DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. It belongs to its owners. This fanfiction is made for entertainment purposes only, and no financial benefit is derived from it. No copyright infringement is intended.

SUMMARY: He always believed 'love at first sight' to be stupid, and Ramen to be his soul mate. Then, fate decided to correct him. AU.

A/N: Something random, something to cheer myself up. And hopefully you all too.

It's an AU. No ninjas. Naruto is a college student, with both his parents alive. He is a happy boy, as I think little Naruto chan deserves it.

Italics are Naruto's thoughts.

Bold is- you'll see.

Why was she still standing over there with her mouth agape, looking at him as if he was a monkey escaped from the circus, was beyond him. Or maybe, she was just astonished by this totally awesome, handsome dashing young man who had come to her rescue, single handedly defeating six people, and was looking for ways to repay him.

Naruto had been working late night again. His father had totally refused to give him more money to spend on the God's gift to humanity, the beacon of light in his dark, dark world of a college student, the lovely, lovely Ramen. What had he deserved to get such a treatment from his father, he had no idea. He was totally ready to replace the money for the textbook, which he used up 'sampling' the wide new variety of flavors at Ichiraku Ramen, as soon as he got his next pocket money. It was not as if he did not want the book, but the ramen had been too tempting. But his father had blown up, saying if he wanted Ramen that much, he should earn the money himself. Sheesh, having so much money had definitely gone to his father's head. Or maybe, his father was just an atheist, unwilling to believe in the supernatural powers of ramen allure. But this time, even his mother could not save him.

So, that confrontation had led to Naruto getting a part time job at Ichiraku's itself, where he could both serve and eat. He had loved his cunning intelligence in taking that job. Work was simple, and the food was heavenly. But it often led to late nights at work, as there were many believers of THROW Ramen (The Holy Religion Of Worshipping Ramen). His mother and he had been throwing the blame for coming up with that childish codeword to annoy his father, on each other for years. But now, the name had stuck.

Tonight had been such a night, and it had been so pleasant with cool breeze, offsetting the blazing hot day, that he had decided to enjoy the walk home. Then he had seen a few thugs surround someone, and being a good citizen that he was, he had helped. This had led to his current predicament.

One look at the stranger, and Naruto had felt the world around him, along with the thugs strewn on the ground, fade. He mentally thanked all the THROW Rameners for keeping him there for this long. She was not only exquisite, even in the dim moonlight; she had a very strange effect on him as well. It felt as if he had known her all his life, though maybe in some other lifetime. And he had an insane desire, for her to call him 'Idiot'. Gaah, he had never known he was unhinged as well as masochistic. Why would anyone want such a pretty girl to call them idiot?

Yet, he was almost yearning for it. So he did the most natural thing: rile her up.

"Why were those thugs after you? You don't look very important, or even pretty enough to be ra…."

"Don't you dare finish that statement, Jerk. And here I was having a feeling of respect for you." She grumbled the last part to herself.

"Owww." Naruto moaned and lifted his face to look at her. Man! She could hit hard.

A devilish version of the beautiful girl stood in front of him. Fist in the air, chest heaving, and eyes blazing.

He had never been more mesmerized.

*She looks cuter when angry.*

Naruto had no idea where that thought came from, but however, he had to agree.

"So, this is what I get for saving the damsel in distress?" Though that punch sure wasn't from any distressed chick. He wisely kept the last part of his thoughts to himself.

This earned him another glare from the said chick.

"Thank you." She said gruffly. She then picked her bag and ventured closer to him, where they were both standing under the street lamp. She was still keeping a wary eye on him, he noted.

"Oh my! Your hand is bleeding." The girl suddenly said with worry evident in her tones, face softening with an angelic glow.

Is she bipolar or something? He had not even noticed his injured hand, he had been busy noticing other things; the deep green of her eyes, for instance.

"I can't even say 'why were you so reckless?' 'Cause if you had not, I would not be here to lecture you. So… thanks, I guess." She said while deftly cleaning his wound.

*You are so rash dummy, but… thank you.*

Wow, it appeared that the unknown voices in his head had a set of feminine vocals as well.

He winced when she dabbed his injury with some antiseptic, and she giggled.

"Oh, so my shiny knight is already feeling pain? Just wait till I proceed further." She muttered distractedly, while pulling out a bandage roll from her bag with an evil glint in her eyes. Did she pack an entire medicine cabinet in there?

She bandaged his hand rapidly with professional confidence. Then she looked up at him, and he immediately sensed more pain for him. Boy, she did not forgive or forget easily, did she?

"When did you have your last anti tetanus shot?" she asked in an extra saccharine voice which sounded anything but sweet to him.

"Er… um… Tetanus? Hehehe." Naruto gave his informative reply while scratching the back of his head nervously.

"I take it… never. Thought so! But don't worry; a few minutes from now, you will actually have a reply for that question."

"Whaat? You are carrying that thing around with yourself too? What are you? A nurse or something?"

