AN: Special thanks to inarealpickle, simonmountney, and causeiambetta for picking up the slack for betaing. Also, just to remind everyone, Naruto is currently six and the other "Rookies" are four.

So, without further ado, I give you chapter nine of Naruto: Shadows of the Mind.


'THOUGHTS'

LINEBREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV


Chapter Nine

Glancing at the sky, Naruto guessed the time was somewhere between ten and eleven in the morning.

Keeping an eye on his surroundings, Naruto headed towards the market district. What he found when he got there had been a rather novel experience. No matter where he went, he had been, for once, treated the same as any other child. Well, okay, he had been treated like any ten-year-old would. Close enough.

Once he had finished his shopping and returned to his apartment however, Naruto began to feel his good mood slipping. He had been treated normally, which only drove home the fact that whenever he went out as himself, he was treated differently, even unfairly.

But why? What did the villagers find so wrong with him? Was it because of his scars? Or his eyes perhaps? When he thought about it, several things about him were different from anyone else he had ever seen.

He'd never met anyone with birthmarks like his, or anyone with his slit eyes.

Hell, he'd never even met someone with blond hair before.

Could the reason for his mistreatment be that simple? That they thought he was ugly or something?

Naruto shook his head at that thought. While he had nothing else to explain the villagers' actions, he found it hard to believe that someone's looks could really be that important.

Feeling his old companions, resentment and anger welling up, Naruto quickly went about putting his groceries away and headed back out into the village, determined to enjoy his new-found freedom.

Of course, once he got more than a block away, Naruto realized he had no idea what to do. He'd never spent much time in the village, even before he started living on his own.

Plus, he had no idea how long his Henge would last either.

Heading off in a more or less random direction, Naruto tried to think of something to do.

A park wasn't an option. Naruto had never had any fond memories of any park when he went there by himself. And any good memories of the times he spent at parks with the Sanadas and the Old Man were now jaded and twisted by his own paranoia.

So, where else could he go to spend his time? Naruto sighed as he came to a stop outside a large building. Looking around, he saw several people entering and leaving the building to his right.

Glancing up at the sign, Naruto was surprised to learn it was a library. While Naruto had never been to one himself, he had heard about them from Yoshino.

To be completely honest, he had never believed her when she spoke about them. To someone like him, whose only constant companions were the books he read, a place full of free, varied works of literature sounded too good to be true. Yet there he was, standing inside the door, vaguely wondering when he had walked up the stairs and gone in.

When no one yelled at him or told him to leave, Naruto slowly made his way through the library.

He eventually came to a stop in front of a section that held several young children sitting on scattered beanbag chairs and reading storybooks.

Sending a furtive glance around once more, Naruto slowly approached a shelf and pulled a book out.

Delving into the book -which told some nonsensical tale of a blond hero slaying a great demon- Naruto quickly lost all track of time and his surroundings.

It was somewhere around five hours later when Naruto was finally distracted from his new book -this one about some man who could seemingly grow trees with a wave of his hands- by his stomach growling.

Looking around dazedly, Naruto was surprised to find himself at least ten feet further down the bookcase than he started.

Blinking, Naruto panicked when he saw the clock that now said five o'clock. Naruto calmed down when he glanced down at himself and saw that he was still in his ten-year-old Henge.

Gazing longingly at the still untouched books, Naruto made his way out of the library, mentally taking note of its general location.

As he headed back to his apartment, Naruto was struck by a sudden whim. Why not eat out?

He hadn't really explored that aspect of his new freedom, and he was more than a little tired of instant meals and sandwiches.

The instant meals might be varied, but to Naruto, they tasted bland and somewhat stale. He longed for an actual, cooked meal.

'Besides,' Naruto thought with a smug grin, 'it's not like anyone's gonna know.'

Humming to himself, Naruto began searching for a restaurant.

As the sun slowly began its descent, Naruto saw more and more families on the street, effectively ruining his good mood.

Every time Naruto saw a happy family, he thought about those two, and the time they'd spent together. This brought about a storm of emotions in him. Rage, hate, despair, loneliness, sadness, doubt…envy.

