It's 9:00PM in the evening, after a stressful day at work, her uber cancelling on her and the rush hour seems to have lasted longer than usual, Elsa finds herself walking home to her apartment. As if matters haven't wouldn't get any worse, it starts drizzling as she was walking down the busy street.
'Bad idea to wear my favorite white turtleneck and black trousers today I suppose' Elsa thought to herself, taking out her umbrella.
She's walking alone in a busy street, holding tight onto her purse with important documents inside as horns continue honking and people screaming at each other in the background. You'd swear there was a riot going on. Her sister, Anna, whom is probably pacing back and forth at this very minute, keeps calling her to make sure she's okay.
"You sure you know where you're going? I can tell Kristoff to come get you?" – Anna on the phone as Elsa chuckles.
"Don't worry about me sis, I know my way around the city….I think" – Elsa responds, chuckling, attempting to tease her worried sister but it does not work.
"That does not make me feel assured you know. Have you had dinner already?" -Anna tells in a serious, very motherly tone and Elsa does not respond.
"Okay, I'm telling Kristoff to come get you and bring you something to…" -Anna says before Elsa cuts her off.
"No!..I mean, *ahem* no, it's fine. I can handle myself. Besides, I don't want to hassle Kristoff because the traffic I'm looking at right now is a little…" – Elsa looks at the cars, as she continues strolling, she swears they have not moved at all and she even feels like she might even be faster than they are.
Elsa hates having to inconvenience people, no matter how much they say it's alright, it does not stop her from feeling guilty about it.
"Yeah, I'm not letting Kristoff drive under these circumstances" – Elsa said as Anna deeply sighs
Anna had always been worried about her sister, ever since their parents passed away and Elsa was pretty much forced to inherit her father's business, it kept them from interacting with each other because Elsa got so busy. It was only until recently that they were finally ever to reconnect and they were determined to make up for the lost time they had, they even invite the whole family to have charades on Friday nights.
"Besides, you should be more worried about….you know" – Elsa says, chuckling as Anna groans.
"Ugghhhh, don't remind me, I had no idea wedding planning is so haaarrrdd" – Anna complained as Elsa laughs.
"Hey come on, at least you're finally tying the knot with Kristoff, poor guy tried so hard to propose but you kept missing it!" – Elsa chuckles as Anna lets out another loud groan.
"Please don't remind me of that too, you have any idea how much I keep apologizing for accidentally elbowing him in the face?" – Anna said as Elsa laughs softly.
"Keep?" – Elsa says, smiling.
"Yes, keep….I don't feel like I've apologized enough. I can still remember his nose….uggghhh, why would you remind me of that?!" – Anna screams into the phone as Elsa laughs, inching the phone away from her ear a bit.
Elsa remembers Kristoff trying to sneak up on Anna as she's watching a competitive hockey game, only to get smacked in the face and almost losing the ring. Elsa enjoys watching them interact, Kristoff is such a sweetheart, a million times better than Anna's ex definitely.
"Hey, speaking of weddings…." – Anna says, snapping Elsa out of her trance as the conversation completely halts.
Elsa quickly checks on her phone, only to see that there is no signal.
'Great', she thought to herself.
The rain must be affecting the signal towers or something, which means there's no possible way for her contacting an uber if she finally decides she's had enough of walking. As if on cue, her stomach starts rumbling.
'Crap', she thought to herself again. She looks around to see if there was a convenience store or fast food chain nearby and luckily for her, there was a store nearby and she makes her way towards it.
It was a small restaurant with no line and she makes her way inside. To her surprise, the place was big even though it looked small on the outside. The decorations were interesting and relaxing to look at, they had interesting symbols and characters on them that really reminded her of Japan, or at least what she thought Japan looked like as she had never been there before.
There were no other customers inside except for herself as all the tables were cleaned. She looks around and sees the counter, a bubbly cashier in an apron, waiting for her order.
"Good evening madam, welcome to Ichiraku's, may I take your order?" – the cashier said as Elsa is surprised. People have always been formal with her before but this was the first time somebody called her that, and frankly, makes her uncomfortable. She has always been quite modest about herself, never thinks she's better than anyone else at anything no matter how much they complimented her.
