DISCLAIMER: Naruto, its story and its characters do not belong to me. They are the property of the great Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. Only the plot of this fanfiction, and the original characters are mine.
WARNING: Some parts of this story may contain violence and bad language. If you don't like this, then feel free to press the back button.
II
WHAT'S THIS?! THE "OH! MY RAMEN!" DISTURBANCE
"Ramen, ramen, raaaammmeeeennnn!!! I love ramen! I can't wait to eat ramen!!! Oh! My Ramen!!!" A blond Konoha shinobi sang cheerfully.
"SHUT UP, NARUTO!" He was immediately rewarded by a punch to the head by a certain pink-haired kunoichi. "Are you trying to damage our eardrums?"
Naruto's bright blue eyes became glassy, and they were were starting to brim tears. "What's that supposed to mean, Sakura-chaaaaan?"
"She means, dobe, that you are a horrible singer." Another shinobi, one with black hair, explained to the blond idiot coolly. "And you probably should quit it before you kill us all." He added with a smirk.
The glassy expression immediately disappeared from blond boy's eyes, and was replaced by an angry one. He shot up from his seat and waved a fist at the other boy. "What's that? I dare you to say that again, Sasuke-teme!!"
Sasuke only crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath, opened his eyes, and let out a loud (not a shout though), "NARUTO-DOBE IS A HORRIBLE SINGER!!"
At that point, all of the customers of the restaurant they were in turned their eyes at them, more specifically at the blond who had stood up on his seat and had placed one foot on the table. Naruto looked around at the laughing eyes, and immediately felt himself blush brightly. With a surge of anger he bellowed, "SASUKE-TEMEEEEE!!!!" He dove towards the other boy, his arms outstretched, ready to strangle him. He was however, stopped by Sakura as she wrapped her arms around the blond boy's waist. "NARUTO!! Not here!!!"
To the untrained eye, these three teenagers may seem to hate each other, or unable to get along with each other at the least. But if one were to look closer, one can see rays of sun shining brightly in the blond boy's eyes, the touch of mirth in the pink-haired girl's eyes, and the silent laughter dancing upon the dark haired boy's lips.
Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke share a bond which, one may fondly say, is stronger than the Mighty Bond glue. Yes, they may have their share of disagreements. Yes, they may have been reluctant teammates two years ago. But those were meager compared to all the trials they have been through, the greatest of which perhaps may have been the betrayal of Sasuke. But they endured, persisted, and were finally rewarded with the return of their beloved teammate. Now their bond was stronger than ever.
As for the eye of one who knew them from the start, one may notice the small and subtle changes which indicated that these three are now growing up. Naruto, though still as loud and clueless as ever, is now ten times stronger than the annoying prankster he was two years ago, as he trained under one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya. In addition, he and Sasuke were now nearing ANBU status. Sakura, once the weak flower who never once won a single fight, has bloomed into one of the strongest known kunoichi, under the guidance of the Fifth Hokage herself. It is also interesting to note that she had overcome her infatuation with her dark-haired teammate Sasuke, and had now turned her emerald eyes to one whom almost nobody thought had a chance of winning her affections, Konohagakure's taijutsu specialist, Rock Lee. As for Uchiha Sasuke, despite his betrayal, he is still considered as a strong and amazing genius ninja. Though he is still very much cold (especially to his remaining fangirls), and still considers himself as an avenger, determined to kill his older brother, one can see the occasional smile and playful smirk dancing upon his lips, indicating that he is now more relaxed and more comfortable living in the village he can now confidently call 'home'. With the defeat of Orochimaru, the once cursed mark on his neck had disappeared.
"Will you people please keep it down? I'm getting to the good part." Said a low voice beside them. It belonged to an older man with spiky silver hair and a mask covering the lower half of his face. His forehead protector ran around his left eye. Hovering in front of his face, was a small pink novel with the words "Give Me Paradise" on the front cover.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said, glaring at their former teacher, her arms still wrapped around the blond's waist. "I can't believe you're still reading that smut!"
Hatake Kakashi, also known as the Copy Ninja, is one of Konohagakure's finest and most powerful jounins. Despite having spent time going on independent missions, he still maintains a good relationship with his former students, spending time with them whenever possible. One such instance was the B-Rank mission the Fifth Hokage had just assigned to them, and which they had just successfully completed. As such, they were grateful to Tsunade for giving an opportunity for the former Team 7 to be together once more. Thus, they were celebrating their reunion in a ramen restaurant (Naruto's choice of course) in a nearby small town, before heading home. Naruto and Sakura sat together, while Kakashi and Sasuke occupied the seats across them.
