—
(ramen and suna)
—
Naruto's stomach rumbled, hungry. He had been chewing on the celery he had bought the other night when he met Hinata when the thought of the young woman made him smile.
The last couple of days he had spent unpacking, building furniture, and preparing himself to go out of town for his next fight in Suna. But what he really wanted to do was to see Hinata again.
His large body was splattered on his small Ikea couch, his hands flipping his phone around on his stomach, and his long legs hanging over one of the armrests. He had just gotten home and showered after training with Jiraiya. He had even gone extra hard on the cycling bike today, thinking about finding a ramen place for an early dinner. Jiraiya's idea, actually–sometimes the old man would indulge his pupil.
It was four o'clock, and he knew Google could offer him several recommendations, but the opportunity here was too good to let it go to waste.
Making up his mind, he sat up straight and started a new text thread on his phone.
—
Hinata was trying to decide what to wear after a long day of instructing in workout clothes and different martial arts uniforms. Should I just get into pajamas already? She considered while staring at her wardrobe and combing through her wet strands slowly. There were no plans of leaving the house again today, but she didn't want to spend her evening in her bathrobe or feel unproductive in sleepwear.
The girl was already grabbing a pair of soft sweatpants when a low ding sound came from the phone on the bed behind her.
Her face warmed up when she realized Naruto had texted her, asking her how she was doing. They had just met the other day, but she had the feeling he would contact her sooner rather than later and felt silly for her high expectations on something that shouldn't matter. Nonetheless, Hinata was right, he did not wait too long. She smiled and replied right away, seeing no reason to keep him waiting either.
Doing good :) Just done with work.
Me too! Ready for a big dinner.
Hinata's stomach reacted to that statement, realizing she hadn't eaten since breakfast.
Do you know of any ramen places nearby? Another text from him chimed in.
I haven't tried it yet, but there's this new ramen shop called Ichiraku's. I hear it's quite good. She wouldn't mind some ramen herself now that she was thinking about it.
Do you wanna try it together? Hinata brought a hand to her face, hiding her large smile from no one in particular.
Yes, let's do it.
After deciding to meet at the restaurant since it seemed that Ichiraku's was located at an even distance between their places, Hinata set her phone aside and resumed her staring contest with her wardrobe.
She wanted to keep casual, but not as casual as leggings and hoodies. She moved to her more feminime section of the closet, a taste acquired in college under the influence of Ino and Sakura but still hers.
A few minutes later, she approved of the reflection in her floor mirror. A blush, flowy skirt reached her mid-calf. A figure-hugging, white tank top was paired with an opened white cardigan that covered her shoulders and back. Her hair was loose, still drying, and cascading straight down her back.
She moved around the house collecting a few personal items into a small crossbody bag, only stopping by the door to slip on her white, nizza trefoil shoes.
It didn't take her long to reach Ichiraku's by foot, and she smiled when she spotted Naruto's tall figure already waiting for her in front of the shop, hands tucked in his dark jeans' pockets and reading the menu displayed on the window.
He also looked casual with a long sleeve white t-shirt and what she assumed by now were his favorite orange sneakers. A cute quirk, in her opinion.
Hinata had a glimpse of a thin silver chain picking from under his shirt, but couldn't see much of it. She also noticed how his strong build showed slightly through the soft fabric of the shirt now that he was not wearing any thick layers.
She fought off a blush before making her presence known to the distracted blond.
"Naruto, hello." She called him softly, but he still heard her and immediately flashed her a large smile.
"Hey, Hinata!" He looked her up and down before saying, "You look nice." His compliment came out so honestly that it made her face warm again. "Ready to go in? Their menu is mouth watering." Naruto's enthusiasm saved her from blushing any further.
"Yes! I haven't had ramen in a long time."
The pair entered the shop with the chime of a bell and were greeted by delicious smells and a friendly girl at the counter.