Struggling to keep his emotions in check, Naruto reminded himself that he didn't need anyone, that he was happy on his own. He even almost believed it.

He was brought out of his musings when he smelled something. Something that he had never smelled before, that wafted heavily on the air.

And it.

Smelled.

Delicious.

Quickly following his nose, Naruto found himself standing in front of a rather simple stand. It was small, only capable of holding four or so customers at a time. The sign at the top simply read, Ichiraku's.

Breathing deeply, Naruto basked in the heavenly scent that seemed to billow from the stand.

Naruto wasn't sure how long he stood there just inhaling before he was abruptly torn away from his enjoyment by a gruff voice.

"Hey kid! Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to sit down and order?" the cook operating the stand asked.

"Wha-what is this place?" Naruto dazedly asked. "Is-is this place heaven?"

The cook let out a bellowing laugh, "Not at all! Though if you like the smell that much, then you're going to love the taste! Come on in and have a seat. The first bowl is on the house."

Without realizing it, Naruto found himself sitting on one of the stools, leaning forward to try to get a better whiff of that delicious scent. "What do you make here? Some kind of soup?" he asked distractedly.

"What do we make?" the old cook asked in surprise. "Why, ramen of course!"

"Ramen?" Naruto sounded out the word. It certainly didn't sound like much, though Naruto didn't doubt for a moment that it tasted good. Nothing that smelled so delicious could possibly taste anything but great.

"Yep, this is Ichiraku's Ramen. I'm Teuchi Ichiraku, but you can call me Teuchi. I own this stand." Teuchi said as he went about preparing Naruto's meal.

Naruto was content to watch Teuchi as he cooked this "ramen". 'I wonder if this will taste even better than milk? Or even ice cream? Oooo it smells so good.' He thought to himself as he drooled slightly.

"Well, here you go." Teuchi said as he placed a steaming bowl in front of Naruto. "Enjoy."

Naruto slowly reached for his chopsticks and broke them. He licked his lips slightly as he pulled the bowl a little closer to himself. Barely paying any attention to Teuchi, who was watching with an expectant smile on his face, Naruto took a bite of his ramen.

Words could not begin to describe the ecstasy Naruto felt the moment those noodles touched his tongue. Barely a second passed between Naruto's first bite and his second. The next bite came even faster. Then the next, and the next, and the next, until Naruto was tearing through his food like a starving animal.

"Whoa, Whoa! Slow down kid or you're going to hurt yourself!" Teuchi exclaimed with a trace of laughter in his voice.

His admonishment was ignored however, as Naruto quickly finished his bowl.

When he found the bowl empty, Naruto quickly pulled out his wallet and demanded, "How much for another bowl?!"

Teuchi just blinked once and then burst into laughter. "All right kid, keep your shirt on. What bowl would you like next?"

Naruto went completely still. "Yo-you mean there's more than one?" he asked in a wavering voice.

"Of course there is. There's miso, beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, vegetab-."

"I'll have one of everything!" Naruto interrupted as he pulled wads of cash from his wallet.

"Everything?" Teuchi parroted. "Don't you think that's a little much for just you?"

Naruto sent the man a slight glare. "I'll tell you when I've had enough." he growled.

The man just chuckled as a young girl in her early teens wearing a bandanna holding her hair back from her face entered from the back of the stand.

"Ah, Ayame I'm glad you're here. It seems we might have a new number one customer here." Teuchi proclaimed in a loud voice before pausing. "Say, what did you say your name was again kid?"

"Less talking, more ramen." Naruto growled impatiently.

The girl, - Ayame - frowned slightly as she put on an apron. "He seems to need a lesson in manners." she stated in a disapproving voice.

"He was polite enough before Ayame." Teuchi stated as he stepped back to the stove. "It was when he had his first bowl that he got a little wild. I think he finished the whole bowl in thirty seconds. And then he ordered one of everything."

Ayame blinked in surprise. "Everything? Don't you think that's too much little boy?"

"I'm not a little boy." Naruto stated distractedly as the smell of fresh ramen began wafting through the stand once again. 'Such a perfect smell. This ramen thing must be new. There's no way it could have been around without me noticing.'