She looks at the menu, taped onto the counter. The prices surprised her as they are kind of cheap compared to other Japanese themed restaurants she's been in the past. Thirty cents for a bowl of ramen? Why hasn't she heard of this place before?
"Oh, um"- Elsa clears her throat to regain her composure as the cashier chuckles at her.
"I will have the Miso Chashu Ramen please"- Elsa says with a smile on her face.
"Okay, that'll be thirty cents madam" – there it is again, the cashier smiles as Elsa looks into her purse. This girl was way too polite for her own good, Elsa thought.
"Actually, I'd like it if you call me Elsa instead of madam miss?" – Elsa says as the cashier's eyes widen.
"Oh, uh, Ayame, may name is Ayame" – the cashier says smiling.
"That's a pretty name, well it's nice to meet you Ayame, I'm Elsa" – Elsa says, sticking out her hand for a handshake with a smile. Ayame takes her hand and they shake.
"Wait, Elsa? As in Elsa Johansson, the famous CEO of AKM?"- Ayame asks as Elsa laughs. She was surprised that this girl even knew who she was or has heard of her dad's company.
"Oh, I'm surprised you've even heard of me" – Elsa chuckles as Ayame smiles.
"Of course! We get all of our cooking equipment from your company!" – Ayame exclaims and Elsa's eyes widen but smiles.
AKM, or Arendelle Kitchen Manufacturing, is one of the most popular kitchen equipment manufacturers in the city. It was never a kitchen manufacturer in the past and was actually doomed to be bankrupt after their father's passing and some rival company trying to sabotage its reputation.
What was once known as a company known for manufacturing TV remotes and phones, was turned into a billion-dollar company in a span of six years since their father's passing, and it was all thanks to Anna's stubborn insistence. Elsa was about to quit due to stress and her depression acting up when her sister came in time to snap her out of her depression and made them closer than ever.
"Oh, then it's a pleasure doing business with you I suppose" – Elsa chuckles, snapping out of her trance.
"Oh no! The pleasure is all ours, right pops!" – Ayame shouts in the back, Elsa looks over to an old chef, cooking like a machine. He turns around and gives Ayame a thumbs up. Elsa looks back to Ayame, smiles and nods.
"Then I will be taking my seat, here's the payment for the food by the way" – Elsa says, reaching the money out to Ayame, whom gladly accepts.
Ayame gives her the number of her order and Elsa takes her seat in the corner of the restaurant, takes out her phone to browse the internet and starts looking around. What catches her attention is the design of this one particular tarp near the entrance. It had Ayame and her dad on it, but there was some other man, a police officer that she's sure she's seen somewhere before, those distinct whiskers on his face looked kind of familiar.
And as if on cue, another person enters the restaurant. It was the same man she saw on the tarp, only soaking wet, and wearing some kind of puffy orange jacket with black joggers. He makes his way to the and Ayame quickly reprimands him, handing out a towel to him as he scratches his head.
Ayame calls out Elsa's number and she makes her way to the counter. Elsa looks around to see the man seated at the other corner of the restaurant as she takes the tray with her ramen and goes back to her seat.
Much to her surprise, the ramen is really good. She wondered why it was so cheap if it was this good? As she continues to eat the noodles silently, despite her really enjoying it, she catches a glimpse of the man laughing at the counter with Ayame. She stops and looks at them curiously.
Ayame and him seem to get along really great, she even gives him a playful punch on his right arm.
Elsa goes back to eating her ramen out an unintentional moan. 'This is really good', she thought to herself.
"How are you enjoying the ramen so far?" - Elsa's eyes widen as he sees the man seated across from her on the table. Elsa swallows quickly and sighs in relief.
"Never thought that such a ramen existed for such a cheap price" – Elsa smiles, looking at him, holding onto the bowl that was still in her hands as the man chuckles.
"Ichiraku never disappoints, it's why I always come here whenever something comes up" – the man says, smiling at Elsa, which made her a bit uncomfortable. This man was on the tarp with Ayame and her father so clearly, he must be important to this place.
"And you are?" – Elsa asked curiously.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Forgot to introduce myself, I'm Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you" – Naruto says, smiling and holding out his hand for a handshake. Elsa's eyes widen and takes his hand and starts shaking.
"Wait, Naruto? The hero of Hidden Leaf Park Naruto?" – Elsa asks curiously.
