll make it up to somehow! Believe it!" He lightly slapped himself, reminding himself to get rid of his childish habit of saying, "Believe it" every sentence. He quickly tore open the envelope and opened the card inside. It was a homemade card that Ayumu painstakingly made with a 15 off coupon to Ichiraku Ramen inside the card.
"You know Ayumu?" Naruto said. "I actually do have a present for you. You go to our meeting place, and I'll be right back with your present, okay?" She nodded and began to walk to their usual spot, the KIA stone. When she was out of sight, Naruto made a mad dash to Ichiraku Ramen, his and Ayumu's favorite restaurant.
"Hurry! I need a bowl of miso ramen and chicken ramen to go please! And quick!" Naruto exclaimed to Teuchi, the owner.
"You got it!" he replied back.
Meanwhile, at the KIA stone, Ayumu was waiting ever so patiently for Naruto to arrive with his so-called present.
"What is taking that dobe so long?" she muttered to herself. "How long does it take to make a simple crappy card?"
After what seemed liked forever, Ayumu heard a distant call of "Hothothothothothothothot!" She shaded her eyes with her hand and peered into the horizon. It was Naruto (!) with two bowls of steaming hot ramen. When he finally reached the stone, he handed Ayumu her ramen with a pair of chopsticks and sat down in victory. "Careful," he panted, "it's really hot."
"Lemme take a wild guess," Ayumu said knowingly. "You used my coupon to buy me my anniversary present, which is—"
"Chicken ramen with extra broth!" Naruto interrupted. "Your favorite. It's from Ichiraku Ramen. Don't you like it?" he asked her with a puppy-dog pout.
"Like it? Do I like it?!" Naruto assumed the flinching position. Ayumu's face softened. "I love it Naruto. That was very sweet of you." The two quickly ate up their ramen in satisfaction. Ayumu put her bowl down and wrapped Naruto up in a sweet embrace. "Thank you," she mumbled into his jacket, which smelled like blood, sweat, and ramen.
"Heh heh, y-y-your welcome," Naruto stammered back, his face resembling a McIntosh apple. As a boy that gets punched in the face by a pretty girl on a daily basis, he had to admit this is a nice change in scenery. It's not every day you get a hug by someone of the opposite gender and, if you were like Naruto, you would learn to appreciate it when you do get one. A hug, I mean.
When she let go, Ayumu saw a sad frown grace the face of a usually happy Naruto.
"Hey Naruto, are you okay?" Ayumu asked him.
He put his ramen bowl down gently on the grass and gave her a fake smile. "What makes you say that, Ayumu-chan? I feel great!" His voice cracked as he said the last word.
The girl lightly touched his arm. "You don't look okay. And you definitely don't sound okay. What's wrong?"
He sighed. "Aw, I don't feel too good. Sakura-chan rejected me again. You remember Sakura-chan, right?"
Ayumu "Hn"d. Oh yeah, she remembers that girl. That girl who, with one hair flip, seems to have captivated Naruto and made him completely forget Ayumu exists.
"Plus, she hit me, too." Naruto whined. He rubbed the sore spot on his cheek again.
"And why is that bad? You can always ask another girl." Ayumu said nonchalantly. You can always ask me out, Naruto she added silently.
"I thought you would support me, Ayumu-chan," he said, obviously hurt. He looked like he was just slapped.
"I do, Naruto. It's just that, you see, um…" Ayumu replied. She couldn't find the right words. When she did, she whispered, loud enough for Naruto to hear, "I know how you feel."
"How? Is this something I should know about?"
"Let me tell you a story. This was before I met you. Once upon a time, in the far off land of the Hidden Cloud Village, there resides a small orphanage. Most of the children there look the same; crimson hair with gray eyes the color of storm clouds. In that orphanage there lived a beautiful maiden."
"That's you, right?" Naruto asked with a smirk. Most of the stories Ayumu told Naruto featured herself, so even an idiot like him can instantly tell.
"Yep. Anyway, at that time, she had a huge crush on one of her fellow orphans, Akira Inoue. It turned out one of the other maidens had a crush on him as well. Akira could not pick which one, so he told the two to flip a coin. Whoever wins could be his girlfriend."
"You lost, didn't you?" Naruto asked. Ayumu nodded.
