Iruka was mad. He was so pissed off at Naruto for failing his math test. He sent Naruto to Arlen, Texas to do labor. Naruto applied for a job at Thatherton Fuels. He did great, he sold a lot of propane and he got promoted to manager. One night, he went to celebrate his promotion at Sugar Foot's BBQ. There he ran into Strickland Propane owner, Buck Strickland. Him and a few of his employees were talking shit about Thatherton Fuels.
"Those Thatherton bastards have been ruining us, takin' away our business. No one wants propane from us when they can have a beautiful blonde gal serve it to them with that busty chest and them poutin' lips, honey." Said Joe Jack.
"The audacity! Perversion is no way to treat propane! Somebody ought to tan that new kid's hide." Added Hank.
"I'd have no problem doin' it myself, I've had enough of his cheatin' and screwin' things up for us. I bet I could beat his little scrawny ass so hard he'll never be able to pull his freaky tricks ever again!" Buck retorted. Naruto, who couldn't help overhearing his name being spoken, was furious.
He lumbered over to the table they were sitting at and roared, "Oi! You have some beef with me? Problem with the way I do things? I heard you all talking trash! We can take this outside if you want!"
Buck shouted, "You're damn right little man, you're takin' away all our business!"
Hank arose from his seat and put his hands between the two, "Alright, lets just calm down everyone, we just haven't had good business lately and have been taking our anger out on you. Now I'll admit that was a little unfair, but you do have a problem with how you treat the customer and lady propane. You need to be professional, the way you transform into a naked blonde gal isn't appropriate. You need to be casual. Ya understand what I'm sayin'?"
Naruto crossed his arms saying, "I think the more customers we've been getting and my recent promotion would beg to differ, cowboy boss has been congratulating me, telling me to keep up the good work. Sorry, but I'm not changing anything! If gramps here has a problem with that, then I can teach him a lesson, say, 9 am, tomorrow morning, Thatherton parking lot?"
"See you there, can't wait to whoop your ass!" Buck yelled across the table.
"Good, see ya then." And with that, Naruto took his ribs to go and went back home to eat and rest up for his fight the next day.
"You aren't going to fight him, are you, Mr.Strickland?" Hank asked.
"Hell yeah I'll fight that little punk, I'll give him the whoopin' of a lifetime!" Buck retorted.
Hank tried to talk his boss out of it, but Buck wouldn't back down. Moments later Buck just threw his money down on the table and stormed out of the restaurant without saying another word.
It was a bright, new day in Arlen. Naruto was waiting for his opponent, Buck was speeding in his direction until he peeled into the parking lot, the car screeching as it did so. Buck got out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him before taking his shirt off. He let out a low growl as Naruto began taking his jacket off and raising his fists in front of him, signifying that he was ready to begin. Buck roared and swung his fists at Naruto's face and chest, missing each one. Naruto caught one of the punches and bent his hand back completely, breaking his wrist. Buck yelled out in pain and frustration. Naruto slammed a fist into Buck's nose, the crimson liquid trickling from the older man's nostrils. Buck stepped back, and as he did so, Naruto swept a foot behind his legs, and pushed him backwards at the same time, causing Buck to fall hard on his back and head. Buck grunted as he hit the hard pavement and tried to grab onto Naruto's legs, Naruto easily kicked Buck's hands away, stepping on each one, holding him down with both feet on his hands before raising one and stomping on Buck's face with it. He stomped a few times, kicking a few of his teeth out and bruising his eyes. Buck quickly grabbed some gravel with his free hand and tossed it into Naruto's eyes as he was mashing his face up. Naruto backed away from Buck for a few mere seconds to rub it out of his eyes while Buck tackled him to the ground and attempted to punch Naruto, Naruto blocked each hit before kicking Buck off of him, sending him flying a few feet back. They both started to get back up and Naruto dashed towards him, punching him in the stomach with all his might, while Buck grabbed at his stomach, doubled over in pain, Naruto bashed Buck in the head with a left hook, sending Buck back to the ground several feet from him, laying down on his fat stomach and bleeding, he looked pathetic. Naruto started approaching him when a red truck peeled into the parking lot. It was none other than Hank Hill, Buck's right hand man coming to his rescue.
