It's Got Ramen in It
Sakura borrows some of Naruto's ramen to use it for a dish she's making for the New Years Eve Festival. Too bad it couldn't be just be ramen by itself…
It was ten at night, and Naruto was about to complete his daily "Smirk-Off" after-mission training secession with his one-hundredth sit-up when somebody knocked on his apartment door. Carefully picking himself off the floor, the dripping ninja shuffled to answer it.
Opening the door, he laid his eyes upon the most beautiful thing he had ever seen: Sakura, who came to see him outside of a mission! (Take that, stupid Sasuke!) Naruto's mouth dropped open, and he burbled senselessly.
"Eh? Naruto? Don't drool over me like that," Sakura commanded sternly. "You look like you've never seen me before."
"Sa-Sa-Sa-Sakura…" Naruto sighed, flushing. The girl wrinkled her nose.
"You stink, you know that?" she said coldly. "Don't you take a shower after a mission?"
"I was…training," he explained in a murmur, still blinded by the glowing girl.
Sakura scowled, impatient with her teammate's foolish nonsense.
"Look," she began firmly. "The only reason I came here was to ask you if I could borrow any of your ramen. Not to see you."
The boy beamed. "You want to eat ramen with me?!" he exclaimed, overjoyed. "Sure, sure, come in! I've got lots! I'll go get ready—"
He made to dash away into his kitchen when Sakura delivered a not-so-kind blow to his head. Eyes watering, Naruto cowered fearfully under his crush's wrath.
"Idiot! I don't want to eat it with you! I only need it as an ingredient for my dish!" she roared. She whacked him again for a good measure, and he groaned.
"Ahh…Sakura doesn't want to eat with me…" he lamented, twitching on the floor.
"That's right. Now you're listening to me." She nodded sagely. "I'll say this again one more time. I was wondering if I could borrow some of your ramen so I can use it in the dish I'm making for the New Years Eve festival."
The boy blinked stupidly. "New Years Eve festival…" he repeated dumbly, slowly getting to his feet. "W…When was that again?"
Sakura twitched. "Tomorrow, idiot!" she barked.
Naruto's bewildered expression didn't change. "…Oh," he said finally, scratching his cheek absentmindedly. "Well. Okay. If you're just making ramen at the festival, then I guess I can't complain." He turned around, tiptoed around all his trash on the floor, and disappeared into another room. Numerous cupboards squeaked open and closed.
Sakura took this time to scrutinize Naruto's living space. She wrinkled her nose; so far, things were not looking up to standards. Ninjas were supposed to be organized, right? Look at that! Clothes on the floor, trash everywhere, dirt, dust, and the smell of sweat and decomposing food scraps clogging the air…
She casually examined the scrap of paper lying on the desk adjacent to the doorway. The words on the top were underlined "Smirk-Off", and below them was a list of training exercises.
Naruto returned, cradling five or six unopened ramen cups in his arms. "This enough?" he asked. Sakura nodded, accepting the bundle.
"Need anything else?" he asked. "Or do you just want to talk to me some more?" He looked hopeful, and Sakura felt more than a little annoyed.
"No thanks, idiot," she growled. "What's 'Smirk-Off', anyway?" she added as an afterthought.
Naruto blinked owlishly. "Huh?" he said, bewildered. "It…oh, that. It's my after-mission training routine!" He flexed his arms proudly, pumping himself up. "That way, I can get strong enough to kick Sasuke's butt and wipe that stupid smirk off his face! Yeah! That'll show him who's better!"
Sakura gave him a strange look, too amused to hit him on the head again.
"Well…Good night, Naruto," she said, shifting the load in her arms to a more stable arrangement.
"Eh, g'night, Sakura," he replied, a little disappointed that she didn't seem impressed. "I'm really looking forward to your ramen dish."
The girl hesitated, debating whether or not she should correct him. "Y-Yeah…" she said finally, and Naruto softly closed the door in front of her.
--
It was the last afternoon of the year, and nearly everybody in Konoha was attending the annual New Years Eve festival. Even the surly Sasuke was there; though he blamed the bubbly Naruto and pleading Sakura to be the ones responsible for his attendance. Once they arrived a few hours after sunset, Naruto made a beeline for the food tables and demanded to know where Sakura's ramen dish was.
"It's over there," said Sakura indifferently, gesturing vaguely. Her eyes were glued on Sasuke, who was pointedly ignoring her.
