Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, and I'll be honest. If I did own it, the manga/anime series would have been finished by now.

Okay, I'm gonna admit this straight up: It's been a very long time since I've watched or read Naruto. Still, I can't forget the enjoyment it I had from it in its earlier days. The idea of this fic is simple enough: it's Ayame and Naruto talking with each other after canon events have happened. I'll mix in some original events too.

It's a pretty simple idea that's probably been done before. I'm not claiming any originality out of this idea. I wanted more Teuchi and Ayame goodness because those are two characters that I always enjoyed. I may get facts from Naruto canon wrong from time to time. I'm apologizing in advance. Really, I'm not incompetent or anything. It's just been a long time since I've watched. Anywho, enough rambling from me...

Uzumaki Naruto always said that Ichiraku Ramen was 'the heart and soul of Konoha.' Of course, anybody who knew anything about Naruto knew the boy ate there all the time. Still, villagers couldn't deny the food tasted delicious and the Ramen stand did bring villagers (both ninja and civilians) together to interact among each other.

It should be noted that even though the restaurant was, well, just the size of a stand, business always remained consistent. Ayame frequently brought up the idea of expansion – always curious about the reasons her father never made too many changes to the restaurant that had been owned by their family for generations.

The cheery old chef understood what his daughter was trying to say and he knew it was something the whole town probably wondered whenever they visited their ramen stand. Business had always been good. The idea was simple. The restaurant didn't have to be humongous or anything. With a few more tables, chairs, and wider area, the possibilities were endless. He'd even thought about the possibilities a time or two, but ultimately came to the conclusion there were just some things you couldn't change.

He always emphasized that bigger didn't always mean better.

Ayame still didn't understand where her father was getting at, but there wasn't much reason to complain. Business had always been steady, but there was something else missing from the ramen stand the past few days. Rather, someone else had been missing. It bugged the girl.

She always saw Naruto as her little brother. It was a treat when Naruto talked to her about his classes. His tales were far more interesting than what she would learn at school (Regular school is so boring!), and they always talked to each other. A day without Naruto showing up at the ramen stand was rare enough, but a full week?

A heavy sigh escaped. The sound didn't go unnoticed.

"I don't have to be a genius to know the reason behind that sound," her father commented.

"I miss Naruto-kun." she replied.

"Hmm. It's certainly been a long time since the boy's last visit."

Her father put down the bowl of ramen he'd been working on. It was a break hour for them, and all attention went to his daughter. He thought he'd offer his two cents to her.

"If I recall correctly, the Akimichi boy and that Nara boy had been excited about the upcoming exams,"
he said.

Ayame's eyes widened.

"Then that means..."

Teuchi offered his daughter a gentle smile.

"I'm sure Naruto is fine. He's shared the other tests with us before, hasn't he?" he asked.

"But if he failed again," Ayame muttered.

Teuchi shook his head.

"We can't think like that. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before that boy becomes a genin. He might have repeatedly been last in his class all the other times, but you have to remember, this is ninja school we're talking about. Naruto's going to become a genin one day and our encouragement is important to him."

And I've seen fire in that boy's eyes. I might not know much about being a ninja, but that boy is one of the most determined young children I have come across in a long time.

Ayame took a few minutes to let her father's words sink in. When she was ready, she gave her reply with a smile.

"And whatever happens, a Deluxe Naruto Special's bound to cheer him up!"

Her father nodded at her words.

"Now that's the spirit!"

Her father's words really were helpful. It helped Ayame carry on cheerfully, and sure enough, Naruto arrived on the scene a few minutes before closing time, sporting a brand new shiny forehead protector.

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun!" the girl excitedly proclaimed when she immediately saw the forehead protector.

The boy gave her a large grin.

"Hehe, thanks Ayame nee-chan!"

After his words, Naruto's grin turned into an embarrassed look. He scratched the back of his head, and laughed nervously.

Ayame couldn't remember seeing this side of Naruto before. She didn't say it out loud, but she thought it was adorable. While avoiding her gentle gaze, Naruto looked like he was about to speak.