"Buck! Mr. Strickland! Good Lord, you're all dinged up!" Hank scrambled to help Buck off the pavement and into the shop.
"I will get you for this, somehow!" Buck leered at Naruto.
"No sir, you two will let this go or else someone is going to get killed. Next time, i will not hesitate to call the cops," Hank warned before turning to Naruto, "You go home son, if I ever catch you around here again, I'm reporting you. You are no longer welcome here." And with that, Hank assisted Buck in getting into the building so he can treat his wounds and so they can get to work. Naruto decided to go somewhere else to think about what just happened.
Naruto decided to go to the Hotel Arlen, he was in the dining hall getting food when he noticed a blonde girl with tears streaming from her eyes, sitting at one of the tables a few feet from him. Naruto felt bad and decided to go over and see what was going on.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.
She sobbed, while trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, "I'm just sad about my boyfriend breaking up with me."
"Oh, well if you want, I can sit with you, I'm on my own here too," Naruto offered as an attempt to comfort her.
The girl gave a weak smile at the boy and said, "I think I would like that." Naruto gave her his normal fox-like grin and plopped down into the seat next to her.
Naruto started a conversation, "So what's your name?"
"I'm Luanne," the girl chirped more happily, "and yours?" She asked.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage of the Hidden Leaf village!"
Luanne gave him a look of confusion, "What's a ho-kage? And what village?" Naruto explained to her the shinobi village he came from, and the fact that he is a real-life ninja. He also told her stories about the missions his team had been on, how he had a bridge named after him and the powerful opponents he had defeated. He told her about his fights with Haku, Kiba, Neji, Gaara, and Orochimaru. Luanne listened very attentively and with much astonishment. She was on the edge of her seat listening to the young Shinobi ramble on about his adventures.
"How exciting!" She squealed, " I can't believe I'm talking to a real ninja! And not to mention, a hero!" She added, clapping her hands together in excitement. Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah, pretty much," He replied.
"Well of course you are! Well you are one to me at least. You have been alone for your entire life, yet you have been able to help so many people, save many lives, and make new friends along the way," Luanne suddenly frowned.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"It's just that it amazes me how such wonderful people like you exist and yet, I wish I could do something just as meaningful for the world. I mean, I can't even accomplish my dream of being a hairstylist. I fail every test, and I've been going to the beauty academy for years!" She explained. Her head tilted downward in shame and disappointment.
Naruto reached over with his hand and tilted her head back up to face him, "Hey, don't worry about it! You can always do better, no goal is too high! Believe it!" He cheered, "you just need more practice and hard work, I'm sure you'll get there eventually! Never give up!"
Luanne blushed and beamed a smile, "I guess you're right! Thank you. Hey, how old are you?"
"16, and you?" He asked.
"19 and a half," Luanne replied.
"Well you're a lot older, but we can still be friends," Naruto brightly smiled and held out his hand, "you wanna get food with me?"
"Sure!" Luanne said, happily taking his hand. They both went over to the buffet and stocked up on pasta (to substitute ramen for Naruto), meat, stuffing, and pastries. The pair walked back to their table with their plates overflowing with food and plopped down in their seats eager to dig in. Luanne giggled at how goofy Naruto looked when his mouth was packed in like a chipmunk's from him wolfing everything down. Over dinner, the two conversed over past relationships-or in Naruto's case, failed attempts at relationships with Sakura-and more about their friends, family, and dreams for the future. It was getting late when they decided to head off to bed.
"Which room are you staying in?" Luanne asked, desperately wanting to be close to him, hoping to see him again.
"Room 217, you?" Naruto replied.
"Room 210; we're in the same hallway!" She cheered in joy.
"Oh that's great! Do you want to have breakfast together?" Naruto offered, hoping she would say yes.
"Of course, I can't wait till then!" Luanne answered him with a bright smile across her lips. Naruto felt his chest leap in excitement and anticipation for the next morning to come. They both parted and went to their rooms for the night. They both looked forward to each other's company that awaited them the next day.
Greetings! I would appreciate feedback for this chapter, and I am in the process of editing the second one, please feel free to leave feedback, even on small things like grammar and punctuation, thanks!