Author's Note: Hey all!

If you're reading this, that means you've decided to check out my new series of Naru-Hina one-shots! That also means that you rock!

This is the place for those that want to catch up with Naruto and Hinata at various stages in their relationship. They might still be in the Academy, or married, or anywhere in between, and they're bound to get into all kinds of trouble. While I have several ideas up my sleeve, I'll also be glad to write about what you guys would like to see, so leave a review or send a PM with your ideas!

Out of the two immediately available, this one was my favorite, so I decided to start strong. Idea suggested by Foolish Little Brother.

-A Noodley Love-

Naruto Uzumaki awoke to unusual circumstances.

It wasn't apparent at first. Everything seemed like normal: the birds outside were far too loud, the sun far too bright, and the entirety of the room apart from underneath his sheets far too cold. Hinata had begun spending the night at his apartment more and more often, and while that had made his mornings much easier to deal with, her absence was the first thing he noticed.

His hand reached out and patted the emptiness around him, as he was too lazy to just crack open one eye and look for himself. The hand searched the rest of the bed, thinking that perhaps Hinata simply rolled over in her sleep, but once it came around to the conclusion that Hinata wasn't actually there, he lazily rolled to his side.

"Hinata?" he said quietly, rubbing his eyes. "You there?"

There was a thud when he accidentally rolled too far off the bed, landing on his face, and for a few seconds, he simply lay there, grateful no one had seen that. His hands fumbled around for his nightstand, which he used to hoist himself back up to his feet. He smelled at the air.

That was when he realized he had awoken to 'unusual' circumstances. In ways that was only possible through someone like Naruto, this had something to do with Ramen. But it wasn't because it was what he smelled.

It was because he couldn't smell it.

"Uhhh…Hinata?" he called once again, peeking through the hallway. "Where are you?"

His first thought was that she had gotten up early to make them some breakfast. By her own admission, the way Naruto scrambled into the kitchen half-naked was worth rolling out of bed first, and it wasn't too far outside the realm of possibility that the reason he couldn't smell his beloved ramen was that it was being overpowered by another odor.

But as he inched closer and closer to the kitchen, his other smell theory became less and less plausible. Someone was in the kitchen, but they had not answered Naruto's calls, leading him to believe that it was not Hinata. His steps grew more cautious. Just what was going on here?

"Hey, Hinata!" he suddenly yelled, testing the intruder. He heard someone swear under their breath, and the sounds coming from the kitchen grew more frantic. It sounded like they were trying to finish up some dastardly business before they made a break for it.

Naruto leaped into the kitchen, diving onto the floor, rolling over to the counter, and grabbing the first thing he could get his hands on, which happened to be a frying pan. He was in mid-swing, and inches from the intruder's face, before he realized that it was in fact, Hinata. Jerking his arm to stop his attack proved costly, as the sudden shift in momentum threw him off balance, and he tumbled back to the floor, crashing into a chair.

"N-Naruto-kun! Are you alright?" Hinata hurried over to see if he was alright, setting something down on the counter.

"I think so…" Naruto replied, rubbing his head, now sporting a fresh bump. "Why didn't you answer me when I was calling you? I thought someone had broken in or something!"

Hinata suddenly seemed to remember what she had been up to, and hurried back over to the counter to shove whatever she had set down behind her back. Naruto tried to peek around her, but she moved back in the way.

"Hey, what have you got back there?" he asked.

"N-nothing," Hinata said, with a squeak in her voice. "Do you w-want some breakfast? I could m-maybe go out and—" She gasped in surprise when Naruto jumped up at her, attempting to duck underneath her arm. She got there fast enough, but unfortunately for her, Naruto knew where she was ticklish.

"S-s-stop!" she squealed in between giggles, falling onto his arm. Without missing a beat, Naruto sat her down in the other chair, and turned back to what she had been hiding.

"Hinata?" he said, his voice dripping with disbelief. "Why do you have all of my ramen in a bag? In a bag marked 'trash'?"

He spun on his heels and looked at her with the biggest puppy dog eyes she had ever seen. "You w-weren't going to throw away all my ramen, w-were you?"

Hinata fiddled with her pajamas. "Well…"

And then Naruto realized something. "Wait a minute…the ramen that was in that bag. I had a lot more in the apartment. Where'd the rest of it go?"

