Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
BGM: "Asuka" by Rin'.
The Ramen Stand
A girl hurried through a crowded marketplace. She wore a plain blue top and faded brown wrap skirt with straw sandals and a yellow-and-white checkered scarf over her head. She had pale skin and short blue-black hair, with messy bangs that fell over her eyes.
She slipped on a damp patch, catching herself and checking her sandal to make sure the strap hadn't broken. She adjusted the basket in her hand, fussing with the cloth she'd put over its contents to protect them from road dust and dirt. Finding nothing wrong and no further excuse to dither, she drew herself up and walked as fast as she could through the cramped spaces between stalls.
She arrived at her destination a few minutes, several more slips and many muttered apologies later. She looked up, seeing the familiar sign. "Ichiraku," she whispered. Setting her shoulders, she pushed aside the cloth wall and stepped into the stand.
The stand's owner and head chef, Teuchi, gave her a polite nod and a quick smile before returning to his cooking. No sense in offending a good customer. His niece Ayame was more forward, grinning at the younger girl and greeting her with a cheerful, "Afternoon, Hyuuga-san!"
The girl stopped, relaxing. "Good afternoon, Ayame-san."
Most of the tall stools were unoccupied, with only a somewhat rotund boy bearing the spiral tattoos of the Akimichi and a thin, sleepy looking boy that almost certainly had to be a Nara taking two seats at the end. Happily chatting with them from over the counter was the person she'd come all this way to see, gesturing wildly to make some point or more likely just for effect.
The girl was at the counter before she realized she'd walked forward. Blushing as she realized what she'd done, she opened her mouth to apologize, for what she couldn't quite tell. Before she could get a word out, the subject of her worry turned and greeted her with his usual enthusiasm.
"Oh, hi, Hinata-chan!" he all but shouted. It seemed he was also showing his usual tact.
The girl froze, terrified that someone had heard him speaking. When no outcry rose up, she mentally berated herself. This is the Outer Ring. No one is going to know that name.
She sent him a somewhat wobbly smile, too polite and, truthfully, nervous to scold him for his carelessness. After all, a street urchin, no matter how charismatic and determined, could not know how much risk they were both in with her here. Sliding into the third seat, she nodded politely at the other customers, but they didn't seem to notice. The Akimichi was, understandably, rather absorbed in his food – an extra-large bowl of pork ramen. The Nara seemed to have gone to sleep as soon as his part of the conversation ended. Putting them out of her mind, she looked up at him, paradoxically feeling safe for the first time in weeks here in a little food stand in one of the poorest parts of town. Startled, she realized he'd said something and she hadn't been listening!
"Ah, w-what?"
He blinked, confused. Then his shoulders slumped and blue eyes seemed to go even bigger. "Aw, Hinata-chan. You were off in dreamland again?" he whined.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
He just shrugged a little and held out a hand. Hinata blushed as she realized how close together they were, then looked at what was in his hand.
"Um, Naruto-kun?"
"Yeah?"
"Are these ad-admission tickets t-to the fireworks show?" she blurted.
"Yep!" he chirped.
Turning even redder, Hinata sank down in her seat. Naruto-kun wants to take me to the fireworks show! No, no, I can't assume, he might just want to ask me for advice on whom else to ask. Yes, that's probably it.
"Eh, Hinata-chan? Are you okay?" he asked blithely.
She smiled at him. "Y-yes. I'm all right."
"Great! So, you'll go with me?"
Her eyes widened, and she nodded frantically. "Yes!"
Suddenly, Ayame rapped Naruto on the head with a ladle, waving it in the air for emphasis as she scolded him. "Naruto! No flirting with customers at the counter. Go on to the back, there's onions in need of peeling and slicing, and they've got your name on them."
"Ow," he whined. "Ayame-neechan, do I have to? Onions always make me cry."
"Go. Do work. Now." She said this last with the ladle held threateningly close to his head, a distinctly aggravated look on her face that promised pain to a certain slacking errand boy.