"Oh, please madam, I'm no hero" – Naruto says, scratching his head and laughing nervously.
"You are! The way you stopped all those terrorists by yourself was insane" – Elsa exclaims as Naruto continues scratching his head, laughing as Elsa smiles.
No wonder she recognized him, that famous incident with some terrorists and a police officer with defining whiskers on his face was all over the news. Terrorists bombed Hidden Leaf Park on a sunny day, leaving dozens injured, a couple of deaths, and it looked like they were unstoppable until one heroic newbie officer was able to outwit all six of them. She was in the presence of a hero and she couldn't help but have goosebumps.
"I was just doing my job madam, hehe, it's what any good officer would do" – Naruto says, smiling at Elsa as she smiles back.
"Oh please, I'd prefer to be called Elsa, nice to meet you Mr. Uzumaki" – Elsa says, smiling.
"Likewise, just call me Naruto, being called 'Mr. Uzumaki' doesn't exactly feel right for me. I prefer to be more casual with the people I talk to" – Naruto says as Elsa laughs, she understands that feeling all to well.
"I actually felt the need to thank you. If it weren't for your company, this place would have been shut down, so thank you for saving this business, it means a lot to me" – Naruto says smiling, causing Elsa to blush a bit and chuckles a bit.
"If anything, you're the real hero here, Madam Johansson" – Naruto says, nodding his head at Elsa smiling.
"Oh no, it was nothing compared to your true act of heroism and please, call me Elsa" – Elsa says, chuckling a bit as Naruto laughs with her.
"So…Elsa, what brings the famous CEO of AKM over to a place like this?" – Naruto asks as Elsa smiles, scratching her left arm with her right hand.
"Oh, it's silly actually, my uber cancelled on me due to the heavy traffic and I forgot to eat before leaving the office so…" – Elsa says this and smiles at Naruto.
"Geez, that was a dick move, I mean leaving a pretty lady such as yourself this late at night is very dangerous. Plus it's raining hard outside too" – Naruto said, crossing his arms as Elsa chuckles, blushing a bit at Naruto's, probably unintentional, compliment.
"Nope it's fine, I can walk home from here, but judging from how you came here, I guess I'm stuck here till the rain stops" – Elsa says, laughing.
"That would be a good idea yes" – Naruto says, nodding his head while crossing his arms, which Elsa finds kind of cute.
"So, what did it feel like, handling all those terrorists?" – Elsa asks, which widens Naruto's eyes but quickly looks to his side and scratches his head again.
"Well, as you expect, it was terrifying, but what terrified me even more was letting innocent people get killed" – Naruto says as Elsa leans in, interested to hear more about it.
"I mean, I got into a lot of trouble for acting on my own actually. My superiors did not like that I put myself in danger for that, haha" – Naruto sad, causing Elsa to frown, which Naruto finds to be a bit cute.
"Why wouldn't they like that? Would they have preferred to get innocents killed? You were very brave and strong for doing that" – Elsa said frowning, as Naruto chuckles and blushes a bit.
"That's what I said actually, they said it was fine, just don't do something that reckless ever again" – Naruto says and Elsa smiles.
"I understand, my younger sister can be pretty reckless at times too, one time she made a mess during a board meeting, it was very embarrassing" – Elsa laughs and Naruto looks at her.
"Gasp, the great CEO of AKM gets embarrassed?" – Naruto says, laughing as Elsa laughs with him, blushing a bit.
"Well, she does, speaking of, how come the great hero can handle terrorist attacks but can't handle interviews?" – Elsa says smirking, as Naruto's eyes widen and blushes, which Elsa finds a bit cute.
"Haha, well, I've never been very good at people putting me on a pedestal, I was on my own when I was a kid so it's all new to me" – Naruto says laughing, causing Elsa to frown, that sounded kind of sad.
"You grew up alone?" – Elsa asks curiously, causing Naruto to look down at the table.
"Not exactly, I had friends to help me along the way, but I've never met my parents so I was forced to fend for myself growing up" – Naruto says, causing Elsa to lean back into her chair and sigh.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I know how hard that feels, I lost my parents six years ago when their ship went down while they were on a tour when I was still in college. I was pretty much forced to inherit my dad's company and had no idea what I was doing at first" – Elsa says with a chuckle, looking down to the side of her chair, Naruto sighs deeply.