"Nooooooo!"

Naruto kneeled in front of the dumpster, where his precious ramen had been unceremoniously dumped. Hinata stood nearby, looking as ashamed as she could be.

"Maybe some of it's still good…" Naruto said to himself, pulling himself up to look inside. Immediately he was assaulted by the foulest of odors, and with a cough and a wheeze, fell back to the ground.

"Why? Why would you do this to me?" he asked, turning to face Hinata. "Did I make you angry? Just talk to me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Naruto-kun!" Hinata replied, biting her lip "It's just, you've eaten nothing but ramen for the past few days, and I was starting to worry about your health. I went to Sakura, and she told me—"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto growled, shaking his fist. "She always hated my relationship with ramen! I guess she's the one who told you to throw it all out?"

Hinata nodded. "Y-yes. She said this was her chance to make sure you ate a little healthier. She asked me to take care of what we had at home, while she went around and—"

"But she didn't get all of it, did she?" Naruto cackled, rushing over to the bag Hinata had by her side. "It's not a lot, but at least I woke up before you…"

The bag was empty. The trash can behind Hinata, was not.

"Noooooooooo!" Naruto beat his fists on either side of his head, wailing like a child who dropped an ice cream cone. His precious ramen, gone! What was he supposed to eat now? Once he got hungry for ramen, nothing else would satisfy!

"Wait! I can just buy more ramen!" And suddenly Naruto was all smiles again, grabbing Hinata by the wrist and dragging her down the street. "Let's go get some more, Hinata! I forgive you since Sakura-chan was the one who put you up to it!"

Hinata pulled against his grip "B-but Naruto-kun, you don't understand. She's been running around the village all morning, making sure you—"

Naruto interrupted her with a laugh. "Nothing can get in the way of me and my ramen, Hinata! Not even Sakura-chan!"

"Well I'll be damned. Sakura-chan's really set on me not getting my ramen."

Naruto and Hinata (still in their pajamas) stood outside one shops closest to their apartment. On the front window was a poster hastily drawn in marker, warning passerby.

Beware!

Under direct orders, Naruto Uzumaki is no longer allowed to partake of the food known as 'ramen', in any shape or form. Those who attempt to sell or supply Naruto with ramen will be punished.

In the middle of the poster was a crudely-drawn rendition of Naruto himself. It was clear Sakura was trying to make him look like the bad guy, by the way she drew him with slanted eyes and a mischievous grin.

"That doesn't even look like me!" Naruto cried, grabbing the poster and crumbling it up into a ball. "I feel grossly misrepresented and violated!"

"That means Ichiraku's out of the question, doesn't it?"

He heard a laugh from behind him. The shopkeeper was sweeping out one of the aisles, getting ready for the day's customers. "I see you found your poster! It's a perfect resemblance, isn't it?"

Naruto's ears burned. "Haha, very funny! Okay, you've had your laugh. What kind of ramen are you stocking today, old man? I'm starving!"

But when he tried to check the stock himself, the man stood in his way. "Sorry Naruto, but that poster was serious. I thought Sakura was pulling my leg when she asked if she could put that in my window, but sure enough, she got Tsunade's permission. Your health is an important part of being a capable shinobi, she said."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "You're joking, right!? There is no way that she was serious when she told you that. This is all some joke. It has to be!"

He turned around and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Okay, very funny, Sakura-chan! You've made your point, alright! Where are the cameras? I bet you've hidden them all over the place!"

"Is he feeling alright?" the shopkeeper asked Hinata as Naruto started to nose through the aisles looking for the 'hidden cameras. "I mean, it's just ramen."

Naruto gasped. "J-j-just ramen! How can you say that?" He grabbed something off the shelf, and shoved it into the man's face "And what's this? I thought you said you didn't have any!"

"I never said I didn't have any to sell in the first place!" the man reminded him. "I only said that poster is serious; I can't sell you any ramen, Naruto, by order of the Hokage."

The hero of the village looked like he had been kicked. He started sobbing and muttering to himself, reaching into his pockets. "Look, I've got more than enough. Granny doesn't have to know if you just—"

"I'm not taking your money!" the man barked, closing Naruto's hand around the crumbled bills. "Look, I'd be happy to sell you anything else in the store, even at a discounted price, but I can't sell you ramen."