Naruto navigated the small space like he was at home, and they quickly found their way to a couple of stools across from the girl cladded in white uniform and apron. Hinata watched as Naruto made quick friends with the waitress and her father, the cook, who showed up from the kitchen to place a steaming bowl in front of an elderly man a few seats away from them. Naruto excitedly asked them about their favorite menu items and how long they've been in business, father and daughter happily conversing with him.
"Teuchi and Ayame seem super nice." Hinata commented after they both ordered miso ramen with extra pork.
"Right? But I didn't expect any less. Only the best people can truly appreciate ramen." He said cheekly, making her laugh softly.
"So… orange, ramen, what else is Naruto into?" Hinata asked, matching his cheeky tone and making him laugh in turn.
"Hmm, don't laugh but Naruto is also into pot plants," he chuckled at himself though, " and his family of friends, oh, and his new found, should I say, occupation. But we should probably steer away from that last topic, so we don't steal each other's secrets." He rested his chin on his hand while looking at her, a mischievous shine in his eyes and a lopsided smile adorning his thin lips.
"Hmmm. Father will be disappointed. You've just compromised my mission here."
Naruto chuckled at her playfulness. She seemed shy but was surprisingly cheeky, matching his sense of humor quite well.
"I knew it." He made a gesture as if stabbing his own heart, getting a few more giggles out of her.
"Here you go, enjoy!" Ayame placed their order in front of them, next to their water. And they both dug in unceremoniously, starving from a full day of physical work.
Naruto ate with gusto, not bothering with how warm the dish was. Hinata paused to blow each bite, yet she somehow matched his pace. He was surprised when he placed his chopsticks down at the same time as her.
I think I may fall in love. He looked dumbfounded at the petite girl.
"Delicious." She said bringing her hands together as if praying in gratitude, her eyes closed, and her cheeks flushed from the warmth of the broth.
"Ayame, two more, please!" He ordered without a second thought, and Hinata shot her eyes open, surprised, but laughed contently.
They continue chatting over their ramen, this time eating more leisurely and focused on each other. Hinata asked him about his pot plants and disclosed that she too had a green thumb. They showed each other pictures of their favorite ones, and then talked about their respective dreams of starting a garden one day.
"I like pressing flowers, but I think I prefer to grow herbs, you can do so much with them. But I don't have the space or time right now."
"Same, I'm going out of town this weekend. I can't have plants that will die easily on me, y'know?" He slurped some more noodles.
"Are you excited about Suna?"
"Yes, it will be my first time doing a multiple day fight."
"Best out of three in three nights, right?"
"Yeah." He confirmed before chuckling. "I shouldn't be surprised that you know so much."
She smiled. "It's part of my job. And it's easier to know these things now that you have a fan page."
"I have what?" Naruto's face was a mix of confusion and shock which made Hinata giggle.
"I guess you aren't on social media." She opened her Instagram app and found the fan profile dedicated to sharing highlights of his performance and information on upcoming fights. She let him hold her device so he could scroll through the profile's feed and watch some of their stories.
"Wow, I would've never thought…" He said still in disbelief. "I don't really get social media, to be honest. I only got my first smartphone last year, y'know." He blurted out distracted by this new discovery, his eyes taking in images of himself in short clips.
Hinata observed him carefully. He truly was something else. His honest and humble reaction spoke volumes about his character to her. He wasn't out there obsessing over what people thought of him.
"It can be helpful to your marketing and PR once you debut in the official league." His eyes darted to her, shocked by her statement. "You can always hire someone to manage your accounts if you are not comfortable or don't have time to do it yourself. You also don't need to have a profile on every platform, Twitter and Instagram are popular ones for sports, and you can even partner up with existing fan pages."
Naruto was silently staring at her, and Hinata wondered if she had said too much. Embarrassed, she looked down at her ramen and tucked at her own hair.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tell you what to d-"
"You believe I'll make it to the pro league?" He interrupted her.
