Spark and Fade
Without Fear
Summary: In the aftermath of Pein's attack, Teuchi reflects on how much he and humble Ichiraku have gone through, having witnessed the frightening fast pace of the shinobi world as customers come, go and perhaps never come back. 2CHP
Chapter 1 out of 2: The New Face of Ichiraku
It was beautiful to behold—the smell of the newly polished wood, the gleaming tables, fresh paint and the little curtains that proudly announced the new face of Ichiraku Ramen House. Teuchi sniffed sentimentally, tears of joy and gratitude gleaming in his aged eyes.
"Look's like we're done," a young red haired shinobi announced, giving the old man an amiable pat on the back, "Looks great doesn't it Teuchi-san?"
Teuchi nodded enthusiastically and faced the young man, smiling and turned to see the team of five shinobis who had tasked themselves with helping him rebuild the ramen shop. They were worn in both spirit and mind, having just experienced an Akatsuki invasion and death not too long ago. However, with brightened eyes and hopeful smiles, they had insisted they help Teuchi rebuild his ramen house, and the shop shone in glory never seen before in just a matter of days.
Teuchi was thankful but had also been puzzled as to why they were so adamant about helping him when there were others places with much needed aid.
One of the young men had smiled brightly and answered his question, "We know this is Uzumaki Naruto's favorite place to eat. He's our hero! So we thought…we could show him some of our gratitude by bringing back his favorite old place. Would make him real happy, don't you think, Teuchi-san?"
Teuchi could not help smiling and he could not help feeling immensely proud of Uzumaki Naruto as he looked on his new ramen shop.
"Thank you," he said to them, his voice soft but full of gratitude, "So very much."
They laughed, and said something along the lines of, "The least we could do! Especially for Naruto-kun."
Teuchi looked up at the Hokage's monument and sent a thought to the fourth stony face, you would be so proud of him Minato, you too Kushina.
"Well, Teuchi-san," said the red head, "We're gonna go get some rest. You rest up too and start bringing Ichiraku's ramen back!"
Teuchi laughed, tears still in his eyes, and nodded. After they exchanged goodbyes and kind words, the shinobis left. Teuchi went into his new shop and sat down on a customer chair, letting the newness of this Ichiraku sink in. The air was cool inside, and the strong odor of fresh paint filled his nostrils. He let out sigh that was neither entirely happy nor sad and looked around the dark shop. It was almost exactly like the old Ichiraku—almost—it held none of the distinctive, aged smell of salty broth, boiled ramen and motley customers the old shop that accumulated with time. It had none of the memory of the old Ichiraku, and Ichiraku had been in his memory ever since he could remember. He realized, suddenly, with an amused chuckle, how much he and Ichirauki had seen, how much they had gone through together. Teuchi closed his eyes as years of memories flashed in out and of his mind.
---
The warmth of the stoves, the smell of the broth and the noisy chatter of customers dominated his earliest memory. Teuchi was but six years old when Konoha was beginning to stabilize from the First Great Shinobi War that ravaged the continents over a decade ago. He did not understand much then—especially not his father's intense appreciation of the peace within the village.
"Teuchi," his old man would often say, "Before all this, there was chaos. The Senjus and the Uchihas were always at each other's neck. Innocent people were caught in between their rivalry. But now, look…despite all that happened, look how we all get along. Look how good things are. I am happy this is all you know…and I hope this is all you will know."
Of course, in retrospect, his father was immensely naïve in that wish. They lived in a shinobi village—peace was short, if there was to be peace at all. Violence and death was life. However, he understood it was much better than the time when the individual clans were in constant competition and warfare. It was also bad for business.
"Teuchi," his father would point at the Hokage monument which only had three faces at the time, "Those two—Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama…they made all this possible." Teuchi as a young boy learned idolize the two Hokage heroes and decided very early on he wanted to be a shinobi. Surprisingly, his father was absolutely against him becoming a shinobi and reprimanded him harshly, "It's not cool, it's not heroism, and it's not fun. It is not a life anyone should live!" Teuchi couldn't understand at the time why his father so hated the profession of his heroes. Needless to say, Teuchi was very resentful towards the ultimatum and decided he hated ramen.