Naruto wailed. "Oh, what's the point!? How can I go on if I what I love most in the world is taken from me?"

He could almost feel Hinata glaring at him. "Hehe, I meant what I love second most in the world! You're way more important than ramen, Hinata!"

Naruto glared at the shopkeeper. "You just lost a customer, old man! C'mon Hinata, let's go see if there's someone out there who doesn't believe Granny's serious about this ramen thing."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Naruto!" the man tried to tell him as he left the store. "Tsunade-sama's real serious about this one, and you know how mad she gets when you don't listen to her!"

But Naruto ignored him, and dragged Hinata off in another direction, looking for another store that carried his beloved ramen. The shopkeeper sighed, and went back to his sweeping.

The posters mocked him. Everywhere he went, those slanted eyes and that mischievous grin. They were mocking him, reminding him of his plight every time he turned his head!

His resolve grew weaker and weaker with every store they stopped at. Some had the posters in their window, just like the first one. Others had their supply of ramen mysteriously purchased all at once. Regardless of their methods, Naruto was finally starting to believe that Sakura had indeed stripped him of any chance to partake in ramen.

"This is cruel and unusual punishment!" he said, shuffling his feet. "It's torture! How could they do this to me, Hinata?"

"They're only worried about your health, Naruto-kun!" Hinata had only felt worse and worse every time Naruto was turned down. She wasn't the one whose idea it was to throw all of Naruto's ramen away, but she had done the deed, and in a way, it made her feel even guiltier. "Surely there are o-other foods you like besides ramen?"

Naruto groaned. "Of course there are! But you know how it is. When they tell you something's off limits, it only makes you want it even more! I gotta have it, Hinata!"

They stopped outside another store, but instead of going inside, Naruto pulled Hinata into the alley next to it.

"I've got a plan, Hinata! One that's sure to work!"

Hinata had her back against the wall. She didn't want to make things worse, but Naruto looked so confident, she started feeling convinced that this mysterious plan would work. There was also an actual wall at her back, so she didn't have a lot options aside from going along with him. "What do you want me to do?"

"You go inside, and buy the ramen for me! I saw some on the shelves, so don't believe them if they try to tell you that they're out. I'll just give you the money, and they'll sell it to you! It's a piece of cake."

"I d-don't know, Naruto-kun…won't they know I'm only buying it for you? It's not a secret that we're dating…"

"That's the best part! It doesn't matter! They can't just not sell it to you! Besides, I'm giving you twice the money. They won't be able to resist."

He pushed his body up against Hinata's, leaning in close to her ear. "And if this works, I'll owe you big time. You know that thing you've always wanted to try?"

Hinata was confused. "Naruto-kun? What are you talking—" She stopped as Naruto began whispering something in her ear, and her cheeks started burning. "O-oh…that thing."

"Can you do this for me, Hinata? I'm asking with all my heart."

There were those damned puppy dog eyes again. Hinata sighed heavily. "Okay, Naruto-kun…I'll try."

Naruto let out a rousing cheer. "You're the best, Hinata! I'm sure this will work!"

"Dammit! How did that not work?"

They were starting to attract attention to themselves. By now most of the village was up and about, and it didn't help that both Naruto and Hinata were still in their pajamas.

He grabbed a nearby poster. "My plan was foolproof! How did it fail?"

It failed because due to an extremely small addendum added to the posters, Hinata was forbidden to purchase ramen as well. Sakura had all the bases covered, it seemed.

Naruto was starting to get desperate. As they wandered aimlessly around the village (and Naruto tried to think up a newer, even more devious plan), they happened to run into Kakashi. Naruto was completely detached from the conversation until his nose caught a whiff of something in the bag Kakashi was carrying.

"Kakashi-sensei…did you go grocery shopping today, by any chance?" he asked.

Kakashi smiled warmly. "You've got a good nose, Naruto. I did in fact go grocery shopping! There's nothing like a healthy meal after a long mission. I've got fresh fruit, crisp veggies, and the cashier gave me this wonderful recipe for—"

"That's not important right now! I smell ramen! Do you have any?"

"Oh, how did that get in there?" Kakashi seemed genuinely surprised as he pulled out a single packet of ramen from his bag, carefully looking it over. "That's strange. I must have grabbed this on accident. Would you like it, Naruto?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Kakashi wasn't this oblivious, was he? "You mean…you mean I can just have it? You sure you're okay with that?"