"And then there was another boy who resided there, Takashi Kurozawa. He was recently found on the outskirts of the village and was taken in immediately. The maiden was infatuated with the boy, mostly because he was so much more mature and cooler than all of the other boys. They became good friends. Even though they knew that one of them could have been adopted at anytime, they remained the best of friends."
"And what was wrong with that?" Naruto asked with a confused expression on his face.
"I was getting to that. Finally, after some time, the maiden finally got up the courage to ask him out. When she asked him, he turned her down. He said, quote, 'I'm sorry, but you're just not pretty enough.'" Ayumu barely managed to choke out that last part.
"Gah!!" Naruto shouted angrily. He stood up and kicked the ground, dust flying everywhere. "That little jerk! How dare he treat you that way?! If I were there, I swear I would—"
"It's okay, Naruto," Ayumu said, interrupting Naruto's anger fest. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he relaxed. "May I continue?"
"Of course," Naruto said, his anger dying with her touch. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Anyway, the maiden was shocked. She couldn't believe her ultimate crush rejected her. The fiend! She thought she could never get over it. That is, until one day, a woman came to visit the Cloud Village. She could not herself have children, and she heard that there were many Cloud Village children, waiting for adoption. When the woman saw the maiden sitting in a corner, her heart went out to her, and she adopted the maiden. They, along with a few ninja escorts, returned to the woman's home village: the Hidden Leaf Village."
"Ooh!Ooh! Let me tell the rest! Let me tell!" Naruto exclaimed, bobbing up and down like a small child.
"Erm, sure, I s'pose." Ayumu said uncertainly.
"Then, exactly one year from today, the maiden was out doing…was doing…uh, Ayumu-chan, just what the heck were you doing?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.
"Grocery shopping, Naruto. Remember? When we bumped into each other, my groceries went everywhere?"
"Oh yeah! Now I remember!" Naruto exclaimed. "The maiden was out running groceries. She was coming home with her arms full of them when all of a sudden…BAM!" Her made a point of spazzing his hands in front of her. "She ran into the handsome, sexy prince of Konoha." He stuck out his chest and flexed one of his arms.
"I'm just automatically assuming that's you, right?" Ayumu smirked at his futile attempt to be manly.
"Ahyep! Would you like to feel my muscle?" He pushed his jacket sleeve away to reveal a tan arm with a muscle bulge the size of a lemon.
"No thanks. I'm good."
"Anyway, when he realized he had ever so rudely run into her, the chivalrous prince volunteered to help the helpless maiden carry her groceries home."
"You didn't volunteer, you dobe." Ayumu lightly smacked him upside the head. "I made you carry my stuff."
"Whatever," he grumbled, rubbing his head. "And the rest is history. The maiden and the sexy prince lived happily ever after…right? Is that how you would end fairy tails?"
"You don't know, Naruto?" Ayumu asked, concerned.
Naruto shook his head. "No one ever really read me fairy tales when I was little."
"Hmm. Well, you're partially correct. You're right; almost all fairy tails end with 'Happily Ever After'. But most fairy tales end where someone finds their true love."
"And how does that person know that they have found love?"
"True love's first kiss, of course."
"Oh, that's cool!"Naruto exclaimed, and then sulked sadly. "I was hoping my princess would be Sakura-chan."
"The point of the story was to cheer you up, Naruto." Ayumu placed her hand on his shoulder. "Look, um, I'm not good at this sympathy thing, but if you want a shoulder to cry on or something, I'm here for you." Ayumu looked away. She didn't want Naruto to see her incoming tears.
"Thanks, Ayumu-chan." Naruto pulled her close to him in a sweet embrace. Ayumu smiled slightly. Even if they can't be together, she's happy that they can still be friends forever.
When they pulled apart, Naruto asked her, "Say, do you think I'll find my princess soon?"
Ayumu scoffed. "Dude, of course you will. Y-you're great, man. After all, you are the Sexy Beast of Konoha." Just as Naruto was swelling with pride, Ayumu deflated him by adding, "Right after that bushy-browed kid. What's his name, again? That kid's awesome!"
"Lee," he said in disgust. "Hey, wait a minute, how did you know he called himself that?"
"He told me that the first time I met him. I was walking over to the curry bar the other day when, sure enough, that little bugger was there chowing down on some mysterious goop that looked disgusting. When I sat down next to him, he introduced himself as the 'Handsome Devil of the Leaf Village'. And then…"
As Ayumu kept talking, she smiled and thought to herself, "Someday I'll ask him out. Then we can have a 'happily ever after' after all."