CHAPTER 10: FOX-NINJA

Ichiraku was open, the reddish lanterns glowed, swaying slightly with the rustle of the cold wind. Dinner time was always the best time.

The bubble of steaming water from the heavy steel container of ramen noodles was the only sound that was louder than the insistent grumble of the genin's stomach.
Naruto shrugged the collar of his thick orange garb higher to his neck, to counter the slight shiver of partial cold and delight running through him.
Ayame, the daughter of Ichiraku's owner set a large bowl of steaming miso ramen in front of him and he grinned up at her, his blue eyes disappearing into tiny slits of gratitude.
"Thanks, oni-chan."

The brown-haired girl tilted her head at him and smiled before splaying her hands out over the inside counter, regarding the small, hungry ninja with warm eyes.
"Itadakimasu!" Naruto hollered, just as she knew he would. And the split of chopsticks had barely resounded when he was already slurping into his soup and noodles.
"So, Naruto. Where's your sensei?"
"Hmm? Which one, nee-chan?" the blonde boy mumbled into his meal, barely sparing the young girl a glance.
"The one who usually shares dinner with you. Iruka… Iruka-sensei." She said, pressing closer to the boy, trying to catch a bit of his teal-blue irises.

"Ah! Iruka sensei… eto, he's probably staying behind to help the other academy teachers with some work. He's always been so busy these days, I haven't seen him-"
Ayame's eyes widened as Naruto almost gagged on a sliver of thick noodle, and he quickly sucked the offending end of it into his mouth. A bit of miso dribbled from the side of his lip and the girl laughed as he blushed slightly and reached out for a tissue to his left.
"Eheh. Sorry, I'm really hungry. Stupid pervert-head sensei emptied out my wallet again." And Naruto reached out to his green tea, sipping a bit of it before setting it down again.
The blonde paused and finally gave Ayame a contemplative look.
"Hmm…" she studied him with a sorry look on her face. Her eyebrows knitted together and her frown deepened slightly as she spoke.
"And that was your last Ichiraku stub to a free meal?"

The genin didn't look particularly bothered by the fact, though it was true. And he grinned up at her widely, his whiskered marks stretching out across his cheeks. "It's alright, nee-chan," and then he paused, his blue eyes a burst of sparkling crystal. His sly features struck the woman, and she stepped out of the counter to sit next to him. "The teams that go on missions split equal pay so I don't really need to worry."
"When is your next mission then, oh future Hokage-sama." She said teasingly, an arm bracing itself on the table.
Expectantly, the blonde boy looked pleased and he gave her the sharp, devious chuckle that belonged only to him.
"Ah… I'm not sure. But tomorrow I'm gonna visit that Tsunade-bachan's office and tell her to give me a whole mother load."

Ayame laughed lightly and suppressed the urge to ruffle his spiky blonde head.

A day at Ichiraku just wasn't complete without the sunny repertoire of the orange-clad ninja. Ever since she could remember, Naruto had been a regular customer. And he never failed to make her laugh no matter how sordid her day went.

"How many times must I tell you, brat that you should never call me ba-chan."

Ayame's head snatched to the left, where the low female voice came from and she almost dropped her arm as she saw the Hokage standing there with two Jounins, one of whom she recognized as Kotetsu-san, another regular. To his left, close to the ground was a small pig.

"Eh…?" Naruto turned around to follow the gaze of the startled ramen-girl.
"Tsunade- baba!" the blonde ninja declared, eyes growing wide as the blonde woman glowered down at him.
"Hokage-sama!" she corrected flatly in her terrifyingly resolute voice and the two jounins behind her gave each other uneasy glances.
Ayame leapt up off the chair and greeted the Hokage with a back-snapping bow as Tsunade briefly acknowledged her and slipped into the seat beside the boy-ninja. Kotetsu winked at the ramen lady, as she raised her head, the bandage across his nose pulling up as he grinned.

"Pardon, Hokage-sama, but isn't the village briefing taking place right now in the restaurant next to the north gate?" the jounin to Tsunade's left asked hesitantly.
The blonde-woman gave him a look that might have sent his jaw slack, as far as Naruto could tell, if not for the bandage that steadily wrapped around his chin. He withdrew wisely with a slight, respectful bow.
"I'll show up when I want to." She said, and the jounin, with the white strip across his nose, gave his comrade a disapproving look.

Ayame re-appeared behind the counter, star-struck at the appearance of the Hokage in all her powerful grandeur in front of her. She had never thought the village leader would be someone who appeared casually in humbly, cheap restaurants, much less the kind that socialized openly with random ninjas like Naruto. Despite what she had heard of the Hokage as a reputed ninja of the legendary saanin, she looked barely older than Ayame who was born about 30 years after her. The godaime's heavy robes rustled into the wooden stool as she shifted.

"So…" Tsunade broke the terse silence, winding her fingers under her chin.
The blonde frowned disgracefully at her, and Ayame resisted the urge to give him a reprimanding stare.

