Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto
*7 and a half years later*
While Codi, now 11 going on 12, wearing a black t-shirt and green camo pants, was getting ready for his Academy Graduation Exam the next day, he noticed a small, blonde-haired boy, who he knew as Naruto Uzumaki, the son of The Fourth Hokage, who was no more than 7, running away from a store merchant, wielding a broom and hitting him on the head whenever he was within reach.
"COME BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE THEIF!" screamed the merchant.
"What in the hell is that guy doing?" Codi thought as he shunshined in front of the merchant to make him stop hitting Naruto.
"Why are you chasing after him?" Codi asked sternly.
"That little brat stole a loaf of bread from my store!" the merchant told him.
"You're chasing after him and hitting him with a broom over a fucking loaf of bread?" Codi screamed at the merchant.
The merchant took a step back in fear.
"Do you not know what he is? He is the Nine-Tailed Fox! He's a threat to this entire village!" The merchant retorted trying to justify his actions.
Codi glared at the merchant. "He is not the Nine-Tailed Fox itself. He had the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside him by the Fourth Hokage when he was a baby. And he is no less of a threat than you."
"How-How'd you know he had the Fox sealed inside him?" the merchant asked.
"Because, I witnessed it happen firsthand."
"Y-y-you did?" the merchant asked with a scared look on his face.
"Yes I did. Even though I was only 4 years old, I remember it vividly."
"Wait if that's true you must be...Codi-sama!" The merchant bowed at Codi's feet. "I did not know it was you Codi-sama. Please forgive me."
"You are forgiven this time. But if I see you chasing Naruto again or harming him in any way, I will see to it that you are punished."
"Yes, Codi-sama. I will not harm him ever again. In fact, the next time he comes into my store, I will give him whatever he wants for free!" The merchant said scared out of his mind.
"That's good to hear. You can now go back to your store."
"Yes, Codi-sama." The merchant ran back to his store.
"Now to find where Naruto went." Codi ran off in the same direction that Naruto heading.
After 20 minutes of searching, Codi finally found Naruto hiding in an alley under a staircase, eating the loaf of bread he had taken. Codi started walking up to him and noticed that from the moment Naruto saw him, he had been on edge.
"Hey. How's it going, Naruto?" Codi asked him soothingly.
Naruto turned and looked at him and started to get up and run away.
"Wait, wait hold up. I just want to talk to you." Naruto sat back down and Codi sat down beside him. "Why did you steal that loaf of bread from that merchant?"
"Well, I was hungry", Naruto replied.
"Did you think to ask him if he would give it to you?"
"Yes, I asked him, but he called me a 'demon child' and chased me out."
"Well, you won't have to worry about that merchant chasing you out of his store anymore."
"What did you do?" Naruto asked.
"I saw him chasing you a little bit ago and I stopped him. We started discussing the situation and once he figured out who I was and that I knew you, he told me he wouldn't chase you anymore and if you went back to his store he would give you anything you want for free."
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Really." Codi said chuckling.
"So, who are you?" Naruto asked.
"I guess you don't remember me. I first met you when you were still a baby. My name is Codi Kenhai. I'm considered sort of a hero here."
"How's that?" The boy asked.
"Well, almost 12 years ago, a huge beast attacked the village."
"What beast was this?" Naruto asked.
"It was the Five-Tailed Lion."
"The Five-Tailed Lion? I never heard about that."
"Well, I'll tell you then. The Five-Tailed Lion came out of nowhere and attacked the village; much like the Nine-Tailed Fox would do 5 years later. My father had the scrolls for the techniques he used to seal the beast. He sealed it inside me when I was a newborn. Unfortunately, he had to sacrifice his life to seal it in me. The Third Hokage told me that one my father's last wishes were for me to be hailed as a hero of the village. Apparently that's why I have so much influence on people."
"Wow, that's cool."
"Yeah I guess it is
"By the way, I was wondering, how do you know me?"
"I knew you back when you were just a baby being taken care of by the Third Hokage before you were placed in an orphanage. After that, I never saw you again till now."
"How do you know the old man?"
"He raised my father when he was little and then raised me after my parents died."
"Wow, the old man never told me that. That's cool. So what happened to the Nine-Tailed Fox?"