The pleasant-faced owner walked up to them saying, holding a tray in his hand. "Here you go, guys. Four ramen specials, as ordered." He placed the tray down on the table, revealing four steaming hot bowls of noodles. He then winked at the blond. "I'd like to commend you for your song earlier. With a bit more finesse, it would make a great theme song for our restaurant." He pointed proudly towards the sign overhead the counter, "Oh! My Ramen!"
Naruto grinned proudly. "Haha, thanks Mister!" When the owner left, he leaned over to the kunoichi and whispered, "Ne Sakura-chan, what does 'finesse' mean?"
But it was Sasuke who answered that question. "It means, dobe, that you are STILL a horrible singer."
The blond was about to yell his usual 'TEMEEEEE!' but the ramen which lay before him prevented him from doing so. Instead, he merely glared at his comrade before turning his attention to the sumptuous food. "I'll deal with you later," He muttered before clapping his hands together and saying "Itadakimasu!"
The four Konoha ninjas dug in, and they found, to their pleasant surprise, that the ramen was indeed tasty. Of course for Naruto, nothing could compare to the ramen of Ichiraku, but this was also delicious. Sakura occasionally made satisfied sighs. Kakashi had actually set aside his book for once, and even Sasuke continued to eat the food without so much as a complaint. They were, indeed, engrossed.
Suddenly, Sakura nudged Naruto with her elbow. "Ne, ne, Naruto..."
"Mrgh--whaaat?" The blond looked up at his friend, strings of noodles still hanging out from his mouth. He was slightly annoyed at her for disturbing his eating.
"Please tell me I'm only dreaming when I say that there's a wolf-girl standing next to the table across us."
"Hrm?" Naruto swallowed what he was chewing and looked ahead. There, standing before the person who was eating at the next table, were two girls--one was small and looked like a child, and the other was indeed, a wolf-girl. After a moment, his eyes went wide as saucers, and he cried out, "Aaaaahhh!!" Sasuke, Kakashi, and even the other customers had turned around and were also nonetheless surprised at the appearance of this strange...person.
Sakura immediately threw a hand on the blond boy's mouth. "Shut up, you idiot!" She hissed. "She'll hear you!"
Before Naruto could say anything else, the wolf-girl's ear suddenly twitched and she turned her head towards them. "I hear you just fine, Missy." She called out to them, her fang sticking out as she grinned.
Sakura and Naruto stiffened immediately at this. "S-s-s-she talks!!!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes wide as plates this time.
Just then, the wolf-girl walked over to their table, her white fluffy tail swinging playfully behind her. "Of course I do, Fox Boy. What do you think I am? Mute?"
…Fox Boy..?
For the first time, the two loud ninjas were rendered speechless. Hell, even Sasuke and Kakashi were staring at the strange girl in awe.
"Ookami!" A voice, which can belong to a female and yet, also to a male at the same time, called out. "Leave them alone! You're bothering them!"
"Okaaaayyy Fuyuki-sama!" The wolf-girl turned on her heels and went back to the previous table.
As she reached the table, the one who was sitting lifted an arm and waved towards the four ninjas, smiling apologetically. "Sorry for the disturbance!"
The first one who was struck by this person was Sakura. A blush crept up to her cheeks as she continued to stare. "He's...he's handsome, don't you think?" She said to no one in particular.
Naruto gasped, staring at the pink-haired kunoichi. "Sakura-chan, you're being unfaithful to Fuzzy Eyebrows!"
Sakura blushed, this time with embarrassment. Immediately, she hit him on the head, causing one ugly lump on the blue-eyed boy. "What are you talking about?!"
As the two continued to argue, Sasuke turned his attention towards his silver-haired jounin sensei, who had become strangely quiet. As he expected, Kakashi was still staring curiously at the group in the next table. But what he didn't expect was that the jounin's attention was focused not at the wolf-girl, nor at the two others, but on the small squirrel sitting upon the green-haired girl's lap.
The dark-haired teen raised a questioning eyebrow.
---
Meanwhile, at the other table...
Ookami's right ear twitched, and she leaned in to whisper at Fuyuki. "Whaddaya know, you've just caused someone to become unfaithful to her boyfriend, Fuyuki-sama."
She was only answered by the slurping of noodles by the other girl.