Naruto studied Tsunade ba-chan and hated how her sudden gesture so reminded him of Sasuke - the curl of the hands under the chin, the flat, considering look in her eyes and the straight graceful clash of fine eyebrows that enforced the thin press of her lips. The blonde boy found himself crossing his arms and looking heatedly in quiet impatience at the Hokage. In his eyes, there was no reverend label, only a hot-tempered and sometimes, surprisingly affectionate old-hag who now seemed to be insinuating a staring contest.

"Naruto, I've heard from Jiraiya that you refuse to accompany him to any of his trips out of the village. Why is this?" her golden eyes flickered sternly over the boy's face, though underneath it was thinly-disguised amusement.

Naruto whined excessively and stretched his arms over his head, his orange jacket sliding up to expose the black shirt he wore underneath it.
"Keh, pervert-hermit doesn't train me. He bribes me into doing the henge-no-jutsu, gets my money, spends all of it and drags me with him to hot springs for his lecherous spying."
Ayame was startled at the sudden bubbling laughter that erupted from the blonde woman to Naruto's left. Apparently the Hokage had a soft spot for impudence, or perhaps…
The brown-haired woman's gaze traveled to the orange-clad ninja and back at the Hokage, who now had her hands braced under her head, observing the boy silently. A hint of amusement, and something else was dancing in her eyes.

Perhaps, the godaime had a soft spot for Naruto.

Ayame understood. Despite the somewhat grating attitude the boy had, there was an underlying magnetic charm that inevitably drew people to him.
The boy-ninja was not the least bit pleased, he proceeded to dig his chopsticks into the soggy noodles and the godaime sighed.
"I'm not going to force you to tag along with him, Naruto. But that man can teach you many things. If he is up to it."

The fox-ninja only gave a stubborn grunt and tilted the ramen bowl to his lips, hastily gulping down what was left of the warm soup.
A short silence ensued, during which Naruto lowered the emptied ceramic bowl and swiped at his damp cheeks, and the Hokage called for a cup of hot sake.
"Ano, Tsunade-ba chan…" the boy's honest, blue eyes glanced over at the godaime, who had already swigged down the fermented rice beverage.
"Hokage-sama, you brat." She snapped, setting the cup down with a firm clatter that barely required any of the healer's exertion.

Naruto dismissed her irritation and swirled his wooden chopsticks into the soaked bottom of his bowl, "Was Kakashi-sensei ever a medic-nin?"
The godaime's eyes considered Naruto for a moment before her mouth twisted wryly and she answered.
"No, Naruto. If I recall your teacher's profile right, he never was."

Ayame proceeded to pour the godaime another cup of rice-wine and Tsunade gave her a brief nod before turning back to the blonde ninja.
"If this is about your teammate Uchiha Sasuke, I will tell you, the boy did not learn that from him."
Naruto's surprised teal eyes, fastened on to the Hokage as he dropped his chopsticks. "Oh, then Sasuke must have studied with a medic-ninja! That bastard."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed precariously at Naruto's inconsiderate tongue and somewhat daft perception of things.
"No, Naruto. In fact, Sasuke learned that on his own that very same night."
At this, the blonde ninja's irritation bristled even more, and he pushed the bowl away from him. Shoving his elbows into the table top, his face pushed into a flatly childish frown.

The godaime suddenly understood, and her eyes softened as she turned her face to the boy.
"Naruto. Different people have different limits and also different abilities…"
The blonde boy's eyes flickered slightly, but he continued to stare at the wooden surface in front of him.
"Sasuke may have excelled at school, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's already better than every other student."
"Besides,…" the godaime's face broke into a rare affectionate smile, one she reserved for very few.
"You have a dream. And knowing how very stubborn and thick-headed and-"
"Ite-!" the boy ninja screeched when Tsunade's finger pushed into his temple teasingly.
"-boldly driven you are. Na, Naruto! Can anyone really stop you from taking over my chair?"
The godaime almost never gave complements at all. And for a moment, Naruto forgot his anger and the slight throb of his temple, as he eyed her.

Tsunade gave him a small smile and threw the cup at her mouth, taking a full swallow of her second cup of sake.
In her eyes, Naruto saw a flicker of affection. And he knew that perhaps when Tsunade-ba chan looked at him, she was seeing her little brother. After all he had harbored the same dream so many years ago.

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted when the iciness of formality flowed back into her golden-tinted irises and the two jounins automatically stepped aside as the Hokage stood, extracting coins from the over-sized pocket of her robe.

"Kotetsu, Izumo, one of you carry Ton-ton, she's starting to breathe heavily again."
"Naruto," the Hokage's imposing gaze left the two shinobi and settled upon the fox-ninja.
"See me in my office tomorrow. I'm giving you a mission."
More life flowed back into the animated blonde ninja's eyes and he gave her a surprisingly generous grin.
"Alright! See ya, Tsunade-ba chan!"
The Hokage didn't bother correcting him this time, and with a discreet smile of her own, she turned around and walked away, her robes flowing across her back, as the two jounins and a happily pampered Ton-Ton followed after her across the darkness of the dimly lit streets