"...and, ah... I really, REALLY wanted to tell you guys about this, but everything's been so crazy since then."

"Don't worry about it. The important thing is that you've finally achieved your dream, right?" she asked.

"Yup! And you know something else?"

"What?"

"I've decided that one day I'm gonna become Hokage!"

Ayame couldn't help herself, and had to tease Naruto a little bit.

"If that's the case, then you'll have to start growing."

"Aw, Ayame nee-chan no fair!"

Ayame simply chuckled and ruffled his hair while he pouted.

Teuchi appeared in front of the counter with a proud smile on his face. He chuckled when the new genin and to-be-Hokage grew wide eyed at the site before him; pout quickly forgotten.

Even though the boy hadn't placed an order, it was their special present for him. What made the old chef even more proud was this was a prepared dish by his own daughter.

"She's right, you know," Teuchi said.

Teuchi might as well have been talking to a brick wall. Naruto looked like he was in a state of bliss when the large bowl was placed before him.

"The food of the gods... I think I'm in love," he said, completely ignoring Teuchi's previous statement.

Since Naruto didn't seem to be paying too much attention, Teuchi wiped away the drool from his mouth with a napkin.

Even though it was obvious he was talking to the food, his words let a tinge of red rise to the face of Teuchi's daughter. This was the first time she'd received such praise.

Quickly shaking her head, Ayame chimed in.

"Th-this is our newest creation, made just for you! I call it, the Naruto Deluxe Special. On the house!"

Ayame sweatdropped when Naruto looked up and pointed at her. He had two big hearts in his eyes.

"You. You have conquered my heart. You are an angel."

"Naruto-kun, aren't we forgetting about Sakura-chan?" she nervously replied. Even though they had expected some sort of reaction from their best customer, neither Teuchi or Ayame quite expected this.

"Sakura-chan? That woman is no longer holds a claim on my heart. Marry me."

In any other instance, Teuchi probably would have freaked out at somebody 'proposing' to his daughter on the spot like that. He just knew Naruto was on his ramen-high mode, and that Naruto would eventually forget everything he just said.

"You know, Naruto-kun... I might have to hold you to a promise," Ayame teased. As soon as she let the tease out she covered her mouth in surprise.

What just happened?

"I promise," Naruto said without hesitation.

At that moment, Ayame heard the sound of angry teeth grinding together. Worried, she turned to her father, and stepped away from him as far as possible.
"Uh... f-father? Naruto-kun is our friend, remember?"

The old chef didn't have any ounce of chakra or special bloodlines in his body, but at that moment, killing intent rose through the roof. Naruto's comments threw him over the deep end. Any encouraging words his precious daughter was saying (We like Naruto-kun, we don't want to harm him!) went completely unheard.

Much later, Naruto would be able to recall that he heard a high-pitched whimper in his head. Which was strange, because the boy didn't make a sound at all.

"You..." a murderous Teuchi growled.

"Uh... f-father?" Ayame squealed, starting to worry for Naruto's safety.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he yelled.

His words were enough to shake the orange clad boy out of his ramen-induced fantasy world.

"Huh? What's going on? Old man Ichiraku... you don't look so good."

"Forget that! Naruto! Run!" Ayame yelled.

"HAAIIIII!" he replied, as Teuchi began to chase Naruto all over Konoha.

Staring at the bowl, Ayame frowned.

"Aw... He didn't even get to taste it," she complained, as ANBU had to restrain her father somewhere off in the distance.

"Yeesh. For a normal old man, your pops can be scaary."

Ayame giggled at the new genin's remarked. A few week passed since the 'proposal incident' that set her dad off the deep end. After a late night shift, Naruto was walking her home; a tradition both Ayame and Naruto enjoyed. They were glad Teuchi still trusted them alone together. Neither would be forgetting the 'proposal incident' anytime soon.

"It's not that funny!" Naruto grumbled.

The incident would never be forgotten by his daughter and especially the scared boy he threatened to murder in cold blood. Most people believed it was some sort of 'assassination attempt'. Ayame couldn't blame them, and didn't really take personal offense to it. She found the whole thing amusing, really.