*She is the best medic in the entire fire kingdom, 'ttebayo.*

"Why can't I be a doctor, huh?" she said while preparing an extremely mean looking shot. Naruto eyed her bag warily. What else did she have in there? The entire operation theatre? At that point, he could've believed anything. He thanked his lucky stars foe getting only minor injury.

"Doctor? Naah… you look too young, and not all that intelligent, and moreover, imagining you in a nurse's uniform is… fun." He chuckled at the horrified expression on her face. She was just too much fun. He could get addicted to this hobby of riling her up.

His mirth immediately turned into horror, when she jabbed the syringe in her hand at the spirit cleaned area on his arm.

"Owww. You are mean."

"And you are stupid. I'll have you know that I am the youngest intern at the Konoha hospital ever. I am a certified genius, and no, I normally don't carry these items around. It just happened to be your lucky day. My car broke down; otherwise I would not have been in such an unfortunate situation at all. And keep that hand of yours clean and dry, I would not like to see my hard work undone."

But Naruto had stopped listening as soon as she had uttered the word stupid. It was close to the meaning but not exactly the word he wanted to hear from her mouth.

*Idiot.*

Yeah! So she was a sadist and he was a masochist. Did they not make the most perfect couple ever?

"Er… so, can I drop you off to your home? Your car… broke down or something?"

"Did you even hear a single word I said? Not that I expected you to. Still… thanks, but no thanks. My home is nearby, and you should not trouble yourself further." She stated the last part softly.

"Oh! Afraid that you won't be able to keep your hands off me once we reach your home? I knew I was too awesome for any girl to resist." He teased, enjoying the rapid spread of red on her cheeks.

"Whaa…? No! I don't want your stupidity germs to infect my sterile neighbourhood." She huffed with a stubborn tilt to her head. Witty, and does not like to be teased. Adorably perfect.

"Still, I would not like to see my hard work undone." The repetition of her words was playful, but the underlying message was not. The world out there was still unsafe. He hoped that she'll see the reason.

She agreed, albeit a bit reluctantly.

They walked to her home, side by side, his eyes watchful. He felt a little like when he used to play Ninja bodyguards with his friends as kids.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why did you risk your life for me, back there?" she asked softly.

*I'll do anything to keep her safe.*

Again? Ever since he had met this girl, he was having strange feelings of intense protectiveness for her. He felt as if he had known her, loved her, for a long time. But surely he had never met her before. He would have remembered such a beautiful girl. And he was too young to have already loved and forgotten. Was something wrong in his head? Maybe he should get his head checked tomorrow. Yeah! But what if she turned out to be the Psychiatrist? He could totally imagine the look on her face when he told her he had been having strange flashbacks ever since he met her, and that his brain believed that they were some long lost soul mates. His vivid imagination immediately painted the picture in his head.

'Uh… I think we used to know each other in our previous lives and I was totally in love with you.' He would hold her hand and say. Her eyes would widen, cheeks would flush adorably. She would lean closer, and will raise her other hand to his cheek. And then… bam!

'I think you should totally be in a mental asylum now.'

Riiiiiiight! That would certainly work.

"Um… cause you are pretty?" He questioned lamely.

"Wow, you actually noticed something correctly. I was beginning to assume you were totally clueless." She teased with slight laughter in her voice. Naruto liked the tone.

They finally reached her home. It was a quiet and beautiful area.

"My home is here."

"I live nearby too. And to think that if I had not taken a shortcut to college every day, I would have met you sooner."

She giggled at that.

"Thank you. Maybe someday we will meet again Mr….?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. And I certainly hope so. It's not every day you get a free shot and personal care from such a pretty doctor. Right Dr….?" Naruto was amazed that they had not even introduced themselves till now. But he had felt so much at home with her, so familiar and comfortable, that he had not felt the need. Maybe it was the same with her. He could at least hope.

"Haruno Sakura."

*Sakura chan.*

"So, Sakura ch… er… Haruno san, what would you say to the offer of meeting the totally hot me for tea tomorrow?"

"Sakura chan is fine Uzumaki san. You saved my life. You have earned the right. As for your question, I will say", she said with an exaggerated gesture of pretending, "yes, if the totally hot you is ready to pay."

Wait! Was she agreeing? He grinned.

"Just Naruto is fine, Sakura chan." He grinned. "So, you do think I'm hot?"

"No! I think", amusement laced her voice, "you are an Idiot. And you should leave now. Meet me here tomorrow evening. Bye."

"Bye." He turned to leave in a daze.

*You are an Idiot Naruto. But you are my Idiot.*

He mentally whooped.

Bingo!

A/N: Yeah, it was Naruto's lucky day.

An AU with slight canon overlap.

I tried to keep them as much in character as possible, for an AU.

All comments and suggestions are welcome. Please do point out any grammar, spelling, or general mistakes you find, in your reviews. It will help in improving my writing.

Thanks for your time.

Take care.