Naruto, usually, minds his own business.
He sits with his friends, he minds his own business and doesn't eavesdrop or stare all that much.
He's a good guy.
But then he saw her, on a Saturday, sitting by herself at his favorite café and she just looks so lonely and sad that he has to sit down with her.
She looks up the second he makes himself known and offers him a polite dimpled smile in return to his warm, welcoming grin.
She's pretty.
Not in an overwhelming way, or the type of pretty you immediately notice, no, she's the type of pretty you have to look at for a while before it hits you that she is pretty.
"I'm Naruto," he introduces himself.
"Kiyomi." The Girl answers softly, she almost reminds him of Hinata as she sips her beverage.
He talks, and she listens, he doesn't know if she's being polite or if she's pretending to listen like Sasuke always does, but she seems genuinely interested in all that he has to say, even throwing in her own opinions.
But then they lapse into silence.
"Do you think people would miss you?" Kiyomi asks randomly.
This question takes him by surprise and his brows furrow as he tries to figure out what she's asking.
"If you disappeared, I mean." Kiyomi shrugs, her voice quiet. "I just wonder, would anyone care?"
"I'd care." Naruto grins at her. "You're my friend now."
Kiyomi lets out a surprised sound, and then laughs.
It's a sweet laugh, and the second it ends, he wants to hear it again.
In the upcoming hours, Naruto learns that Kiyomi is majoring in Architecture, but she likes writing in her free time, she likes spending her time in Koharu Café because it gives her inspiration that the outside world can't, he learns that she takes her coffee straight black, no sugar.
Naruto makes the mistake of sipping her coffee.
She laughs at him for a full five minutes.
He decides that he really likes her laugh.
"How can you drink that?" He asks, sipping his, now tasting overly sweet, latte and trying to wash out the bitter taste.
"I had a friend once, I stopped by his house every day and he never took his coffee with sugar, one month later, he says, 'Oh, crap, I forgot you don't have diabetes.' And he gave me coffee with actual sugar. I couldn't drink it." Kiyomi shrugs, sipping her coffee. "Been drinking black coffee ever since."
"I don't know if I should feel bad for you or not." Naruto shakes his head with pity, he earns a small smile in return.
"So what about you?" Kiyomi asks him. "I feel like I'm giving out my entire life story and only getting a sentence in response."
"I like ramen." Naruto grins.
"That's so random."
He shrugs, "I'm a random person."
"I've gathered," she says, amused.
"Have you ever been to Ichiraku Ramen?"
"...No."
And that is how Naruto ended up dragging Kiyomi to Ichiraku's, he just couldn't believe that she'd never been there.
"I just, it's such a popular place, I'd have thought you'd at least heard of it," Naruto rambles as he drags her into the diner.
"I mean, I think I've heard of it." She says as she sits herself into the stool beside him. "I just, don't know?"
"Oh, Naruto!" Ayame comes over. "And lady friend! What can I get for you two?"
"Um..." Kiyomi scratches her head. "I don't know what I'm doing here...?"
"Just ignore her, two miso ramen with extra pork... No menma."
Ayame laughs, "Coming right up."
In a matter of minutes, the two bowls are set in front of them and Kiyomi looks at it uncertainly before digging in.
"Whaddaya think?" Naruto grins at her.
"I like it." She smiles.
"Another bowl, please!" They chorus, before staring at each other and then bursting into laughter.
"I bet you won't be able to finish this bowl before me." Naruto says challengingly.
She narrows her eyes at him, "You wanna bet, boy-o?"
Naruto bets twenty bucks, and she bets twenty-seven bucks.
Of course, it's not really fair from the start because Naruto is a seasoned ramen eater.
But Kiyomi wasn't ever really an angel.
When she shoves his arm "accidentally", and he "chokes", she laughs at him as she slaps his back while simultaneously draining the soup.
The fish cakes are all that's left for her and he "accidentally" shoves her hand so that she misses the fish cake while he eats all of his remaining ramen. In return, she shoves his arm again which results in him basically swallowing the chopsticks.
"I win!" They holler, before glaring at each other.
Naruto stubbornly shakes his head, "No, I swallowed the fish cakes first."
"Nu-uh, I ate the fish cakes while you were still chewing."
"You both won!" Teuchi says happily. "And just because, you get another bowl as a prize."
This time, Naruto finishes his first while she takes her dear sweet time eating her own.
At some point, between her eating the ramen, and them leaving the diner, she has that sad aura around her, and he tries to make her laugh for the sake of hearing it again, but it won't come and the most she'll give him is a smile that seems forced.
"Heya, Naruto?"
"Hmm?" He looks at her as they reach her apartment.
She hugs him and at first he is shocked before he hugs her back.
"Thanks," she whispers and she leaves the ghost of a kiss on his cheek.
And then she is gone.
`.`.`.`.`.`.`
"Jesus," Ino says, dropping the newspaper onto the table, Hinata and Naruto look up, "This is depressing."
Naruto takes a peak at the headline.
Twenty one year old found dead in her apartment.
And at first, he doesn't get it, but because it's her, he has to look at the article for a while before he does.
A twenty-one year old female by the name of Kiyomi Hoshina is found dead in her apartment on Saturday night, the cause of death is chronic heart failure.
She left a note that the police don't understand, so it's put up.
To the boy I met at the café, thank you.