Uzuki sat at the seat across Fuyuki, with Squi-chan on her lap. "Fuyuki-sama, I really think you should change the way you look. You're always being mistaken for as a guy..."
Slurp. Slurp. Sluuuuurp. "...you think so?"
Ookami rolled her eyes. "Duh. Didn't you get annoyed when that girl you saved was latching on to you?"
The amethyst-eyed girl winced slightly. "Ugh. I don't even want to remember."
"See?"
Uzuki tilted her head slightly. "Well, how about we get you some clothes, like mine, or the ones Ookami is wearing?"
If I did wear those kinds of clothes, I would feel lighter, and it would be easier to move, Fuyuki thought as she continued to slurp the noodles. It would definitely be advantageous to me, but... She stopped, her chopsticks held in midair. Then, as quickly as she stopped, she started slurping again, saying in between slurps, "Nah, forget it. I like this hakama."
Her two companions looked at each other before they both sighed in resignation. As much as they would have loved to impose the change of clothing on Fuyuki (and truth be told they tried to do so so many times before already and they would STILL get the same answer), they could also understand her hesitation to do so. For the hakama she wore belonged to her twin brother, and it and the bow she carried were the only items she carried to remind her of her family, who were patiently waiting for her return and for her quest to be successfully completed. All for the sake of their land and for those who lived in it.
Just then, four shadows hovered over the table. Ookami, Uzuki, and Squi-chan turned their heads to the side, and saw that shadows belonged to the gang leader Fuyuki had fought earlier, another two of his subordinates, and a tall, arrogant-looking man with a lighted cigarette upon his lips.
The Gang Leader or GL (as we will now call him for easier identification purposes) walked over to the table and slammed his hand on it. "Hey BRAT!" It made the bowls and glasses shake slightly, but Fuyuki continued to eat leisurely.
Ookami stood up, crossed her arms across her chest and glared up at GL. "Hey, isn't it rude to disturb someone in the middle of a meal?"
GL backed up a bit, surprised at the sudden appearance of the wolf-girl. Then he straightened himself up and smirked, looking at Ookami up and down. "Heh, this is the first time I've ever seen a strange creature like you but you're cute." He placed an arm at her shoulder, his smirk widening. "Say, why don't you leave this brat and join my harem instead, hmmm...?"
Ookami tilted her head and smiled back, though it was evidently forced. "Of course..." She placed it over his. "NOT!" As soon as she said that, she lifted her hand, and almost immediately, his hand burst into flames.
"YEEEEOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!!" GL ran around the restaurant, flailing his hand wildly to put out the flames. "You BITCH!" He spat, glaring at the wolf-girl. He then motioned to his men with his chin. "Get HER!!!!"
"Roger!" His two subordinates cried out simultaneously, and together they charged at Ookami.
The wolf-girl grinned, letting everyone have a glimpse of her fangs. Her right hand opened then closed, and was then engulfed by another ball of fire. As the thugs neared her, she jumped into the air and extended her flaming hand, and touched each of their backs. Consequently, they suffered a worse fate as their leader, their backs suddenly bursting into flames.
The not-so-bright subordinates screamed in horror, and like their leader, began flailing their arms wildly like lunatics. They tried to slap their backs hard to get rid of the burning flames, but it was to no avail. In desperation, they tried to slap each others back, but as they did, they stumbled towards the table where Fuyuki sat. Nearer and nearer they stumbled, until...
CRASH!!!
All eyes turned towards the two subordinates who fell on the table, breaking it into two. Ookami and Uzuki turned their heads just in time to see Fuyuki's bowl of ramen slide down against the wood and land on the floor with a softer, yet more evident crash. It was as if time had stopped as the noodles were spread, vegetables and seafood were broken, and the soup was spilled over the area.
Ookami then turned her attention towards their companion. As she predicted, she saw that Fuyuki had her head lowered and her facial features darkened completely.
"Oh shit."
Author's Notes:
Hi everyone! Here's the second installment of the series. Here we have the appearance of our famous Team 7 and their sensei. Also, the first romantic pair is introduced here, which Sakura and Rock Lee. I'm not exactly her biggest fan, but I think she and Lee would make a good pair. As for the others, I'm not so sure yet...it really depends on how the story will unwind. In any case, I hope you will all enjoy reading this. And PLEASE REVIEW! I can't stress enough how important your thoughts are to me, and I would really love to hear...er, I mean read them. So PLEASE!
Well, that's all I can say for today.
Till the next installment!