"Senju Hashirama loved my ramen," his father told him proudly, "It is our duty to keep our shinobis well fed and strong!" Teuchi always hated that—he'd rather be the one eating it than making it!
He remembered the customers at the time, even at such a young age. He remembered Sandaime, young and stern, with his three colorful students. There was Jiraiya who was always a victim of Tsunade's one hell of a mean left hook, and the quiet, odd Orochimaru. He couldn't recall anything else about them at the time, except they were intimidating and had an atmosphere of danger Teuchi did not recognize as danger at that age.
One could say it was a relatively peaceful time, at least on the surface. Life in the village went on as it always had as the civilians rejoiced in the newfound stability. A sense of community had overtaken Konoha and nationalism was on the rise, imbuing every level of life and smothering any criticism that may arise. Of course, Teuchi understood none of that. He did, however, understand that shinobis were ravenous eaters and could eat twice as much as a civilian and be twice as thin. He would always watch with wonder as a single man could wolf down half a dozen bowls of large shoyu ramen and still be able to walk afterwards. He decided that shinobis had bottomless pits for stomachs and served as a reserve for chakra—thus he needed to develop one if he ever wanted to wear the forehead protector. He started eating ramen again.
At eight, he first met Hatake Sakumo, a jounin though still a teenager, when he came to experience the 'Senju Hashirama approved' ramen, as his father advertised it. He remembered the intelligent kind eyes, the handsome face, the shock of white hair, and an aura of undetached confidence and poise with which the young man held himself. He told Teuchi and his father, "I can see why it's Senju Hashirama approved!" He winked at Teuchi and told him to learn the secret of his father's recipe and, "Don't share that knowledge to other villages! Konoha's secret Senju-approved ramen." Of course, he was exaggerating and trying to put young Teuchi at ease, but Teuchi will never forget the disarming charm of the silver haired shinobi. Inspired, Teuchi's desire to become a shinobi burned brighter than ever. He used the 'Will of Fire' talk with his father, insisting he had been born with a nascent flame to become a shinobi and that sure Senju Hashirama would think he was worthy of being a shinobi. His father made sure he went to a civilian school.
When Teuchi was fourteen, the second shinobi war had just come to a bloody close with a victory for Konoha. A number of great shinobis perished and number of legendary personalities emerged. The Sandaime was still in power, and the healing process had just begun but the damage of was already done. One just needed to look upon the face of the veteran shinobis and a grim cloud that enveloped Konoha. Even the weather, perpetually gray and cold at that time, seemed to heavy with grief and cried often.
He never saw some of his shinobi customers again, and it frightened him more than anything in his life. Where were Nomura Daichi and his sister Kumiko who always ordered chashu ramen, pestering Teuchi to slip them some more pieces of meat? He heard from Goruya Hiroki's grandmother that his body was never found, along with those of his team when they were sent on a spying mission. Morino Ichigo came to drunkenly mourn the passing of his younger brother, and Umino Kouhei came to eat his usual miso pork ramen and ended bawling over the loss of his jounin sensei. He even had a rare visit from a member the esteemed house of the Uchihas, who quietly ate his shoyu ramen with a melancholy air about him. Above all, he was glad to see Hatake Sakumo again, newly christened 'Konoha's White Fang', return for a bowl of Ichiraku's special "Senju-approved" ramen. However, this Sakumo was different from before—his voice held less mirth, there was less of the jovial teasing and his eyes seemed duller, wiser and had an unmistakable tinge of sadness. Teuchi knew immediately it was the war. He witnessed countless more deeply injured men and women, and he started wondered if Konoha's 'victory' was a victory at all. He began to understand that, perhaps, his father was right in keeping him in the ramen house.
The three students of the Sandaime earned the title the 'Sannin'. The three legendary shinobis—powerful, intimidating, and proud. They rarely came to Ichiraku if they came at all, and Teuchi was disappointed. They were famous after all, and who didn't want to meet the three famous heroes of the war? Tsunade had left the village a year after the end of the war. Orochimaru and Jiraiya stayed behind and took up teaching.
