Chapter One, Part Two
"Hey! Kakashi-sensei!" Ash turned around and saw a blonde teen waving excitedly and running their way. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-baa-chan wants you to see her about some testing thing." He said, coming to a complete stop in front of them.
"Okay, Naruto. There's someone I'd like you to meet, actually. This is Ash." He said, smiling under his mask. Naruto's blue eyes met the girl's green orbs, causing her pale face to go rather red.
"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha!" He said, grinning ferociously.
"Hi…As Kakashi-san told you, my name is Ash. Shi Ash. Nice to meet you." She responded, looking at the ground. Until there was something blocking her view of it.
"Something wrong?" He asked, startling the girl into falling backwards in surprise. She expected to hit the ground, but instead she found herself leaning into something warm. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that." Naruto said, helping her straighten up.
"No, it's okay." Ash said, her face turning an even deeper crimson.
"Hey, are you hungry? We can go for ramen if you want. My treat!" He offered. "If you're done here, that is."
"I don't know…" She trailed off.
"Come on! I can show you around Konoha afterwards, too." He pleaded.
"Go ahead you two. Though…stay out of trouble Naruto, you knucklehead." Kakashi said, the one eye that could be seen peeking from his outfit winking at the boy. Naruto blinked, rather confused.
"What was...Hey! Kakashi-sensei, you perv!" The blonde instinctively attempted to tackle his teacher, only succeeding in winding up face-down in the grass. "I can't believe you Kakashi…" He muttered.
"Then why do you always go around yelling 'believe it'?" Kakashi asked, seating himself on the boy's back.
"Geroff be!" He shouted, anger muted and muffled by the grass that was being squished against his face. Kakashi chuckled but obliged the boy's request, standing up and allowing Naruto to regain his composure and wipe the grass and dust off of his clothing. "Jeez…" He mumbled.
"Well, I guess I'll leave you two to yourselves. Have fun!" With that, Kakashi leaped off, out of sight. Naruto shook his head and turned to look at Ash, who had been watching the whole scene with an amused look on her face.
"Uh…so let's go I guess." He said. "Follow me." He took Ash's hand and proceeded to guide her out of the clearing and back into the streets of Konoha. As they walked her pointed out various shops and memorials, noting his favorites or telling stories that went with them. After a short walk they reached the Ichiraku Ramen shop. The stand was in a peaceful corner of the city with few passerby and smaller buildings around. A wooden fence was directly across from the storefront, giving it a warm feel.
The two sat down and were greeted by a young lady with a friendly expression on her face.
"Hey, Ayame-chan." Naruto smiled graciously.
"Naruto-kun, nice to see you. Who is your friend here?" Ayame asked, smiling at Ash.
"My name is Ash." She nodded slightly. "Lovely to meet you."
"A pleasure." Ayame responded, turning back to Naruto. "Now, what would you like Naruto-kun?" She asked.
"Hmm…beef miso. Two bowls to start with. What about you Ash?" He glanced at his companion.
"The same please." She said quietly. Ayame called the order out to a man who had just walked back to the front carrying a large canvas bag.
"Alright, Ayame. Well what do we have here? Naruto!" The man let the bag down on a counter and turned to his favorite customer.
"Hey old man." The blonde said.
"Finally got a girlfriend, eh?" He winked at Ash and laughed heartily.
"No! It's not like that…" The two said, simultaneously looking away from each other and turning beet red. Ayame giggled as her father laughed even louder, the man beginning to prepare the order.
Only a moment later, the sweet symphony of sizzling and boiling was interrupted by another arrival. "Oi, Naruto!" The boy took a hold of the countertop and leaned back to see past Ash. The girl blinked and turned to see a pink-haired girl in a cream colored mini-skirt and a red kimono top walking over to meet them. "Who's that?" She asked, examining the girl.
"Yeah, meet Ash. She's new in Konoha. Ash, this is Sakura. She's a team member in my cell." Naruto said, just as Ayame set their food down in front of them. "Oh yeah! Itadakimasu~" Naruto picked up a pair of chopsticks and masterfully began to down the first bowl.
"Itadakimasu." Ash spoke and did the same as Sakura sat down to order her own bowl of tonkotsu soup.
Ash was still savoring her first bowl when Naruto put down his second and ordered another. "Naruto, I have an idea. Why don't we see who can eat their next bowl first?" She suggested. There was no reason not to have a little fun with it, after all. Naruto smiled with confidence. No one could out-eat the bottomless pit that he was, least of all in speed.
"If you think that you can beat me, then you can try." He snickered.
"Oh, I don't think I can." She paused. "I know I can." A smirk graced her lips as the words slipped off her tongue.
"Is that right? Well bring it on." He challenged, his confidence in his abilities really showing.
"Oh, I will." Ayame set Naruto's third bowl in front of him just as Ash pulled her second towards herself.
"Sakura, say go." Naruto said, readying his chopsticks and giving Ash a smug glance.
With a giggle, the pink girl counted down. "Ready, set, eat!"
The race was on. The two both dove into their food until one bowl was slammed back onto the table followed by a loud declaration of "done".
And for once, it wasn't the undefeated champ.
Ash took a napkin and wiped her mouth, but stopped when she noticed the blonde staring at her with a mouthful of ramen hanging over his chin. "What, is there something in my teeth?" She asked, a flush of red covering her cheeks. The boy's ramen fell back into the bowl as he continued to stare with wide eyes. "Uhm…are you alright Naruto?" She blinked.