"So what is it?" Ayame interrupted his musings.

"What's what?" Naruto asked grumpily.

"What's your name?" She clarified.

"Naruto." he answered as the Teuchi place another bowl in front of him.

"Oh, well, that's a nice name." Ayame giggled for a moment before Naruto started eating. Then the giggles promptly turned to a gasp. "He-hey! Slow down! I knew you didn't have manners but this is too much!" She exclaimed as Naruto quickly finished off his second bowl.

Slurping what little remained of the soup; Naruto impatiently asked, "Where are the others? Hurry it up already!"

"See, what did I tell you? He's definitely going to be our new best customer." Teuchi said over his shoulder as he finished preparing yet another bowl.

Before Naruto could claim this one, Ayame pulled the bowl of ambrosia away from him. Something that he objected to quite strenuously. "Hey! That's mine! Go get your own you fat cow!" While not really true, as Ayame wasn't even remotely close to overweight, Naruto knew that for whatever reason, calling a girl fat was guaranteed to make them mad. Like now.

"What did you call me?! No customer of ours is going to get away with calling me that! No ramen for you. Ever!" Ayame growled angrily.

"Wha-what? You can't do that!" Naruto shouted in dismay.

"Oh, but I can." Ayame said with smug grin.

"N-no! Please don't! I'm sorry, I won't call you fat ever again!" Naruto gasped in panic.

"Weeellll, I suppose I could let it go this time." Ayame drawled with a sly grin. "Buuut…you'll have to make me a promise."

"Anything, anything!" Naruto quickly swore. Sure, he'd probably feel humiliated about this later, but the ramen was on the line!

"Hmmm, alright then." Ayame chirped. "You have to promise to always mind your manners whenever you're around me, or in the stand. OK?"

"Yeah fine, I promise, now gimme!" Naruto declared as he reached for his beloved ramen. Yes, even though they had just met, Naruto knew that he couldn't live without the ramen. It was almost like a drug.

"What do we say?" Ayame asked teasingly as she pulled the ramen further away from him.

Naruto scowled. This was humiliating! The only good thing about this was that at least he was still in his Henge and there wasn't anyone else around to see this.

"Please…" he muttered.

"That's better." Ayame said cheerfully as she place the bowl in front of him once again, pausing to pat him on the head.

Grabbing his bowl of heavenly goodness, Naruto paused when he saw Ayame watching him expectantly. Sullenly, he exercised a great force of will and ate his ramen, rather than devouring it like a rabid wolf.

"Much better my little Fishcake." Ayame giggled slightly.

Naruto paused and looked up in confusion. "Fishcake?" he asked in between bites.

Ayame nodded. "It's what your name means, Fishcake."

Naruto's eye twitched. "That's not what my name means."

"Oh really?" Ayame asked as she replaced his now empty bowl with a full one.

"Really. It means Maelstrom. I looked it up." Naruto growled when she looked like she was about to argue.

"I don't know…you look more like a Fishcake to me." Ayame said in a fake, sage like tone.

Naruto chose to be the grown up of the two, and promptly ignored the teenage girl.

Twenty minutes and several bowls of ramen later, Naruto was finally forced to leave the stand when he ran out of money. It certainly had nothing to do with that "I ate so much I'm about to explode" feeling. Not at all. 'Although…it would probably taste just as good coming up as it did going down.' Naruto thought with a content smile. Yes, he would definitely have to come back to this place again.

Walking through the streets towards his apartment, Naruto marveled at how relaxed he was feeling. Every other time he had been outside in the last two years, he'd been tense and jumpy, trying to watch everywhere at once.

So when did he loose that caution? Naruto frowned in thought. 'Was it at the ramen stand? No, it happened before that. But it certainly wasn't when I was shopping either. That just leaves the library.'

Naruto came out of his thoughts as he entered his apartment building, dispelling his Henge as he did. And in that moment, all of his fear and paranoia came rushing back. He thought back to the sight of the floor his apartment was on.

No doubt about it. The lights in his apartment were on.