"Oh-yea." She mumbled, caught off guard. Matching his eyes again, she seemed to gain courage to speak up her mind. "Yes, I know you will. It's just a matter of time."
Naruto took in her firm eyes and soft smile, and felt his chest full. Almost too hard to breathe. He exhaled as if a weight was being lifted, and smiled with tender cerulean eyes directed at the girl next to him.
"Thanks, Hinata. I'll run your advice with Jiraiya."
That night, he paid and walked her home. Their conversation never dying with him sharing tales of his wild childhood while she tried to guess what would happen next in his stories and laughed along with his antics.
That night, Naruto told her good night at the entrance of her apartment building, and she texted him to know if he had made it home safely.
That night, Hinata went to sleep feeling oddly recharged, and Naruto laid on his pillow feeling satisfied.
—
"Hmmm… getting a social media manager?" Jiraya thought aloud as he kept his attention on the road ahead.
"Yea, I even read some articles about it, it's like I would be able to share my own narrative with my, hm, fans and work with sponsors more directly." Naruto said while scratching his left cheek meekly. The idea he had fans was still a new concept to him. "Except I have no idea how to navigate that. I have always been so caught up with working hard day-to-day that I never even considered opening an account anywhere. It's not like I had the money for a smartphone in high school anyways." He finished shrugging his shoulders, thinking back on his old but trusty flip phone he used to have.
"This is new to me, too, kid. When I was coaching and training your dad, the whole PR thing was a lot different… marketing too. Sponsors were mostly interested in TV commercials and you wearing their gear at televised matches." Jiraya mused about how things were much simpler with less mediums back then.
"That's why we need someone who understands what they are doing. I looked at some other fighters' instagram and twitter accounts, there are a lot of sponsored posts and people hyping up events. But there is also a lot of criticism and shade, kinda scary."
"No, I get it, kid." Jiraya's head ached with all the ideas Naruto was throwing at him. "Tell you what, when we get back from Suna, you call the Nara boy for a meeting with the two of us. Maybe we can crunch some numbers with him and see how to go about hiring someone. And I think it's time to make that guy your official accountant and financial advisor, he?"
Naruto chuckled at that, thinking that it was fair. Shikamaru had been a good friend, making himself available for free advice in the name of their long-time friendship, but he knew it was time to show his gratitude in more ways than just "thank you's".
"So, who was this friend again? That made you think of all that?" Jiraya questioned side-glancing the blond suspiciously.
"A new friend, no one that you know personally, I think." Naruto tried to sound nonchalantly, averting his eyes to the desert view outside the car window. If he could, he would like to dodge Jiraiya's teasing.
"Oh c'mon, kid, I just wanna know if you're not blabbing too much out there."
"What?!-'m not, old man!" Naruto defended himself, looking offended at the remark. "She is super chill, not nosy at all! She just knows the business super well!"
"Oh, so it's a girl…" Jiraiya smiled mischievously.
"Shit."
"Tell me Naruto, what's got you so attentive to what she's saying huh? Is it the size of-"
"Shut up, pervert!" The blond cut him off with red ears and a red face, making Jiraiya's car boom with laughter from his owner. "I just met her, we're just friends, chill! And stop being such a pervert!"
The teasing did not stop for the next hour though. The older man was dying to find out more about Naruto's new mysterious lady friend, but the boy was not budging.
Needless to say, Naruto was beyond relieved when they exited the freeway and entered the foreign city. Jiraya had to pay more attention to the streets and signs and finally left him alone to one-sidedly argue with the GPS lady instead.
—
Hinata was having an internal battle. Last night, she had joined Neji, his girlfriend Tenten, and Lee on watching the Youtube live of Naruto and Gaara's fight. After Naruto had won, she had texted him a congratulatory message which he had responded an hour later with a "thank you" and a selfie of himself with his hood up, a victory sign, and a newly bruised cheek.
But today was different.
Neji had a fight of his own, and herself and Tenten had promised to watch him live on ESPN while following the Uzumaki on Youtube (Neji did not like Tenten attending his matches every time because of all the media attention on the family).