"I heard it was sealed inside a child. I don't know who though." Codi lied looking at the sunset. "Hey, it's getting late. Are you getting hungry?"
"No." Right as Naruto said that, his stomach growled loudly.
"Haha. I thought so. Do you like ramen?"
"YEAH! I love ramen! Even though I rarely get a chance to eat it."
"Ok, well, how bout I take you to the best ramen shop in town, Ichiraku Ramen, my treat?"
"Yeah, that'd be great!"
"Alright, let's go." Codi started to walk off.
"Codi, wait!" Codi stopped and turned around.
"What is it, Naruto?"
"Well, I was wondering, would you say we are friends now?"
"Heh, we've always been friends. We just haven't been around each other much to know it." Codi held out his pinky. "Hey, friends forever, no matter what."
"Friends forever, no matter what." Naruto repeated holding out his pinky and latching it onto Codi's.
"Come on, let's go eat." Codi took Naruto under his arm.
"If you only knew Naruto that that child that has the Nine-Tailed Fox is you. That's why everyone resents you. Everyone except me and the Third Hokage" Codi thought as they walked towards Ichiraku.
On the way to Ichiraku, Codi received a different reception than he usually got from the villagers. When they noticed Naruto under his arm, they looked at him, as well as Naruto, with an ice-cold look in their eyes, but Codi paid them no mind.
"If their opinion of me changes just because I'm hanging out with the boy who has the Nine-Tailed Fox inside him, they can just go to Hell for all I care" Codi thought.
As they entered Ichiraku, they were immediately greeted by Teuchi and Ayame.
"Welcome, Codi-sama!"
"Guys, I told you, you can just call me Codi."
"Sorry. Welcome, Codi."
"That's better. I hate being called 'Codi-sama' by my friends. Oh, speaking of friends, I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto, this is Teuchi" He said motioning toward the old man. "And Ayame." He said motioning to the old man's daughter who was Codi's age and who Codi had a huge crush on.
Teuchi held out held out his hand. "Hello, Naruto. I'm pleased to meet you. Any friend of Codi's is a friend of ours."
Naruto shook Teuchi's hand. "H-hello, Teuchi-san."
"Hello, Naruto-kun. It's nice to meet you." Ayame said.
"I-i-it's nice to meet you too, Ayame-san." Naruto said nervously.
"So, what'll you two have?" Teuchi asked.
"I'll have 2 bowls of Tonkatsu Ramen." Codi said.
"Ok. What'll you have, Naruto?"
"I, I don't know."
"Try the Miso Ramen and see if you like it." Codi suggested.
"Ok, I'll have one bowl of Miso Ramen, please." Naruto said.
"OK, that's two bowls of Tonkatsu Ramen for Codi and one bowl of Miso Ramen for Naruto. Coming right up."
"So, how'd you two meet?" Ayame asked.
"He was being attacked by a store merchant just a little bit ago for stealing a loaf of bread and I intervened. After that, I looked for him all over the village. I finally found him and reassured him that that merchant wouldn't hurt him again. Then we just started talking and after a while I asked him if he wanted to get a bite to eat."
"Wow, you're such a nice person, Codi." Ayame remarked.
"It wasn't that impressive." Codi said, blushing a little bit. "You really think so?"
"Yes I do." Ayame said blushing a little bit as well as she apparently had a huge crush on Codi, too.
"Making instant friends with someone who had been put down by everyone in the village is the nicest thing anyone could do." Codi and Ayame's faces turned even redder.
"Really?"
"Really." Codi and Ayame just stared into each other's eyes.
"Hey what are you guys doing?" Naruto interrupted.
"We were...uh...um...uh...um." Codi stuttered as he and Ayame looked away from each other, both of them turning a bright shade of red.
"Order up!" Teuchi finally said.
"Whew, saved by the ramen man!" Codi thought.
"Eat up, guys." Ayame said.
"So, how do you like your ramen, Naruto?" Ayame asked.
"IT'S THE MOST DELICIOUS THING I'VE EVER EATEN!"
"I told you, didn't I?" Codi said starting on his first bowl of Tonkatsu.
"Glad to hear it." Teuchi said.
