A Matter of Taste
By Maria Szabo
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. These character belong to Kishimoto Masashi, and no profit is being made save that of enjoyment.
"Hmm...chicken," Jiraiya muttered as he perused the menu. "That sounds good. Yakitori Chicken Don."
Naruto was not impressed. "Why are we eating here? You know I wanted ramen!"
"Ramen, ramen, ramen! We always have to have ramen! There is perfectly good food here—quit whining, make up your mind, and order!" The Toad Hermit gave the boy a mighty glare and took another sip of sake. "Who would want to eat ramen all the time anyway?"
"I would!"
"Why?"
"Because ramen is the BEST!" Naruto almost glowed with enthusiasm on the subject.
Jiraiya smirked. "Boy, let me teach you a great lesson of life that you will one day thank me for."
"Yeah, right." He ignored the man and continued to puzzle his way through the menu. "Man, there's no ramen here at all?"
A long finger pushed the menu down on the table and he forced the boy to meet his eyes. "Forget the ramen. Food is like women. It's better if you have a variety."
"You old pervert! Why does everything have to be about women?"
He slapped him upside the head. "Be quiet and listen, fool. This is manly wisdom. Variety is the spice of life."
"I don't want variety. I want ramen."
"Don't you want to try the chicken?"
"No. I want ramen."
He decided to try another track. "Naruto. There are several cute young girls you know, don't you? That you went to the academy with, right?"
Naruto looked puzzled. "I know lotsa girls."
A conspiratorial grin. "You have one you like, don't you? That pink-haired girl?"
Bright blush. "Sakura-chan? Hey, hey, do you think she likes me?"
"Well, there is that other girl...that dark-haired one..."
"Huh?"
Really, the child was clueless. "The Hyuuga girl? She seems to like you, too."
"Hinata-chan?" He blinked. "But I like Sakura-chan."
"But you can have Hinata-chan."
"Don't want Hinata-chan. I mean, I like her, but she's weird and all, and besides, I want Sakura-chan."
Jiraiya thumped the table. "You stupid kid, don't you get it? You can have Sakura-chan later! You're only thirteen years old!"
A pair of very blue eyes stared up at him, reminding Jiraiya of another student of his, long ago. "I don't want to miss Sakura-chan. Why should I have chicken when what I want is ramen?"
The Master of Toads sat still for a moment and then pulled something from out of his pocket. "Here. Take some money. There's a ramen stand down the street. Enjoy."
"YES!! Thanks, Old Pervert!" Naruto jumped up and headed for the door, then turned back with suspicion in his eyes, as Jiraiya put the frog-shaped purse back in his robes. "Hey, waitaminute. Isn't that MY wallet? You bastard!"
Ein Ende