In fact, her cousin was still in the middle of his match when Hinata watched Naruto get trapped on a modified neck crank from a half back-mount. Gaara did not even give him time to think before using his smaller stature to finish with a bizarre maneuver that twisted Naruto funny, locked and unable to move, having no other choice but to tap not only the loss of the round but tonight's re-match.
Tenten whistled over her shoulder, watching what had transpired in Hinata's computer screen while the Hyuga girl felt her chest tighten. She watched Naruto get up with difficulty and display a smile while patting Gaara on the shoulder before disappearing with his silver-haired coach from the shot.
She closed her laptop, and cuddled up with a throw pillow while trying to focus on her cousin on TV.
Should she text him?
He had smiled, but she knew better than anyone that taking a loss with a smile did not mean your mental state was in order.
She did not want to put him in an awkward position though.
They were kind of friends. More like acquaintances? She didn't know how to label it. They had literally just met about a week ago, but she couldn't help feeling an easy connection between the two of them. They had shared a fun evening over ramen and text messages since then, but what did he think of her? Did she have the right to be contacting him like this? Cheering his victories and comforting his loses? Would he be bothered and feel obligated to accept her imposition?
Hinata chewed on her lower lip with her eyes on the TV but an absent mind.
What if he thinks I am only interested when he wins which is NOT true! Wins or loses, that's not important. I should know that… Maybe I shouldn't have texted him last night to begin with…
"Okay girly, what's going on that head of yours?" Tenten suddenly blocked her view after turning off the TV, making Hinata jump on her seat and blink up at the brunette with wide eyes. "C'mon, Neji just kicked some ass, and I was jumping off this couch while you just stared at the TV like a statue."
Hinata's face went pale and then red so fast that Tenten had to hold in a laugh. She released a stifled breath while clumsily knotting her long brown strands in a messy bun. Her chocolate eyes focused on her friend as she took a seat next to the other girl. She didn't want Hinata to go on overdrive and not be able to open up with her, she knew how the younger woman could be sometimes.
"Something must have happened for you to completely space out during Neji's fight. Did you get a text with bad news?" Tenten ventured a guess, her voice filled with concern now.
The blush on Hinata's face finally faded, and she reacted.
"Oh no, Tenten, please, don't worry about me! It's nothing like that." She tried to smile to reassure her friend.
"Hmmm… you may say that, and it may be true, but your face tells me there is something bothering you for real."
Hinata left a humorless laugh out, looking down to her hands clasped together on her knees. "You read me too well."
"How could I not? I have spent years dealing with Neji's poker face." Tenten tried to defuse Hinat's tension by making a perfect stoic impression of a 16-year-old Neji to which she saw the Hyuga's shoulder finally relax and giggle a bit. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
"Well… I guess no one knows, but it's not a big deal at the same time. We've just hung out once…"
"We?" Tenten's eyebrows shot up in interest. "Who exactly are 'we'?"
Hinata looked at her companion with the tip of her ears red and upper teeth crushing her lower lip, considering… Maybe she should just confide in her friend and get out of her head.
"No way… I can't believe you bumped into Uzumaki Naruto just like that." Tenten let out an impressed whistle after Hinata disclosed the happenings of that week. "And he seems like a nice guy, not a cocky bastard." She laughed a bit thinking of the annoying guys they both had to deal with at the gym sometimes.
"I know, he's not like that. I don't know, I just feel like this weird connection with him, like we could've been childhood friends or something. Is that too much too soon?"
"I don't think so…" Tenten said after a moment of silence. "I mean, it's not like you are jumping into anything. You've just been chatting, and you hung out one time. It's nice to meet someone that conversation feels easy and natural. Plus, he was the one who texted first and seems to be very responsive to you." Tenten smiled brilliantly, and Hinata nodded in agreement with a small smile of her own.
"And now I don't know if I should contact him after losing tonight. I did text him congratulations yesterday."
