Sorry I've been gone so long, been real busy with college… damn you educational institution!

D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N

C is for Condiments

D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N/ D/N

"What dose?"

L glanced up from his plate, fries still dangling from his mouth like starched worms, to see large baby blues looking at two bottles, one red and the other yellow. He wordlessly swallowed them all in one gulp, the kind that when you saw it you winced and wondered how the hell it all managed to go down the pipe at once.

"What'd you say Naruto?"

Naruto puffed his cheeks, knowing the man had heard him but wouldn't answer his question unless he enunciated better. The 3 year old let out a frustrated sigh and spoke slowly and somewhat loudly to make sure his caretaker heard him. And jabbed a finger, almost accusingly at the topic in question.

"What….are…those?"

L gave what Naruto called his 'ghost grin', the two were currently tucked back in a corner of a recently opened Akimichi run diner. While he did like the cuisine of Konoha, he refused to live in a place that did not cater to some of his more exotic if not current tastes. He nearly went into cardiac arrest when he learned they did not know what hamburgers were. Granted it was not one of his all time favorite foods, however that was just an indication they knew very little of foreign cuisine. That is, if places such as Germany, America, France, Switzerland, Britain, Mexico etcetera even existed in this realm. He should have asked Kami before coming here.

Back to the matter at hand, it hadn't taken much to convince some of the Akimichi clan to try out his 'original' recipes, the bubbling curiosity for new dishes had been far too tempting for them to ignore. It had helped that he bragged of food from distant lands, ones that held tastes that were so far out there, it would draw crowds in inevitably if only because their taste buds were peaked as much as their interest. Chouza, the clan head himself had personally tasted and graded every recipe L had written down, the genius having figured it all out by pure sensory memory, and had expressed interest in buying them off the raven. Not one to pass up an opportunity to physically not have to work for money they developed a bit of an under the table but still legal partnership and opened up a new restaurant featuring these new delicacies. So far it was a smashing success.

L glanced at the two condiment bottles boredly, it had taken some experimentation to figure out how to make acceptable ketchup and mustard but in the end it had been worth it. Even if his tongue had been numb to the taste after awhile.

"The yellow bottle contains mustard and the red bottle contains ketchup."

Naruto scrunched up his face, his whiskers wrinkling with it, as he comprehended and processed what L had said. Inquisitive blue eyes eyed the bottles contemplatively before he chirped out another question, this time speaking coherently.

"What are they for?"

"They are condiments that one includes in various meals, some include but are not limited to hamburgers, fries, hot dogs….just to name a few. Some people may prefer one over the other, but I cannot see one without the other."

Naruto alternated glances between the two containers, blue eyes like dyed ping pong balls before he clumsily but determinedly took each one and spread a small puddle of each on his plate. He took two french fries, one per hand and dipped them, one per glob with the finesse of an artist would his palate before hesitantly taking a bite of one then the other. His face scrunched up at the tangy taste of mustard and he seemed thoughtful after the ketchup. L watched curiously as Naruto took a spoon and mixed the two, his eyes widening as fast as his smile as he realized red and yellow together made his favorite color: Orange!

The toddler dipped a new fry into the concoction and smiled as he ate it, eyes closed so they blended in with his whisker marks.

"I get what ya mean."

L would later find it absolutely hilarious, although he didn't show it, when five years later he would get around to telling Naruto who his parents were. The first thing the eight year old did upon seeing a photograph of Kushina and Minato, was hug the frame close to his heart.

"Ketchup and Mustard!"

"Yes Naruto…and you're Orange."

XxAuthor's NotexX

For those of you who don't get it, Kushina and Minato have yellow and red hair, hence the ketchup and mustard reference. Also their nicknames are 'The Yellow Flash' and 'The Red Habanero' what do you get when you mix the two? Orange. Ta da.