Naruto quickly finished his bowl before Codi even finished his first bowl.
"Can I have another bowl?" Naruto asked Codi.
"Holy crap! You're already done, Naruto?" Codi said amazed.
"I told you I was hungry." Naruto retorted
"Alright, give him another bowl of Miso Ramen, Teuchi."
"Wait, wait. I want to try that Tonkatsu Ramen that Codi has."
"Ok. Give him a bowl of Tonkatsu Ramen, then." Codi said.
Codi finished his first bowl right when Teuchi gave Naruto his next bowl.
"Hey Naruto."
"Yeah?"
"Let's have a contest."
"What kind of contest?"
"Let's see who can finish their ramen the fastest."
"OK. Sounds good to me."
"Teuchi, you and Ayame will be the judges."
"Alright. Three, two, one, GO!"
Codi and Naruto attacked their bowls like hungry lions going after a piece of meat. After about five minutes, both Codi and Naruto placed their bowls down at the exact same time and shouted, "DONE!"
"So, who won?" Codi asked.
"It was...A TIE!" Teuchi and Ayame shouted after much deliberation.
"Wow!" Codi and Naruto looked at each other.
"You wanna go again?" Naruto asked.
"Let me check my wallet." Codi looked at his wallet and saw he had only enough to pay for his two bowls of Tonkatsu and Naruto's bowl of Miso and Tonkatsu.
"No we better not. I'm running low on money. When I get more money, we'll have another contest."
"Aw, alright." Naruto said sadly.
"Hey, it'll be alright. I should get more money next week." Codi said.
"You will? Alright! Next time it won't end in a tie."
"I know cause I'll win next time." Codi said.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"Alright, I'm looking forward to it."
"So am I."
"OK. Oh, one more thing I wanted to ask you about, Naruto."
"What is it?"
"How'd you like to come to the Academy with me tomorrow so you can start on the road to accomplishing your dream?"
"What is your dream, Naruto?" Ayame asked.
"My dream is to become the Hokage one day so everyone will look up to me and stop making fun of me." Naruto replied.
"That's a pretty big dream. You'll have to train real hard to become Hokage."
"I know and I'm gonna train my hardest so I can achieve that dream."
"Well, it's getting late and we need to close up shop." Teuchi said.
"Ok. See you guys later." Naruto said.
"See you later, Teuchi. See you later Ayame." Codi blushed as he said this. Ayame blushed, too.
"See you later, Naruto. See you later, Codi." Teuchi and Ayame waved as Naruto and Codi walked out.
"You like him, don't you, Ayame."
"Who?"
"You know who. Codi. You love him, don't you?"
"W-w-w-w-what are you talking about, Dad?" Ayame said, her face turning bright red.
"Ayame, don't try to fool your old man. I saw the way you two were looking at each other?"
"Ok, yes I have a crush on him and I guess he has a crush on me, too."
"I could tell with the way his face turned red when he talked to you." Teuchi said.
"You don't disapprove, do you Father?"
"No, I don't disapprove. I like him and I think he'd make a good husband for you someday."
"Yeah, maybe someday." Ayame said dreamily.
Meanwhile.
While walking down the road, Codi suddenly sneezed.
"Are you getting a cold?" Naruto asked
"No, it's not that. I think someone was talking about me." Codi said rubbing his nose
"Really?"
"That's what they say."
"Wow. So Codi, I've wanted to ask you something."
"What is it, Naruto?"
"What was up with you and Ayame staring at each other?"
"Uh, well. Its kinda hard to explain to you right now, but basically when you meet a girl you like, your heart starts beating wildly and your face starts to get flushed giving it that red color you saw on mine and Ayame's face."
"I don't get it."
"I didn't think you would, yet. I'll tell you more when I find out more about it myself."
"OK."
"Hey, do you have a place to sleep tonight, Naruto?"
"No. No, I don't."
"How about you come stay with me until you're old enough to be able to live on your own?"
"You'd really let me stay with you, even though you barely know me?
"Yeah, I can't let you stay out here. My conscious wouldn't allow it. So what do you say?"
"OK, sure!"
"Alright, let's go." Codi and Naruto walked toward the apartment complex near the Hokage Tower where Codi lived.