Naruto looked. "Where? Where? All I see are salads."
"Yeah, that's right," said the girl. "It is a salad."
Naruto looked confused. "But you took my ramen," he said, frowning.
"I needed it as an ingredient," she explained, reluctantly tearing her eyes away from her crush. "It's a caesar salad…but it's got ramen in it."
She waited a few seconds for the information to sink in.
"W-Whaa?" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing his hair. "Caesar salad?!" He hurried over to the dish and leaned in so close to it he nearly touched his nose to the leaves. Sure enough, there were broken bits of dried ramen mixed in with the vegetables. The boy looked ready to cry. "My ramen!" he moaned.
"Look, Naruto, I'm going to pay you back," said Sakura sternly. "The stores were closed and we had a mission today! I really needed that ingredient. Try it—it tastes great with that extra crunch."
"M-My ramen…" he instead sniffed, looking hurt. He gazed at Sakura pathetically, who only sighed in exasperation and turned away.
Sasuke looked faintly annoyed. "Look, if you two don't finish squabbling now, I'm going to eat somewhere else," he said.
Sakura started, horrified, but Naruto couldn't care less. "Then go on ahead! I don't want to eat with you anyway!" he retorted.
Sasuke glared at him and began to stride away; Sakura, flashing Naruto a scathing look, hurried after him. Naruto, realizing that he was all alone, dropped his head in disappointment.
A few moments later, somebody bumped into the dejected boy. "Hey, move it, will ya?" the person grunted, waving his plate around. "I'm trying to get some food here!"
Sighing despondently, Naruto shuffled away.
--
Naruto managed to catch up with Sakura and Sasuke a half an hour after they abandoned him at the food tables. Sakura convinced the boys that it would be a good idea to do at least one thing together, you know, to improve team cohesiveness and all. Then, they could make Naruto leave—er, let the three of them go on their separate ways after that.
They decided to ride the extremely popular Flaming Dragon roller coaster together. During the long wait, they somehow managed to avoid embarrassing outbreaks of idiotic yelling or head punching by distracting themselves with small talk.
"Sorry, but we can't seat the three of you together," the ticket taker informed them apologetically when they reached the front of the line. Each cart held four people in two by two rows, but apparently, all of the carts were either filled or partially filled. "Do you want to wait for the next ride?"
"…We'll take this one," Sasuke told him.
"What! You can't speak for all of us!" Naruto protested furiously. "You didn't even ask for what we—hey! Where are you going?!"
Sasuke was already striding ahead of them. After exchanging a pair of significant looks, his two companions followed in his wake.
Sasuke took a seat next to a young girl, and Sakura took the seat nearest to his cart. Naruto, who seemingly had no place to go, dashed around foolishly.
"N-Naruto! Over here!" a familiar voice squeaked bravely. The boy turned. Hinata and a diminutive girl, who appeared to be her little sister, waved. Gratefully, he jogged to their cart and slid into the empty seat behind them.
"Thanks a lot, Hinata. I didn't know you were coming here too," said Naruto. "Is she your sister?"
Hinata, glad that her crush couldn't see her blushing, stammered, "Y-Yes, she is."
The smaller girl twisted around in her seat and gave the boy a cheeky grin. "My sister likes you," she announced boldly. Hinata jerked violently and looked ready to bop her sibling on the head.
"Oh really?" Naruto replied, distracted with the tangle of a seatbelt. "Then tell her that I like her too."
The girl gave Hinata, who buried her burning face in her hands, a pointed look.
Meanwhile, five carts away, Sasuke was trying his best to ignore the watery-eyed, pleading look the child next to him was giving him. Out of the corner of his eye, he judged her to be about eight-years-old, and, due to her slim physique, to not be any sort of threat.
"…Can I hold your hand?" the girl whispered finally, widening her eyes fearfully. "I-I'm scared."
Sasuke tried to keep his scowl as small as possible. "Why did you come on a roller coaster, then?" he retorted unsympathetically.
The girl stuck out her lower lip. "'Cause I wanted to show my brother I wasn't scared," she pouted. "He was too scared. He didn't come with me. Now I'm scared." She shivered.
A dark cloud descended over the ninja's head. "You had your chance to leave during the line," he said, shooting her the evil eye.
The girl just gave him a sad look.