Jiraiya, much to Teuchi's delight, did return to Ichiraku, though it was quite sometime later. He had with him three young shinobis. Teuchi distinctly remembered Namikaze Minato, who would later become the Yellow Flash and the Yondaime. At the time, Teuchi remembered with a laugh, he was just a kid whose energy and enthusiasm was insufferable to Teuchi.
Annoying brat, teenage Teuchi thought. He was still a little peeved at he was not able to become a shinobi. Despite all that he had witnessed, he was jealous of the kid who wore the forehead protector so proudly, and angry, because this kid was foolish having never seen or understand what Teuchi have seen and understood.
"Jiraiya-sama," Teuchi said, eying the kids, "Aren't they a little too young to be shinobis?"
Instead of an answer from the Sannin, the blond Minato turned an enthusiastic eye and on him, and declared, "No we're not! We're going to train to be the best shinobis in the world! I am, at least—" he gave his teammates a teasing smile, which the other two ignored with annoyed expressions, "We're already genins and I'm going to be Hokage!"
"Hey, you're gonna jinx yourself by saying it so much," warned his sensei with mock admonition, "Kids these days." But his question was left without a serious answer.
A year later, a bouncy, energetic blond came running into the ramen shop, loudly and proudly declaring, "I made chuunin! Take that!" He then ate three large orders of kurobuta ramen (bottomless pit for a stomach—on his way to be a real shinobi), while giving Teuchi and his father a blow by blow account of his final battle. His childish enthusiasm and his shinobi feats were at such alarming odds that Teuchi felt almost sad that they were thrust into the violent world so young.
"And then I used my wind pressure technique and I finished him off!" Minato finished his story with the necessary sound effects and wild gesticulations. At the end, he sighed, satisfied, grinning ear to ear and practically glowing. The boy's smile suddenly turned sad, much to Teuchi's surprise, and he said quietly, "I hope Katsu-san made it. He was a good opponent and he deserves to make chuunin." Teuchi was touched by the kid's goodwill for his opponent. Heh, Teuchi thought, he's not bad…maybe he should make Hokage. Teuchi had no expertise to say that the kid was good enough to make it, but he had the right attitude.
Another year passed and something resembling peace settled on Konoha. He remembered a beaming Hatake Sakumo ordering a large order of ramen. The light in his eyes seemed to be restored and he seemed more youthful than the last time Teuchi saw him. Peace was benefiting the White Fang, it seems.
"Hey, Teuchi-kun," greeted Sakumo, "It's been a while since I've seen you! You've grown!" Indeed he had, Teuchi was about to turn seventeen.
"Heh, you too Sakumo-san," Teuchi shot back good naturedly. The Hatake had grown handsomely and Teuchi wondered if he had any female followings. With that personality of his, he would make most girls' hearts melt.
"Where's your father?"
"He's visiting an aunt."
"Oh, I see you're the boss today, Teuchi-kun," teased Sakumo with a grin (Teuchi was happy to know that his humor had also returned), "Let's see if you got your father's ramen touch. I haven't had it in a while."
"I've more than got it, Sakumo-san," Teuchi boasted.
"Amaze me," challenged the shinobi. Teuchi took the challenge and whipped up the best ramen he could, garnishing the bowl tirelessly with seasonings, vegetables, seafood and meat. It amazed the White Fang alright.
"It's great," Sakumo declared as he slurped up the last of the noodles, "You definitely got it Teuchi-kun." The young man smiled proudly at the compliment.
"Oh, right, Teuchi-kun," the man said, suddenly remembering something, "I'm getting married soon. I wanted to invite you and your father."
Teuchi blinked and repeated, "Married? You?"
The Hatake let out a hearty laugh and asked, "What? You don't think I could get married? Am I that unlikable?"
"No no, of course not Sakumo-san, quite the contrary," Teuchi apologized, turning a little red, "It was just so sudden. I didn't even know you were seeing someone."