Said errand boy decided to use the better part of valor and, stuffing the tickets back into a pocket, he smiled apologetically at his friends and hurried off to the onions.
Hinata looked at her lap, her good mood gone into thin air. I couldn't even answer him.
After a few moments of sitting there wringing her hands, listening to the hiss and bubble of cooking ramen noodles and the clatter of kitchen instruments, interspersed with the occasional order (from the cooks) or question (from Naruto), she heard a quiet, steady tap on the sanded wood counter. Looking at the countertop in front of her, she saw a tanned, bony hand withdrawing into a loose sleeve.
"Finally," the Nara boy muttered. "I thought you were going to sit there moping all day. Women are so troublesome."
Knowing he was probably right, she said nothing.
He glanced over at her, then rolled his eyes and mumbled something incoherent that was probably a complaint. "Look, Hyuuga-san-"
"H-how did you-" she interrupted, and promptly clamped her mouth shut in embarrassment. Of course he knew. All anyone had to do was look at her eyes to learn what clan she belonged to. She had the pale features and straight dark hair that were nearly universal in Hyuuga, and besides that, her eyes were nearly white and had no visible pupils. Many a passerby unfamiliar with her clan's bloodline had either jeered at the pathetic little blind girl, or more rarely offered to help with her basket. She started as she remembered why she had decided to come to the Outer Ring that day.
"A-ayame-san!" she called.
Ayame turned, obviously impatient due to her preparations for the lunch rush, and asked Hinata what she wanted.
Hinata lifted the basket and moved the cover back. "Th-these are some of the early pears from the castle gardens."
"Oh, really?" Curious, the older girl shook a few drops of broth off the ladle and used her free hand to whip the cover off, picking one up and inspecting it. She murmured appreciatively. "Those look very nice. Thank you."
Hinata smiled. It always felt nice to help people.
Ayame looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. "So, you came all the way here from the Upper Ring just to bring me, Tou-san and Naruto some pears?"
Hinata hesitated. "Um…"
Ayame just shook her head, shooting the younger girl a knowing look. "You won't get in trouble with your bosses for taking off work, will you?"
Hinata blinked, confused, then tensed as she belatedly remembered she was here as a servant running an errand. "N-no, I will be fine! I only have to return to the Hyuuga manor by evening," she assured Ayame.
Satisfied, the assistant chef relieved Hinata of the basket and vanished somewhere, returning a minute later and going straight back to work. Hinata only sat back on the stool as well as she could and looked back at the countertop. Then she felt the prickle she got when someone was watching her, and turned to see the Nara boy half-glaring at her.
"Yes?" she inquired.
"Hyuuga-san, like I was trying to say, Choji here and I come here pretty often, and we've known Naruto for a while. He's on break in less than half an hour, so you've got enough time to eat something. At least you won't just be fretting over nothing." Done with his good deed for the day, he turned away and, with an unenthused prayer of thanks, started on a single bowl of miso ramen. Incidentally, his friend was on his third.
Hinata stared for a moment. She thought back to the other times she'd been to Ichiraku and, glancing outside at the sun, realized he was right. Naruto worked at Ichiraku's six days out of seven, but almost all of them were half-days. If he was working the morning shift today, then he would get a five-minute break before the lunch rush started. It had not been part of his initial contract, but had been added in when it became clear that a frazzled Naruto was often a dangerously clumsy Naruto. It was less than an hour before noon, so she would have just enough time for a bowl, and there really was no sense in sitting there waiting and worrying. She leaned forward a bit, trying to get one of the cooks to notice.
Teuchi turned and spotted the girl. "Are you ready to order, Hyuuga-san?"
Hinata nodded. "One small vegetable ramen, please."
The man smiled jovially. "Coming right up!"
A/N: I seem to be incapable of writing long chapters.
Please read and review. Constructive criticism would be especially appreciated.