The attendants began to check everybody's seatbelts. Sasuke gave the girl next to him a significant look when they reached their cart, but she didn't budge or say a word. The attendants gave the operator the go ahead, so the burly man pushed a few buttons on the control panel and jerked the microphone to his lips.
"Please keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times, and make sure you secure all of your belongings. Enjoy your flight," he rumbled.
The girl started. "Flight?!" she gasped. "I didn't know we were fly—AHH!"
The train of carts was barely crawling, but still the child latched herself to Sasuke's elbow. The boy looked up to the sky in exasperation and attempted to shove his hands into his pockets, which, due to the safety restraints, was a more than a little difficult to do. When they started to move uphill, the girl pushed her head into his shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut.
Suddenly, struck by the sudden suspicion that perhaps this young girl was actually some idiot like Ino in disguise, Sasuke activated his Sharingan (though he was bemused to have to use it during a festival) and glanced at her. If she was Ino, he'd have his reason (and chance) to beat her up and send her flying; he hated having lovesick girls following him around. However, the girl was who she was, and there was nothing he could do to her.
He blinked his eyes black again and shifted uncomfortably; her grip was really starting to hurt! "Fine, you can hold my hand," he surrendered finally, nudging her impatiently. "Let go of me."
The girl reluctantly relinquished her hold, blindly padding her hand down his arm to search for his hand. Sasuke eventually gave it to her, and she immediately crushed it in her grip. Her other hand grabbed the side of the cart.
Meanwhile, Sakura, who was one cart away, debated whether she should feel angry and jealous or touched. Sasuke was being nice, for once! Too bad it was with a little kid, and not her. She always knew that boy had a sweet side.
Wait a minute…
Sakura gasped. What if that girl was another ninja in disguise?! Maybe it was Ino who was trying to dupe Sasuke into holding her hand! She glared at the two. No way would he fall for that trick! He wouldn't let that girl hold his hand if he knew that she was Ino. Unless…unless he didn't mind. He minded, didn't he?!
"Ahhh!" Sakura moaned, and the other riders in her cart glanced at her. She sank in her seat. Life wasn't fair sometimes.
The train crept past the top of the hill and drooped over the other side. Sasuke lost all feeling in his fingers, Sakura sat up apprehensively, and Naruto bounced in his seat, whooping excitedly. The brakes released, and the Flaming Dragon zoomed through the night.
--
"…Is it over?" the girl gripping Sasuke's hand whispered.
"Yes. Now let go," he snapped, prying his hand loose. He eyed his red, stinging fingers exasperatedly.
The girl opened her eyes and blinked hugely. "…Thanks a lot. For helping me," she said sincerely.
"Whatever," he grunted, using his other hand to unlock the seatbelt. Once free, he opened the door, climbed out of the seat, and hurried through the exit. There, he waited for his companions.
Sakura emerged looking more than a little wind-swept, and Naruto arrived looking like he couldn't stop bouncing off the walls. "Yeaaah! That was great!" he exclaimed, pumped up. "I wanna go again!"
"If you are, then you're waiting in line yourself," Sasuke said bluntly, shaking the color back into his crushed hand. Naruto eyed it curiously.
"Eh? What happened to your hand, huh?" he asked. "You sit on it or something?"
Sasuke quickly dropped it to his side. "Nothing," he lied.
Sakura glanced at the black-haired boy furtively. "So what's next?" she wanted to know.
"I'm going on that ride again!" Naruto announced proudly.
Sakura ignored him. "What are you doing?" she asked her other teammate.
He frowned, pausing. "…I don't know. I'll look around and see," he said finally.
"I'll go with you," she proclaimed, and Naruto's face fell.
"I thought we were going to split up," Sasuke protested testily.
Now it was Sakura's turn to be dejected. "…Fine, then," she sighed.
Naruto slowly glanced at each of his teammates in turn. "Uhh, well, Happy New Years, guys," he finally wished awkwardly, turning to go.
"Bye, Naruto," Sakura replied, and the boy, more heartened, began to jog away.
Sasuke wordlessly moved away. Watching him go, Sakura murmured, "Bye Sasuke. Huh. I guess I'm by myself, then. Ohhh…this stinks!" Crestfallen, she slowly wandered off in a different direction.
With that, each member of Team Seven enjoyed the rest of the New Years Eve Festival on their own.