Title: Dress of White

Chapter Two: Disbelief

Rating: Teen (Mild language)

Timeline: AU

Disclaimer: Due to unforeseen circumstances, I do not own Naruto.


It takes a heated exchange of threats and obscenities to coax Naruto into the Curry of Life shop.

Other than his distaste for anything that isn't ramen, the gaping hole in the back of Naruto's jeans fuel his refusal of entry.

The only thing able enough to counter the young man's stubbornness are the many eyes staring at the two feuding men from the streets and from within the shop.

Naruto trudges through the doorway with his head low to keep from having to make eye contact with any of the remaining prospectors to the scene he had help cause.

Jiraiya chuckles and smacks his palm into the center of the blonde's back, "With that cool breeze you have there, you shouldn't be in such a bad mood."

The young blonde's frown intensifies at the older man's comment, "Yeah, yeah. Very funny,"

Jiraiya stoops down and whispers into Naruto's ear, "Lighten up. It's not even that noticeable."

The Uzumaki boy scoffs and smooths out the apron around his waist to make sure it completely covers the hole in the back of his pants, I can't believe I'm doing this--

"--I look like an idiot!"

The young man's boss sighs and leads the way to a small table close to the entrance in case Naruto suddenly attempts to escape, his departure would be slightly less noticeable.

Jiraiya just couldn't overlook the boy's lack of stealth...

Soon after taking their seats, a man around Naruto's age approaches the table with an apron adorning the front of his body and a stack of menus under his arm.

A friendly smile lights up his face as he pulls out a pencil from behind his ear, "Hi, and welcome to the Curry of Life. My name is Karashi and I'll be your waiter this afternoon," he places two menus on the tabletop, "Can I get you anything to drink?"

Naruto opens the menu and scans through the lists of names occupying its pages, "Who knew there were so many different kinds of curry?"

He finally flips to the beverage page and briefly looks over the list, "Uh, I guess I'll have water for right now."

Jiraiya lowers his menu to the table, "I'll have a bottle of your finest sake, please."

Karashi nods and scribbles in his notepad, "I'll be back in a moment."

The older man waits for their waiter to leave before leaning forward against the table, "You're first time in an actual restaurant in years and you get water? Where's your sense of adventure?"

Naruto's brow furrows as he crosses his arms over his chest, "The idea of getting drunk in the middle of the afternoon doesn't seem too appealing to me, that's all..."

Jiraiya shrugs his shoulders and leans back in his chair, "Hey, suit yourself."

The blonde rolls his eyes and lays his head down on the white linen table cloth. He closes his eyes tightly, tuning out the clatter of dishes and the voices around him as he remembers the young girl from that morning,

Hinata--

"I'm back!" Karashi chirps, the sudden sound of his voice startling Naruto into an upright position. As he sits up, he knocks over a small container of chili powder.

He looks up at Karashi and Jiraiya, but neither of them had noticed this blunder. Naruto nonchalantly uses his menu to sweep up the powder into his palm, absent-mindedly kicking up a red cloud into the air.

After the young waiter hands the older man his beverage, he leans forward to place Naruto's glass of water on the table. The harsh scent of the chili powder fills his nostril and he tries desperately to keep himself from sneezing. Unfortunately, he fails...

Miserably.

The glass of ice cold water comes tumbling down onto the blonde's head, completely soaking through his shirt. Karashi frantically circles the table to pick up the stray cubes of ice, but trips.

Luckily, the woman sitting at the table behind them breaks his fall with her face.

She pushes Karashi away and stands to her feet, her eyes burning with rage, "This is the last time I come here again!" she growls, adjusting the now lop-sided buns on either side of her head as she storms out of the restaurant.

Karashi shuffles back over to Naruto and Jiraiya's table, his cheeks red as the wet pile of chili powder on the menu in the blonde's lap. He clears his throat as a way of dismissing the chaos that had now subsided, "I'll be back with a fresh glass for you, Sir."

Naruto tosses the stained menu on the tray in Karashi's shaky hands, "I'll need a new menu too, if you don't mind."

Karashi glances down at the pile of powder on the menu quizzically and then at Naruto before heading back to the kitchen.

"What happened to the menu you just had?" asks Jiraiya, taking a sip of his sake as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred.

Naruto shrugs, "Nothing that needs explaining," Jiraiya lowers the glass of sake from his lips and starts to say something else, but Naruto stands up, "I'm going to the bathroom to wring out my shirt!"

The young blonde struggles as he hurries down the narrow aisles between the tables, How the hell does that Karashi kid do this??

Too occupied with his thoughts to notice the large, pink handbag in the middle of the pathway, he stumbles forward and trips.

His face connects with the tile as the owner of the handbag leans into the aisle to tend to her bag, "Hey! Watch where you're steppin'! I have very important stuff in there!"

Naruto groans and staggers to his feet as he rubs the red patch on his forehead, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

The woman looks up from her bag to snap a bitter reply, but her readied caustic responce dissipates into a soft tremor, "N-Naruto? Is that you?"

He pauses, the sound of the woman's voice finally registering inside his head as he recognizes her head of pink hair, "Sakura?"