"Oh I see…" Tenten observed Hinata's eye fall down again and smiled tenderly at her down cast friend. "Oh, Hinata, you are too kind. You're probably worried that you'll bother him, right?"
"Yes." She whispered embarrassedly. "I want to be there for him, but I don't want to stress him more than he might already be. But I also don't want him thinking I only care about him winning and-"
"Wow, hold'n girl!" Tenten interrupted her increasingly fast rant, chuckling a bit. "Now, you're just overthinking it."
"I am, am I not?" Hinata laughed.
"Yes. Look-" Tenten said while grabbing her shoulders. "You said that it feels really comfortable, natural to be and chat with him, right?" Hinata nodded. "Then, just do what feels natural in this case, too." She finished with a wide smile, and Hinata's eyes seemed to finally light up.
"Thanks, Tenten."
"No problem, girly." The brunette stood up. "Now, I need to head home to greet Neji. Don't tell him I told you this, but he loves to cuddle after a big match."
Both girls giggled at the expense of the absent male while Hinata walked Tenten out.
Back in her bedroom, she decided to text Naruto.
She typed without thinking too much into it, what it felt natural–as Tenten had said.
Placing her phone facing down on her nightstand, she left for the bathroom to go over her nightly routine and avoid obsessing over her notifications.
—
After a shower and a long ice bath, Naruto was in Jiraiya's quiet car, heading back to the hotel. The car's digital clock just changed to display 12:00am.
"Hey kid, don't beat yourself up. Today wasn't really a loss." The older man offered. "You need to rest now, and in the morning we'll go over a new strategy for the closing match. I got some ideas."
The blond man nodded uncharacteristically quietly, to which Jiraiya accepted without saying another word, giving Naruto his right for space.
Closing the heavy hotel door behind him, Naruto locked it and threw his duffle bag on his bed, followed by the weight of his own body.
He didn't know for how long he laid there in the dark, staring at the ceiling. But, he finally decided to reach his phone in the bag's outside pocket.
His lock screen displayed several text messages that he was planning to ignore till the next day. That is, until he saw Hinata's name.
Naruto couldn't decide if he wanted to avoid or read her text the most.
He dropped the phone on the bed and went to change into the most comfortable pair of sweatpants he had packed, wincing a bit as he bent over.
He picked the device up again, and decided that he wouldn't be able to sleep wondering about what she had to say. His disappointment and pity party would have to catch a rain check.
Today was a proud loss which counts as a victory. Good luck tomorrow :)
Her choice of words sounded almost like a fortune cookie but in a good way, it made all the sense to him. Naruto smiled, wanting to hear her elaborate that thought.
Can I call you? He texted, hoping it wasn't too late for her in Konoha.
He only had time to set up his alarm for the next morning before his screen lit up and vibrated in his hands, Hinata's name in full display.
"Naruto, hello." Her soft voice filled the dark room as he answered on speaker.
"Hey there, Hi-na-ta." He laid down slowly, placing the phone next to his head on the pillow, eyes closed and limbs spread out on top of the covers.
"Are you going to bed?" She asked quietly after a moment of silence.
"Soon. Did I wake you?"
"No, I couldn't sleep."
"Hmmm, what's up with you?"
She chuckled softly, some of her breath hitting against her phone's speaker.
"I should be the one asking you that. You asked to call." She teased him lightly to which he smiled to the ceiling. But then his face turned serious, and his body rolled to the side, facing his phone.
"Thank you for your text."
He wished he could see her now but instead had to settle for listening to her blankets hustling.
"You're welcome, Naruto." She said so close to her speaker that it almost felt like she was whispering in his ears. "I meant it."
"Losing with pride, huh?"
"Yes, because you gave your very best."
"So it feels like a victory."
"Exactly."
He smiled.
"Y'know, I understand the feeling, just never put it in words like that before." Naruto said, thinking of younger days.