When Naruto finally recovered from his shock, he managed to stutter out "how did you do that?"
"Practice?" She shrugged. Naruto shook his head quickly and downed the rest of his bowl. Sakura giggled at the scene, receiving a questioning look from the red-head.
"Naruto finally found someone who can beat him in a ramen eating contest, and the look on his face? Priceless!" Sakura's comment earned her a glare from the blonde.
"Well, Naruto...It's getting rather late, so I should get going." Ash began to get up to leave when a look of worry crossed her face. "Oh, I forgot to check with Tsunade-sama for my apartment assignment!" She cried, feeling rather stupid.
Naruto thought for a moment. "Hey, uh…I have an extra room. If you want you can stay with me. I mean..Tsunade's probably passed out by now, and trust me, you do not want to wake her up." He offered, shaking his head at the thought of Tsunade's wrath. Sakura sighed.
"Naruto, wouldn't you think she'd rather stay with, oh, I don't know…a girl?"
"I…I really don't want to impose or anything…" Ash said, softly.
"No, honest. It's alright. It does get lonely all by myself and I don't mind at all." Naruto stood up and waved his arms a bit, looking a bit like an awkward, orange bird.
"Naruto…uh…" She glanced at Sakura and trailed. Sakura walked over to Ash and whispered lightly in the red-head's ear.
"It's fine. He's a good buy. Plus, if he pulls anything you can just tell me and he'll have me to answer to. But either way he's not that type. Rather naïve, really. You'll be okay, I promise." She straightened herself and turned to Naruto. "If I hear anything out of the ordinary coming from your apartment I'll kill you!" She glared at him, holding out a fist to emphasize her threat.
He gulped, but nodded quickly. Ash smiled and giggled lightly at the two's antics. "Alright Naruto, but I do need to get something I left at the gate first. I'll be right back ." She turned and ran off before either could say anything about it.
"I wonder what she's getting…" The boy said, rubbing the back of his head while Sakura sighed and sat back down to her ramen. "Oh yeah, the bill." He pulled out his wallet and handed over some coins to Ayame.
"Thank you. I don't think I have to tell you to come again though, Naruto-kun." She joked lightheartedly. Naruto grinned and sat next to Sakura, turned around to face the street and lean against the counter. As he did he twirled a kunai between his fingers. Ten minutes passed before he caught sight of Ash coming back down the alleyway, carrying a pack over her shoulder and a long package in her hand. He got up and stretched. "You ready?"
Ash nodded. "Goodbye Sakura." She waved, and Sakura turned to wave back.
"Don't forget what I told you." Sakura said.
"I won't. Thank you."
"No problem at all. I'll see you around."
The two nodded at each other before Naruto said his goodbyes, and the pair headed off down the alley towards the boy's apartment complex. As they walked, Ash couldn't help but wonder why it was that everyone here seemed so nice. Konoha really did seem to be the best choice.
They reached the apartment in short order. "So, looking from here, my apartment is on the second floor at the very end." He pointed at it before using a powerful jump to propel himself up and over the railing. Ash quickly joined him as he pulled a key from his pocket and placed it in the lock. Once the door was opened it led straight to a kitchen. The room was bursting with green as he turned the light on to illuminate the area.
"A gardener, huh?" She remarked, looking at the different kinds of foliage taking up space.
"I've got to do something to decorate. Besides, it's fun to take care of them anyway." He yawned. "I think I'm going to hit the hay. Here, let me show you your room so you can get settled down." He groaned a bit. "Tsunade-baa-chan had me running around all day chasing kids at the academy. The little guys can run!" He grinned and Ash smiled at him as he led her to the room that was to be hers.
"Thank you, Naruto. Really. This is very sweet of you." She said, turning to him and giving him a quick thank you peck on the cheek. His face flushed red and he turned away from her. After a moment her reached out, opened the door, and nodded her in. "I uh…Sleep well. I'll be across the hall…if you need me. The bathroom is right there." He pointed awkwardly to the door beside hers. "I'm sorry it's not much." He said, referring to the sparse contents of the room.
Ash stepped in and looked around. A twin bed, a dresser, and a standing mirror came into her sight. "It's perfect." She said, smiling gratefully.
He blinked. "Well, you know where I am. So…goodnight."
"Alright. Goodnight Naruto-kun." She said as she shut the door behind him. She walked over to her bed and sat her bag down next to the rectangular package.
Slowly she unwrapped it to reveal and sword in its scabbard. The scabbard had kanji and intricate designs engraved in a deep red all over it. Gingerly picking it up and sliding the sword out revealed a blade as black as night. The hilt had an onyx gem set into it surrounded by deep red firestones that flickered in the light. She turned the blade over and examined it before sliding it back into the scabbard and hooking it to her belt.
She dug into her pack now to pull out a shimmering black cloak, which she swung over her shoulders and fastened around her neck. She switched off the light and opened the door.
Naruto, who hadn't quite fallen asleep yet, heard the front door open and close. Curious, he got up and out of bed and silently walked out of his room and apartment. He caught a short glimpse of a black figure crossing the rooftops and quickly set off to following.
"What is she up to?" He thought, starting after her.
~End Chapter One~