When he had left earlier, he had turned his lights off. Which meant that someone was in his apartment. Possibly waiting for him.

Nervously biting his lip, Naruto thought about what he might find as he headed up the stairs. 'It might be the Old Man, or Yoshino…hell, it might even be one of those "babysitters".'

But then, why would they still be there at almost eight o'clock? The "babysitters" were only required to cook for him, not wait around afterwards. The Old Man didn't visit as often as he used to, and the few times he had shown up when Naruto was out, the Old Man had simply tracked him down. That just left Yoshino or someone else, and Yoshino was supposed to come by the next day.

Arriving outside his door, Naruto slowly opened the door, prepared to bolt back down the hall if necessary. Adrenaline pumping, Naruto scanned the living room, letting out a sigh when he saw Yoshino sitting on his couch, sipping a cup of tea.

"Naruto-kun!" Yoshino rose quickly and crossed the room towards him. "Where have you been? I was worried about you."

Naruto tried to calm his nerves and answer her, but apparently adrenaline and an unhealthy dose of fear, mixed with a stomach overstuffed with ramen, didn't end well.

Slapping a hand over his mouth, Naruto dashed past Yoshino heading for his bathroom. He almost made it too. "Blegh!" Naruto started hurling right outside his bathroom. Struggling through the door, Naruto took a deep breath and puked again.

Stumbling, Naruto made it to the toilet just in time to cough up a single, half-digested noodle.

"Urr, I was wrong…it doesn't taste as good." Naruto moaned as he tried not to gag on the taste and smell of his own vomit.

A moment later, he felt a hand gently stroking his hair.

"Are you all right, Naruto-kun?" Yoshino asked as she offered him a glass of water.

Naruto gratefully accepted, taking slow sips trying to get rid of the taste of bile.

"I'm fine." He muttered as he looked around his bathroom at the mess he had made.

"Don't worry, I'll help you clean this up." Yoshino offered.

Nodding in relief, Naruto led the way to his cleaning supplies.

After cleaning everything up, they sat down on the couch, Naruto bracing himself for the questions he was sure were coming.

"Naruto-kun, where have you been all day? I was worried about you." Yoshino asked quietly.

Naruto felt bad about that. His relationship with Yoshino was a little complicated. At first he had assumed that she was working for the Old Man as a spy or assassin. However, after seeing her scold the Old Man on several occasions, yet never raising her voice to him, he had slowly developed some doubts. After the first eight months or so, Naruto had to actively try to be suspicious of her.

Objectively, he knew that she was only there because she and the Old Man felt that Naruto wasn't finished "healing" from his ordeal with the Sanadas. On the other hand, she was probably the closest thing he had to a friend, though often times she acted like how Naruto assumed a mother would.

Though he would never admit it, Naruto looked forward to her visits, both for the books, puzzles, and games she often brought with her, and for the company she provided.

As a result, he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty about keeping things from her and worrying her.

But that didn't mean he was going to tell her about his training.

"I just went out is all." he answered her.

"Naruto-kun," Yoshino sighed. "You were gone all day and no one knew where you were. I was getting ready to turn my clan out to look for you."

Naruto felt another pang of guilt at that. 'Well, I can tell her where I actually went I suppose.'

"I just went grocery shopping, and then I stopped at the library. I guess I kinda lost track of the time while I was there." Naruto left out any mention of using the Henge all day.

"You spent nine hours in the library?" Yoshino asked in surprise. Of course, if Naruto had known that the Anbu had been frantically looking for him since he left his apartment, then it might have changed his way of thinking.

Instead, he corrected his statement. "Well actually, I was only there for like five hours. But then I decided to go eat, and I found an amazing place that served the best food ever! It's even better than ice cream!" Naruto began waving his arms around in excitement.

"Really? And what food did they serve Naruto?" Yoshino asked with a small smile.

"Ramen." Naruto drawled slowly, trying to savor the word as much as possible.

"Ramen?" Yoshino asked in surprise.