"Well, I haven't been here for awhile," Sakumo said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, "But, I've known her for some time."
"Is she a kunoichi?"
"Nope." Sakumo's smile turned sad—it was a subtle change, but Teuchi noticed it.
"You're marrying a civilian?"
"Yep."
"She must love you."
Sakumo let out a small, sad sigh and nodded, indicating that he knew what the teenager had meant. When Teuchi and his father attended the wedding, he realized just how much she must've loved him. She was of noble birth, and was giving up her luxurious life as something of a princess to join the lower and more dangerous position of a shinobi's wife.
Around the same time, he remembered an interesting meeting with two new shinobis, both friends of Minato—Nara Shikaku and Uzumaki Kushina…well, friends to a certain degrees. The former was dragged to the ramen store by the blond Minato who wanted Nara's help on something.
"Yo, Teuchi-san!" greeted the blond, "This is Nara Shikaku. And a bowl of miso pork ramen please…with extra pork!"
"Menma ramen, please," said the other boy lazily. He turned to Minato, "What were you saying?"
They didn't get far into their conversation as another person crashed in on their meeting. Now, Teuchi would never forget this spitfire. Her blazing red hair, cheerful green eyes and unending energy put Minato's usual vivacity to shame. Maybe that's why they didn't get along.
"What do you want?" asked the blond, annoyed.
The girl seemed to twitch annoyingly at this, but she continued, "Your mom wants you to pick up some food for the mission before you leave."
"Alright, alright, I got it," Minato said quickly, as if he wanted to get rid of her fast, "Leave us will you? Shikaku and I have some stuff to discuss about the mission."
"And you're doing it in a ramen house?" she said incredulously. Teuchi laughed inwardly—the girl was right, what were they doing discussing missions in a ramen house? Weren't they supposed to have some level of confidentiality?
Minato, on the other hand, threw the girl a piercing glare, which surprised Teuchi that he was able to pull of such a stern expression. The girl pouted and threw a punch that sent Minato's head crashing into his bowl of ramen. The end result was a stunned Ichiraku and a yellow head drenched with broth and noodles.
"Minato, you jerk! I still haven't forgiven you!" She turned on her heels and sped out of the shop.
"So…what did you do this time Minato?" asked Shikaku coolly, eying the stunned, angry blond with as much interest a Nara could show in such situations.
"New bowl kid?" asked Teuchi, grinning widely and handing the boy a towel, "Having girl troubles eh?" The blond gave Teuchi a look of embarrassment and fury.
Late September in the same year, a wave of rumor caught his ears that the White Fang just had a baby boy born to him—and the name given to the poor kid was Kakashi. Teuchi grinned. Now, he took rumors with a grain of salt, but he wouldn't put past the jovial shinobi to name his fist born son 'Kakashi'. Definitely a name to remember.
When Teuchi turned twenty, he met his one and only love, wooed her and got hitched. He took a break from the shop for several months to enjoy his sweetheart's company and the two of them had a honeymoon in a resort where shinobis were rare. There was a refreshing stillness in the air—no rowdy shinobis getting off work or returning from a mission, no sight of the green vest and blue under layer or the shiny forehead protectors. However, he realized that comfort was with serving ramen to the voracious, colorful and sadly young shinobi population. Teuchi continued doing just that. Plus, the money wasn't bad.
When he was back in the shop, he had another visit from Hatake Sakumo—but it wasn't just him, it was the entire Hatake brood.
A little palm slammed the table and demanded, in surprisingly proficient Japanese for someone so young, "I want to order kurobuta ramen! Make it fast, 'cause I'm starving!"
Teuchi, taken aback, stared at the little silver haired boy who met his gaze with steely but undeniably adorable gray eyes. He was half standing on his mother's lap wearing the most serious expression a toddler could pull off.
"Say please, Kakashi," his mother told him firmly, but there was not a hint of scolding in her tone, "It's rude to speak like that to strangers." Sakumo was grinning very widely watched his little son, as if there was an inside joke that Teuchi was not privy to.