"I'm sorry to hear that as well, must've been hard to handle that company at first" – Naruto says, smiling at Elsa, whom lets out a quiet groan. Naruto smiles at that too.
"Believe me, it was one of the most stressful things in my life. If it weren't for my sister, I probably would have given up on AKM a long time ago. I really should be more grateful for having her" – Elsa laughs as Naruto smiles at her.
"You're really close to your sister huh?" – Naruto says, causing Elsa to look down on the table and smile.
"Oh, we're practically inseparable these days. She and I weren't always like this actually, especially when I first started to run AKM. Right now, we're just how you say, making up for lost time" – Elsa says, smiling at Naruto, whom returns the demeanor.
"I know what that's like haha….oh crap, I forgot!" – Naruto says Elsa looks at him, still seated. The sudden jolt surprised Elsa as Naruto stands up from his seat.
He quickly goes to the counter and places an order of a couple take out ramen and makes his way back to his seat. Elsa tilts her head, laughing, as Naruto scratches the back of his neck again, smiling.
"I was beginning to wonder what you were doing here, I was sure it wasn't just to thank me" – Elsa teases Naruto, who's eyes widen but then laughs.
"Haha, well I got distracted by something so I wouldn't exactly say that was my fault, Madam Johansson" – Naruto smirks, causing Elsa to blush a bit, that caught her by surprise she will admit. A smile then spreads across her face
"Well, who was it that even decided to come and talk to me. I'm a busy woman Mr. Uzumaki, as you can tell, so you can say for certain it was not in my plans to be having this conversation right now" – Elsa says with her had held up high, with a smug smile, causing Naruto to laugh and soon after she follows suit.
As they stop laughing simultaneously, Elsa glances at her phone and notices the time, surprising her. It was already eleven thirty, causing her to stand up abruptly with Naruto noticing her and looking up at her. She notices his look and quickly bows.
"I'm really sorry Naruto, while it was fun talking to you all night, I have to go, my sister is more than likely going to kill me if I get home past twelve" – Elsa says, blushing really hard as Naruto laughs.
"Wait, I'll walk you home, it's far too late and dangerous for an important lady like you to be walking by herself" – Naruto says, standing up and smiling at her.
"Oh, that's kind of you Naruto but I'm fine walking by myself" – Elsa smiles at him, adjusting her purse, making sure the documents inside are all there as they walk in front of the counter, as Ayame arrives with Naruto's orders, smiling smugly at them both.
"Oh, I insist, this night has been fun and I'd want to show my appreciation by at least getting you home safe, Elsa" – Naruto says scratching his head and taking his orders from the counter.
"Better accept, this guy is known for not taking a no for an answer" – Ayame teases Naruto as he blushes and glares at her, she just laughs.
"Please ignore whatever comes out of this woman's mouth! I will admit I can be stubborn, but only when innocent lives are at stake!" - Naruto says, glaring at Ayame, whom just sticks her tongue out at him, making him glare even more. Elsa looks at them both, looks at the time and chuckles.
"Well alright, if you insist but I will be paying you back some day if we meet again" – Elsa says, looking determined as Naruto's eyes widen but he just laughs.
"Then I should be marking my calendar then, when would you like to meet up again?" – Naruto says, an awkward pause happens. Ayame chuckles smugly as Naruto realizes what he had just implied.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it in that way Elsa, it was supposed to be a joke!" – Naruto says, waving his left hand in front of him, blushing as Elsa also blushes and chewing on her lips.
"Don't you two have somewhere to go to? It's getting late" – Ayame says laughing as both Naruto and Elsa realize they're wasting time.
"Shit you're right, so shall we Elsa?" – Naruto gesture towards the door, smiling and she nods.
"We shall, thank you for the meal again Ayame, I'll be sure to come back here whenever I can" – Elsa says, before turning around, leaving the smiling cashier alone as Naruto closes the door behind them.
So...I apologize for those who have waited for my other stories, don't know when I will be able to continue them. Took a really long hiatus cuz life got in the way so yeah.
But anyways, this here is just a simple short story I thought about while I was in bed, pondering about things. Don't know if I might continue this, depends if I see potential for it xD
Anyways, hope you enjoy this little story I thought about on the fly, reviews are welcome as always!