"Yeah. It's the most heavenly and delicious food ever made! It's made by this old guy named Teuchi, and his brat of a daughter Ayame." Naruto explained with a blissful expression on his face that briefly turned to a scowl at the mention of Ayame.

Muttering some curses at the girl, Naruto missed the slight smirk on Yoshino's face as she asked, "So why don't you like Ayame, Naruto?"

"She's a brat! She took away my ramen, and she used it to humiliate me! And she made fun of my name, and she kept calling me a little boy! Stupid girl!" Naruto growled in anger and no small amount of humiliation.

Yoshino's smirk grew even wider. "So…" Yoshino drawled teasingly. "Does that mean that Naruto-kun has a crush?"

Naruto stared at her in abject horror. "What? No! No way, not a chance! Why would I like a brat like her?! Acting all high and mighty just because she's older than me!"

Yoshino just giggled. "I'm just teasing, Naruto-kun." After a few seconds, she grew serious again. "But Naruto-kun, you really shouldn't leave for so long by yourself without telling someone. What if you got hurt? Nobody would know."

Naruto just scowled and crossed his arms. "I'll be fine. I've been taking care of myself for the last two years, you know."

"I know Naruto-kun." Yoshino sighed. "I just worry about you, that's all."

Naruto felt yet another pang of guilt. "I'll be careful, I promise."

Yoshino smiled gently at that. "Thank you. Well, I'd better get back home before my family starts looking for me." As she headed for the door, she paused and looked back at him. "Naruto-kun, would it be alright if I bring my son with me when I visit tomorrow?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. He knew she had a son, but that was about it. Still feeling slightly guilty for making her worry, Naruto agreed and bid her goodnight.


Yoshino sighed tiredly as she left Naruto's apartment building. She hadn't really wanted to wait in Naruto's apartment when it was reported that he was missing. She would have much rather been out looking for him instead.

'Honestly, how does a six year old boy walk out of a building under Anbu observation without being seen?' Yoshino wondered. The Anbu on duty had reported that Naruto had left the building, as the seals had indicated, but no one saw Naruto actually walk out the door at the time he was supposed to.

According to the preliminary report, no Henge or any other Genjutsu had been detected at the time. The Anbu had searched for ten minutes before reporting the situation to the Hokage.

The Hokage had then asked Yoshino to wait in Naruto's apartment in case he returned on his own. She had barely been able to keep herself in the apartment, so worried she had been about the young Uzumaki. She had only known the child for two years, during which time she had done her best to help him. Yet he had quickly grown on her. While he never said anything, she could tell that he looked forward to her visits.

Her only regret was that she still seemed unable to completely heal the child's scars. He had improved, but only when alone with her. Any time he interacted with someone else he seemed to relapse back into that terrified and paranoid four year old, albeit a more controlled version. The Hokage's presence especially had driven the boy to a near frenzy, just under the surface.

Yoshino could still remember the look on the Sandaime's face when she had to ask him to stop visiting Naruto. He had never looked so old.

Now that Naruto had returned, Yoshino was on her way to meet the Hokage about this latest incident.

Sighing, Yoshino entered the Hokage tower and heading up the stairs to the Hokage's office. Knocking, she waited for Hokage to call for her before heading in and closing the door behind her.

She found the Sandaime and a silver-haired, Inu masked Anbu waiting for her.

The Sandaime was watching Naruto through his crystal ball as the boy went about getting ready for bed. The Hokage sighed as Naruto began crawling under his bed for the night.

"So he's still doing that." the Sandaime stated more than asked.

"I'm afraid so, Hokage-sama." Yoshino sighed as she took a seat. No one mentioned how hard it was to get someone to stop doing something that you couldn't reveal you knew they were doing without explaining that they were being spied on.

"I noticed he didn't reveal anything pertaining to how he managed to escape the notice of the Anbu. Did you notice anything that could explain, Yoshino?" The Sandaime asked as he released the technique around the crystal ball.

"No, Hokage-sama. I wasn't able to get him to tell me, though he did mention where he spent the day." Yoshino reported. "Apparently, he's discovered the library, and the "joys" of ramen."

"How sure are you that he told the truth?" Inu asked.