"Well," he heard her hesitate, "regretfully, I–hmm, I used to think of myself as a, well, a failure in middle school." She confessed.
He hummed gravely in response and disclosed, "...me too." He imagined for a moment what must have happened to her for feeling similarly to him growing up. "I came up with this personal motto, 'never give up', to dig myself out of that mindset."
"Mine was 'proud failure'." Naruto humed again at her words. The contents of her text message weighed differently now, heavier and deeper.
"Proud failures never give up." He said and smiled at her follow up giggle.
"Exactly." She repeated, breathlessly this time.
"I should thank you for reminding me of that." He said sincerely, quietly, like a secret of the night.
"I almost didn't text you," she paused. "I didn't wanna bother."
Naruto chuckled, glad that she didn't listen to her own concern. "I was getting pretty into my head, not sure why… It's not my first time losing a match. I- maybe I just feel like the stakes are getting higher. But talking to you now makes me pumped for tomorrow."
"Can I text you tomorrow again?" Hinata asked, uncertain of herself.
"You can call me tomorrow," he said firmly, but then hesitated, "...if you want, of course."
"Okay." Her voice sounded like a whispered smile, he thought, until a small yawn escaped her. "What time is it?"
"Hmmm, danm, it's past one for me." He was shocked at the little numbers on the corner of his phone. "Midnight for you. We should go to sleep." he hears her agreeing with a tired hum.
"Good night, Naruto–." His name was pronounced slowly, sleepily.
"'Night, Hi-na-ta."
The line cut off, and Naruto fell into a deep slumber almost instantaneously with his body still on top of the covers, phone falling to the side next to his pillow.
—
Jiraiya woke up that morning ready with his best pep talk to help Naruto get into the right mindset for tonight's final match. However, the once retired coach was surprised to find the young man already pumped up and ready to go over strategy.
And now, he could hardly believe what he was seeing unfolding on the octagon. Not because he did not believe in Naruto, but because it was a complete one-eighty from the night before. His energy and attitude was contagious, and Naruto was giving a show of unexpected moves throughout the first two rounds. Gaara's usually menacing expression in the ring was overcome by pure enjoyment even though he was the one losing.
Round three had already commenced, and the redhead fighter managed to plant his foot on Naruto's face with a teep kick. The impact drew some blood from somewhere in the blond's face, but Naruto quickly stabilized his balance by firmly giving one step backwards. Gaara's leg was still retracting when Naruto lunged forward, grabbing Gaara by the limb and pulling him to the ground.
Naruto moved over Gaara like a fox over a rabbit, and trapped the redhead in the same modified neck crank used on himself the night before. Not wasting a second, he used his height to twist Gaara, locking the Sabaku and winning the match.
The crowd went silent before erupting in shouts of all nature. Jiraiya blinked, stunned at the spectacle his pupil managed to pull off. He watched the Sabaku fighter stand up and spit out his bloody mouth guard. Gaara then smiled wildly before tapping Naruto on the bicep and raising the blond's arm upwards, eliciting more noise from the crowd.
Jiraiya crossed his arms and smiled to himself. Naruto was drenched in sweat and had blood dripping down from over one of his eyebrows, but he also talked animatedly with his adversary and basically radiated the sun he truly was.
The boy sure was something, and Jiraiya was proud to be a witness.
—
to be continued.
—
A/N: I hope that it was clear this was a complete unofficial match. MMA matches are not usually multiple day events with the same fighters (much less if they don't belong in the same weight category), it is risky and not recommended. But, the event was organized by Gaara himself who just wanted to have fun with a challenging opponent before rules and regulations could stop him. I sure had a lot of fun writing this final little bit, haha.
Can't wait to hear what you all think of the progression in this chapter. Thank you so much for your reviews, follows, and favorites. Your comments already gave me a couple of new ideas. A special shout out to the guests who reviewed without logging in, I see you and appreciate your kind words.
Don't forget to leave a review. :)
Until next week, stay safe!