After all, it wasn't every day she saw her father outrunning the ANBU.

Once he'd been detained, the three of them were taken into the Hokage's office for interrogation purposes. The Sandaime knew that Teuchi had a good track record and understood that the owner of Ichiraku Ramen didn't view Naruto in a negative light. The leader of the village wanted to understand exactly what had happened.

When he was in the Hokage's office, Teuchi seemed to have a quick loss of memory. In light of all the events, it appeared the father had no idea what was going on. The poor old man was incredibly confused. Ayame had to explain everything that had just happened. Naruto just sat; too traumatized by the whole thing. Secretly, the Hokage was grateful the boy was being perfectly quiet while he listened to the girl.

The Hokage saw she had nothing to lie about, and wasn't surprised the incident was because something stupid that Naruto said. All was forgotten, and they were let off the hook. Sarutobi made a mental note to keep a closer eye on Teuchi if a boy were to ask his daughter out.

"Oi. Ayame nee-chaaaan."

"Sorry. Just lost in thought,"

Naruto had an inquisitive look on his face, so she continued.

"I still believe that was more of my fault than yours, Naruto-kun. I'd like to say I'm sorry, but that's a memory I'm not forgetting anytime soon."

If anything, at least the girl was being perfectly honest. Even if the once seemingly innocent father and daughter showed they did have some twisted parts of their personalities.

"Well, at least he still lets you walk me home. But that still doesn't make any sense," the boy in orange said.

Ayame always enjoyed walking home with Naruto and was a little worried that her father wouldn't allow them to walk with each other after the proposal incident. Maybe that really did mean he couldn't remember a thing.

"You mean Father letting you walk me home?"

"Yeah! If a proposal sets him off his rocker and he tries to kill me all of a sudden, why doesn't me walking you home at night do the same? I mean I've been walking you home for years now but none of that crazy stuff has happened!"

Even after all the years they'd known each other, Naruto was still doing or saying things that surprised the brunette. While he didn't exactly have the reputation as the brightest ninja, Ayame had been starting to see that others' perceptions of the boy were terribly wrong.

She'd grown to realize that the last ranked student showed a lot more brains when he was around her than whenever he was in front of some sort of audience. She guessed that just meant Naruto was starting to grow up.

"You just said it yourself, Naruto-kun."

"Eh? Just said what?"

"You've been home with me for such a long time and nothing's happened. That means he trusts you," Ayame replied, smiling at him.

"Ohh..."

Naruto couldn't help but feel embarrassed at such praise.

So this must be what recognition feels like...

These days, the old man freaked him out twice as much as he did before but the chef was one of the few friends Naruto had.

Naruto's Friends List

Ayame-chan

Old man Ichiraku
Old man Hokage
Iruka-sensei

Yeah, not a well-drawn out list or anything, but at least there were people on that list.

"Oh, it looks like we've arrived," Ayame said reluctantly, not really wanting to end the conversation just yet.

"Ne, Ayame nee-chan."

"Hmm?"

"Do ya think things will always be like this?"

"Hmm..."

"Not that it's bad or anything! I was just saying because ever since I've become a genin, things have been crazy."

Naruto was definitely starting to grow up.

"Naruto-kun, no matter what happens, we'll always be friends."

"Promise?"

She turned to face him and he saw her open her arms, gesturing that she wanted a hug.

Naruto heard her reply when he hugged her back, and smiled to himself.

When they'd said their goodbyes, he briefly wondered why the usual topic about Sakura didn't come up.

Author's note: I originally thought Naruto's walk with Ayame was gonna be the start of chapter two. When I realized it was still more of a wrap up of chapter one, I decided it was probably too short to work for chapter two. Most chapters will be pretty short.

Also, I don't have a beta. I'm editing all of this myself, which is another reason I'm trying to keep chapters short. Pacing and organization is a huge problem I usually have with writing, and I want to fix that (hence the short, simple plot). I'd like to hear your thoughts on this fic, so send some reviews this way!