"Considering that he threw up a couple bowls worth of ramen, I'd say it's safe to assume that he was telling the truth." Yoshino answered with a trace of laughter in her voice.

"Yet you couldn't get him to tell you how he disappeared? Isn't the whole point of your job to get people to tell all their secrets?" Inu asked in a monotone voice.

Yoshino scowled at the Anbu. "My job is not to spy for the Anbu. And even if I was, I'd like to see you try to get someone to tell you how they evaded the "elite" of the village, when he's not supposed to know he's being watched." Yoshino retorted.

"Enough Inu," the Sandaime ordered. "I'm more interested in how the men assigned to this mission lost a six year old the moment he stepped out of his building, how the Anbu were unable to find said child after he returned to his apartment and left again, and how they couldn't find him after eight hours of searching."

"Of course Hokage-sama." Inu stood straight for a moment before slouching and stating, "We have no idea."

"No…idea?" The Sandaime repeated incredulously.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. We didn't even know he was missing until the men waiting outside radioed in to the observation room asking when Uzumaki was going to leave. The observers had assumed that the men outside had left when Uzumaki's chakra signature left the building. The men outside fanned out to find him, but the boy somehow reentered the building unnoticed. The men outside were reprimanded and sent back to their posts. When the boy left again an hour later, the same thing happened. Only this time, as you know, the boy was missing for a much longer period of time." Inu reported.

"We still haven't been able to find any explanation, and we likely won't unless we directly observe Uzumaki." The silver-haired shinobi offered.

"No, Naruto-kun's senses are still as perceptive as they were when he moved into that apartment. The last thing I want is what little progress Yoshino has made to be destroyed. Besides, what could Naruto have done that would have fooled the Anbu?" The Hokage sighed as he stuffed his pipe with tobacco. "In truth, I'm more worried about who else might have been involved in Naruto-kun's disappearance." The Sandaime confessed as he lit his pipe.

Yoshino felt a chill sweep through her at that. "Do you think someone might be going after him again?" she asked worriedly.

"I don't know." the Hokage murmured. "But we have several unanswered questions about this-."

The Sandaime was interrupted as the door to his office opened without warning and an old man limped into the room. "Why am I not surprised?" The newcomer asked as he limped his way to stand in front of the desk.

"I know you're going senile Danzo, but you still need to knock on closed doors before entering." the Sandaime stated in dismissive tone.

"Joke all you want Sarutobi, but one of the most dangerous people in the village just went missing for nearly half a day. If the boy hadn't returned, or perhaps, been returned to his apartment, your Anbu would no doubt still be scouring the village." Danzo growled. "Bad enough that you were foolish enough to hand the boy over to those Sanada fools, but then you left the boy all but unsupervised with the exception of the Nara woman - which was foolish in itself - and then you still managed to lose him. Who knows who may have taken him, or what may have been done to him while he was gone."

"The boy isn't a sleeper agent Danzo, and I'm well aware of my mistakes." The Sandaime stated calmly.

"Then learn from your mistakes and give the boy to me. At the very least, start training him again before he grows too angry to serve Kono-." Danzo began only to be interrupted himself.

"I don't recall asking for your advice on this Danzo. I also don't recall inviting you into this office, or informing you of the situation itself. I do however, recall ordering Saru and Tora to see you home." The Hokage said in the same calm, slightly chiding voice.

A moment later, said Anbu appeared behind Danzo in a flash of movement.

"Right this way, Danzo-san." Saru stated in the monotone of all Anbu.

Danzo glanced at the Anbu behind him before turning to the Hokage. "This isn't over Sarutobi." with that, the old man turned and left the room, his Anbu "escorts" following close behind.

"I'm sorry about that Yoshino-sensei." The Sandaime apologized. "If you don't have anything else to report, then you can go home."

Yoshino paused for a moment before telling him her plans for the next day.

The Hokage considered it for a minute before assenting. "Very well, but I'll have to be there to attune young Shikamaru to the seals. And I have an offer to give Naruto as well."

Yoshino paused at that. "If I may ask, what offer, Hokage-sama."