Kakashi smiled again. "I don't see why not. I haven't had the craving in a while now, and I know how much more you enjoy it than I do. Why don't you just take this off my hands?"

He was so close Naruto's fingers grazes the packet before something caught Kakashi's eye. He turned at the last second, and went to investigate.

"What's this here…" he mumbled to himself, glancing over the poster.

"Nothing! It's absolutely nothing!" Naruto grabbed it and tore into it with all his might, turning the paper into thousands of pieces in seconds. "Now how about that ramen?"

"Oh look, there's another poster right here." Kakashi walked over to that one, and this time, Naruto wasn't quick enough.

Kakashi shook his head sadly. "Sorry, Naruto. But orders are orders. I'm afraid this ramen will have to stay with me."

Naruto was foaming at the mouth. "You knew the whole time, didn't you!? You were just pulling me along, like some sick joke! I know you were! Don't lie!"

His former teacher's eye twinkled in the morning sun. "Now Naruto, do you really think I'd be so heartless?"

Naruto moped for the rest of the day. Asking others proved just as fruitless as asking Kakashi had. Sakura had even caught him trying to sneak into open windows once or twice, having been on the prowl to make sure he wasn't causing trouble. His defense was that he was leaving the right amount of money behind, but Sakura wasn't hearing any of it. She scolded him for dragging Hinata around all day, and punched him on the nose for good measure, before sending him home with his tail between his legs.

He had remained in his room for the rest of the day. Hinata had tried several times to lure him out, but he ignored her pleas, preferring to mope on the bed.

She felt miserable. Naruto had a problem, yes, but he shouldn't be treated like a criminal because of it, right? If they really wanted him to eat healthier, surely there were better ways than keeping ramen away from him like it was a drug?

Suddenly, Hinata had an idea. A brilliant idea. Having changed into normal clothes when they had returned home the first time, Hinata hurried out the door. She returned home with two large bags of groceries, and set to work almost immediately.

"Naruto-kun!" she called. "Dinnertime!"

At least that pulled him from his stupor. He had gone without food for the entire day, and at this point would have eaten anything. He wandered into the kitchen, looking horribly guilty.

"Hinata…I'm sorry."

"What for, Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"Because I dragged you out around the entire village all because of some stupid noodles! I feel like such a jerk. And I'm hungry and sleepy, and I think Sakura-chan broke my nose!"

Which is where Hinata planted a little kiss. "I'm sure it's fine, Naruto-kun. Just sit down, okay? There's no need to apologize. I just enjoy the time we spend together."

Naruto apologized several more times on his way to the table, plopping down. "What did you make?"

"You mean you couldn't smell it?" Hinata asked. "Oh…right. Your nose. Well, that's alright. It'll heal up by tomorrow. In the meantime…"

She hoisted a massive pot into her arms, setting it down in the middle of the table. Naruto's eyes widened like saucers, and his mouth dropped. He didn't even need his sense of smell to know what it was.

"B-but…how did you—"

Hinata shot him a coy smile, and a wink. "It's not a problem to buy all the ingredients, is it? I had to go to half the stores in town to keep them from being suspicious, but I think it's worth it! Look, I got whole grain noodles, and I halved the amount of sodium. It's a step in the right direction, but you'll need to work at it, okay Naruto-kun? Sakura may be a little blunt, but she's only worried about your health."

"But Hinata, this is ramen! You'll get in trouble!"

"I never said it was ramen, Naruto-kun." She set her own spot at the table, and sat down. "This is tsukemen. It's completely different, so dig in!"

It had happened several times before, but once again, Naruto realized just how lucky he was to have a girl like Hinata around, and how fiendishly clever she could be.

Oh, and that thing that Naruto promised he would do?

They did it.

Twice.

Author's Note: I hope you liked it! I had a ton of fun writing it. Thanks again to Foolish Little Brother for the idea. Remember, if you have an idea, let me know!

Here's what inspired this one-shot: "A story about Hinata trying to 'help' Naruto's ramen addiction. By trying to take them all away!"

If you'd like to leave a review, I'd really appreciate it! If you want to keep on going and read the next one-shot, go right on ahead!

God, I just realized how many exclamation points are in this thing. Here's a "FUCK" to balance things out.

Until next time.