The young boy looked up at his mother and cast a sideway glance at his father. Deciding that silence from his father meant that his mother's words were right, he looked back at Teuchi and said in flat voice, "Please."
"You don't sound like you mean it, Kakashi," said his father, giving his son an almost challenging smirk.
The toddler pouted and said, very truthfully, "I don't mean it."
"And why not?" asked his mother.
"I don't understand why I have to say please."
"You're asking him to make ramen for you," explained his mother.
The kid didn't seem happy with the explanation: "But we're paying him for it!" Teuchi raised an eyebrow, and restrained an urge to snap at the toddler. The kid was getting less and less cute by the moment!
Sakumo smiled slightly, "Anytime you ask someone to do something for you, paid or not, you have to be courteous, by saying please, understand?"
"No," was the stubborn answer. Teuchi was surprised that neither parent seemed fazed by this answer.
Sakumo continued patiently, "It's just the rule of polite society, Kakashi. It shows respect, and, Teuchi-kun would probably make you an even better ramen if say please."
"Ok," conceded the silver haired toddler at the thought of better ramen, and sounding much more like he meant it, directed a "Please" at Teuchi.
"That's better. Sorry about that Teuchi-kun," Sakumo apologized with the same grin on his face, "Kakashi picks things up really fast and he likes to try out every idea he's encountered."
Teuchi lifted an eyebrow—idea, what the hell did that mean? Teuchi waved his hands indicating it wasn't offended, at least not as much as he was shocked. "How old is he?"
Instead an answer from Sakumo or the mother, a miffed little voice answered him, "I'm three! Why are you asking them when I'm here?"
Taken aback (again), Teuchi stared at the kid, unable to respond. The mother's eyes were set curiously on him and didn't seem like she was going to help, and Sakumo just looked on, amused. It was like they were testing him, and Teuchi realized they weren't planning on scolding him. Kakashi, however, became bored and looked up at this father.
"Ne, Sakumo-san," little Kakashi said, "What ramen do you want?"
Teuchi's eyes widened—did the kid refer to his father by name? And did both his mother and his father just completely ignore this? Yes…yes they did, for Sakumo was more preoccupied by giving Teuchi his order and the mother seemed more interested in fixing Kakashi's shirt.
"Kisu-san?" said Kakashi, looking up at his mother, "What about you?"
"I'll share with you," she answered.
"But…would it be enough?"
"You can't finish an entire bowl, Kakashi and I'm fine with not eating a lot."
"Alright---make my and Kisu-san's bowl extra big then!"
"Of course," Teuchi answered weakly, amazed to have seen an exclusive glimpse into the famous parenting techniques of the Hatake. So this is what people called 'prodigy'? He worried for the kid.
Two years later, Teuchi heard the news that Kisuriko and Kakashi were targets of a grudge-driven assassination, and only the little kid made it out alive. The family had just been in high spirits when Kakashi had been recently honored as a genin, one of the youngest graduates from the Academy ever. It happened when Sakumo was on a mission, and Kakashi, according to rumors, survived at the interruption of the Uchiha Police Force. The assassins were from Suna.
Sighing sadly at the lost, Teuchi realized that not being a shinobi didn't exclude you from untimely, violent deaths—just being married to one was enough, being precious to one was enough---and even, as he would later realize, living in the same village was enough.
When his little Ayame was born, Tuechi cried—cried because he was happy and so grateful that his father scolded him all those years ago about the foolishness of wanting become a shinobi. Would he have seen the almost miraculous sight of his little girl if he had donned that forehead protector all those years ago? He seriously doubted it.
Note: I don't watch the anime, but I heard Ayame turned Ichiraku into a Tsukemen shop in one of the fillers (screw fillers!!). . I'm with Naruto on this one; it's still a RAMEN shop to me. I do like Tuskemen, but…it holds none of the sentimentality of old Naruto and his obsession with ramen. Chashu ramen all the way!
There is one more chapter left. Thank you for reading and please leave a comment or critique! The encounters of course gets more and more detailed as Teuchi gets older and he remembers things better.