"Well, Naruto is old enough to start attending the ninja academy." the elderly Hokage stated.

Yoshino blinked at that. Naruto had been practicing some ninja skills for the last couple of years, not counting what the Sanadas had taught him. So in retrospect, it seemed obvious that Naruto desired a ninja career. But she couldn't help but wonder if she should allow it, even as she bowed and left for her home. As far as she knew, Naruto still wasn't interacting well with children his age. Maybe if tomorrow went well, then she could put her mind at ease.


When Naruto woke up the next morning, he found himself faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, he had a great desire for ramen. On the other, he didn't know how to make the food of the gods. And the only one he knew who could make it, was too far away for him to run off and get some and still be back in time to meet Yoshino and her son.

Groaning in dismay, Naruto dragged himself out from under his bed, checking his surroundings as he did.

As he went about his usual morning routine of checking for assassins and traps, followed by washing and eating breakfast, Naruto thought about his impending visitors. He didn't know much about Yoshino's kid, and what little he did know came from the odd comment here and there.

From what Naruto could gather, the kid's name was Shiki something or other. He was a couple of years younger than himself, and he was lazy. That was about it.

"Why did I agree to this again?" Naruto sighed. Oh, right, because he felt guilty for making Yoshino worry. Which was annoying in itself since Yoshino was a doctor or like one anyway, and it was her job to worry about him.

Yet here he was, making a pot of tea and setting out a plate of snacks for his guests.

Just as he finished setting out the tea, a knocking came from his door.

Opening the door, Naruto instantly went tense at seeing who was standing outside.

Yoshino was smiling carrying her bag on one shoulder and a small boy on the other who appeared to be…snoring? The other person standing there was the reason for his tenseness.

"Hello, Naruto-kun, it's been a long time." the Old Man greeted.

"Old Man." Naruto said slowly, smiling so large he had to close his eyes and careful to keep the contempt out of his voice. "What brings someone like you to my meager doorstep."

Who says Naruto can't be diplomatic?

"Ah, well, I have some documents that you need to sign, and I thought we could catch up." If the Old Man could detect Naruto's hostility, he hid it well.

"Of course, but I'm afraid I've made previous arrangements with Yoshino and her son, so if you'll just leave the papers, I'll have Yoshino deliver them to you later." Naruto responded.

The Old Man's smile slipped just a little, and if Naruto had been watching, he would have seen the sad look in his eyes. "I understand, but there's no need to impose on Yoshino-sensei. These documents will just take a minute.

'Damn you, you old bastard.' "Of course, please come in, Yoshino, Old Man." Naruto said politely, beckoning them in as he did so.

Keeping an eye on the Old Man as they both sat down at the kitchen table, Naruto was only dimly aware of Yoshino laying the snoring child down on his couch before taking a seat next to him at the table.

"It's been awhile since I sat at this table. We should have dinner again sometime." The Old Man began as he set the manila folder on the tabletop.

"So what did you need me to sign?" Naruto responded.

'So I'm all out of diplomacy. Oh well.' Naruto thought to himself.

Sighing slightly, the Old Man opened the folder and extracted two sheets. "This one is to authorize an increase in your allowance," he said as he slid the paper halfway across the table for Naruto to claim. Once Naruto had read over, signed, and slid it back, the Old Man slid him another one. "And this one is your enrollment into the Ninja Academy. This year's term starts next mo-."

"Not interested." Naruto interrupted as he slid the form back across to the Old Man.

Naruto watched as both the Old Man and Yoshino stared at him in shock and surprise respectively.

"Wh-what?!"


Translations

Saru=Monkey

Tora=Tiger

Inu=Dog

Henge=Transformation


Well, there you have it. If anyone feels that Naruto acted...unusual...around the ramen scene, please remember his enhanced senses. When I wrote "it was like a drug" I meant it. As always, any reviews, suggestions, criticisms, etc are welcome. Though apparently I need to say, If you don't want a reply to your review, then you probably shouldn't review. If someone leaves an unsigned review then I'm going to have to respond at the beggining of chapters. Thanks for reading.

Peace, Vaan.