She chuckles awkwardly and removes her bag from her lap, standing from her chair to greet her ex-boyfriend, "I didn't expect to run into you today..."

"Yeah, me neither..." Naruto agrees as he rubs the back of his moistened neck. He grimaces and wipes away the water on his pant leg.

Sakura lowers her head to her shoes as their conversation enters a long pause. She frowns at how awkward their encounters have become since the break-up in college.

She inhales sharply and raises her head, "Do you want to sit with me for awhile? I'd like to catch up if you don't mind?"

He forces himself to smile, but it fades quickly as he gives into the pink haired woman's pleading gaze, "Sure, I guess I can spare a few moments."

Sakura's eyes brighten, which reflect a glow across her features, "Great! Let's begin with what you've been up to since college."

The young man cringes and sinks into the seat across from his ex-girlfriend, "Oh, you know... stuff."

Sakura frowns and lowers herself into her chair, "I can tell when you're lying, you know."

Naruto sighs, Are the apron and nametag not obvious enough signs as to what I've been doing?

He lowers his head to the medical research papers spread over the table, trying desperately to find something to change the subject, "So, I'm guessing you've gotten into medicine. How's that been going for ya?"

"Oh," Sakura's cheeks tint pink as she stares down at the paperwork in front of her, "I've been working on becoming a resident at the infirmary. I come here to study sometimes."

"Hm," Naruto nods slowly.

"What? Is there something wrong with that?" Sakura brow furrows as she pounds her fist into the palm of her hand.

The young man flinches at the sound of her knuckles cracking and clears his throat, "N-no, I'm proud of you, S-sakura."

"Thanks," Her expression softens drastically as a smile ascend upon her lips.

"Have you met up with anyone else from school besides me?" Naruto asks, making sure to keep the conversation as far away from his personal life as possible.

Sakura fidgets, "Well, um, not really... Except for this one guy..."

"Who?"

She seems to struggle with her next words for a moment, but after awhile she finally murmurs a response, "Nm,"

Naruto raises an eyebrow, "What?"

His ex sighs and looks up from her bag, "His name is--"

"Sakura, my love!" an overly-enthusiastic voice exclaims from the doorway.

Naruto sinks even farther into his chair at the familiar sound, his face loosing all of its color. He didn't have to turn around to figure out who had just entered the curry shop.

A man sporting green tights and orange leg warmers struts down the aisle leading to the table Sakura and Naruto occupy. The pink haired woman rises to greet the newcomer with a kiss, which Naruto doesn't notice because of the daze that now grips him.

"Naruto! I see you have been keeping my dear Sakura company while I was away preforming my duties at the dojo! I am very grateful!" the man says, his arm hanging from Sakura's shoulder as his lips curl up into a broad grin.

The blonde slowly looks up at the couple, his expression completely blank, B-Bushy Brow?? She's dating Bushy Brow?? I can't believe this--

"When the fuck did this happen??"

Sakura wrings her hands together nervously, "Might Guy set up a blind date for us, and I surprisingly had a good time..."

"And I have never been happier!" Lee chimes in, his teeth gleaming brightly as he smiles again.

Naruto buries his face in his hands, I think I'm gonna puke...

"I knew you'd react this way. You're not over the break up yet, are you?" Sakura deduces, crossing her arms over her chest as she shakes her head.

"You are sooo full of yourself!! Do you really think I care??"

"Well, you sure as hell act like you care!!"

At this point, Naruto and Sakura begin a shouting match between each other with poor Rock Lee trapped in the middle of it all. He tries his best to calm the situation down with soothing words, but nothing seems to get through to the feuding ex's.

"Certainly, you have met someone yourself, Naruto!" Lee interjects, shouting over their argument.

Naruto freezes in mid-sentence as he settles back down into his chair as he contemplates over Lee's statement. He hesitantly looks up from his hands in his lap. His voice a low hum compared to the drone of the air conditioner overhead, "What can you tell me about Hinata Hyuuga?"

Rock Lee and Sakura exchange sidelong glances. They don't reply to the blonde's question at first, but instead quietly whisper to one another. Naruto clears his throat and their attention refocuses on him.

Sakura's eyebrows arch in curiosity, "You're interested in her?? As far as I could tell, you hardly uttered one word to the girl in school!"

"Well, I wouldn't say that I'm interested in her per say..." Naruto corrects, a pink tint rising to his cheeks as he speaks.

"Either way, are you sure you want to get involved with her?" asks Sakura, her concern apparent in her trembling voice.

"Is there something I should know about Hinata that you aren't telling me?" the blonde asks, his expression contorting into a scowl.

Lee lowers his head to conceal his frown, "The thing about Hinata is that she is--"

"Naruto! Git yer ass over here! We're headin' back to da store!" Jiraiya slurs loudly from across the restaurant as he attempts to steady his swaying body by hanging onto the back of his chair.

The blonde turns in his seat to face the man and shakes his head--

Drunken bastard, he stands up and begins the trek back to the grocery store on his own without betokening either Lee, Sakura, or his boss with a second glance before slamming the front door shut behind him.