Hey guys! I'm baaaaaaaaack!

Orochimaru: Helllooooo...

Me: O.o... Not a chance in Hell, Get out. Now, snake-boy.

Orochimaru: Awwwww, Kyu-ku-ku-ku, am i bothering you? -tongue slips out of his mouth-

Me: Augh, oh gawd, get it away! getitaway!

Kyuubi: -shoots flame and crispifies Snake Sannin like so many over-burnt smores marshmallows-

Me: When did you get here?

Kyuubi: Shukaku's got to visit a sick...um, 'relative'.

Me?.? What?

Kyuubi: -sigh of long suffering- He's going to owe me for this big time... He's visiting Gaara, apparantly the guy got burnt.

Me: O.O Poor thing! How?

Kyuubi: -snicker- he got sunburnt!

Me: Well, I can't say much that ain't mean about the little desert-dweller getting burnt, so i'll just go on with the story!

...Wait, that answers why(Which, by the way, i didn't even ask), but not when...

Kyuubi: Sich, before Orochimaru...

Me: When'd he get here then?

Kyuubi: Just get on with the story already!

Me: -pout- fine...

--------------Korochi---------------
She was shopping happily, humming as she went. She was currently using her time to hunt for ingredients for the regular ramens at the stand, and getting ingredients for her own. She was giddily happy, and had shut off twelve connections with her teammates when she tried to establish one. She was not wanting any pesterings from them now.

And she especially didn't want them to find out her cooking secret.

She bumped into someone as she was walking sideways along a cabbage stall.

"Oh!" She looked up and saw Kiba. "Sorry, wasn't looking!" She grinned at him.

"Hey, you feeling better?" He asked. She looked confused for a second, then remembered her arm.

"Yup! I can use it like normal now!" She exclaimed.

"That's great." He said, but her attention was caught by Akamaru even before he finished the 'th' from that's.

"Hey there little guy! How are you?" She looked up at Kiba from her spot on the ground petting Akamaru's ear.

"Kiba? Are you going to lunch later?" She asked.

"Well yeah, why?" He asked.

"Well, would you like to go the ramen stand? My treat!" She grinned.

"Don't you have a job though?" He asked that even though he knew she did, and where.

"Yup! At the ramen stand!" She grinned. "I wanna make a special ramen for Akamaru and see if he likes it!"

"Alright! We'll be there!" He called out after her fleeting form. She was going to be late if she didn't hurry.

Korochi panted as she sat down at the almost empty ramen stand. Lunch would start in a half hour and she had just done with all the shopping. Her boss was putting the groceries up, and encouraged her to make a menu for her own ramen types, so she and customers wouldn't get confused. Though they both doubted Naruto would forget what ramen was what, it was the other customers he was talking about.

She really liked the ramen stand owner, he liked Naruto, and knew what he was anyways. All in all, that made him a real nice guy.

She doubted anyone would orderher ramens,except the one she was going to make for Akamaru. She hoped he'd like it.

Sighing, she finished the last line on one paper, and started on another. She had had to buy blank sheets of extra long and wide paper to fold in half as menus for hers, boss didn't keep any extra blank ones around. Her menus were now less wide and longer than his, and they folded over, while his were one sheet front and half the back.

Naruto breezed in.

"Hey! It's almost lunch time!" He called out. "And I've finished my mission!"

She laughed as she continued her writing, trying to get it all exactly the same as the last seventeen menus. Herhand hurt.

"It's not lunch time yet Naruto, half an hour yet to go."

"Awwww!" He pouted. "Hey! What'cha doin?" He stared intently at the menus on the counter, folded open and drying while standing up like a greeting card.

"Boss said he wanted me to write out my own menus, if any of my other recipes were as good as the one you had." She showed him the one on the very end, her first one. It had foxes and ramen bowls painted on it in various colors and styles, the items in their own little categories, the drinks on the back, and at the top of the left page when you open it, were all of the regular ramens from the stand.

"That's your very special own" She pointed to it with her brush, before going back to her writing.

"Wow! For me? Cool!" He exclaimed, reaching over to touch it, but stopping himself when he realized it would be wet still.

"Yup! And there's even one for you to take home! So you can call in an order and I'll bring it to you!" She didn't really plan on being there in the past that long, but maybe she'd be there long enough to do a few things...like remind her dad that her mom's birthday would be that month, and he'd better not 'forget' so he could finish a mission. She remembered Lee telling her about it, he had been the one to cheerTenten up, after keeping her from practically mauling the poor silver-eyed boy.

Inwardly she shuddered, her mom might have just fallen for Lee if Neji hadn't come around finally.

"Awesome!" She grinned at him as she handed it to him.

"Stick this on the wall by your phone, and come back during lunch!" She shooed him out the door.

-----Later, really lunch time this time--------
"Welcome! Have a seat and I'll take your order!" Korochi called out as she finished setting up the last of her ornaments. She had spent her time after finishing the last menu and covering it with clear plastic to keep it in good condition sprucing up and cleaning the place.

"I'll have a beef ramen please." The ninja said, setting down and finishing some of his notes.

"Alrighty then! One beef ramen it is!" She cheerfully went into the kitchen to cook it, her boss having had to go and do something important. (Mind control by one friend of the waitress, without said waitress knowing.)

She came out minutes later with a steaming bowl of ramen, setting it down next to his papers and looking worriedly out the entrance.

"Something bothering you miss?" He asked, making her jump.

"No, not really..."

"Come on, there's no one else here right now, why not sit down and tell me about it?" He motioned to the seat across from him.

"Alright," She sat down, putting her chin in her hands and her elbows on the table. "I was waiting for someone to come for lunch, but I'm not so sure either of them will come anymore."

"Why not?" He looked at the two special reserved spots on the bar. "Those for them?"

"Yeah, one of them is a ramen fiend, and he said he was going to come, he even came a half hour early for lunch after finishing his mission, but now he's not here. And the other, I think I was just being plain rude to him when I asked, so I don't know if he'll come." She sighed.

"It's only been a few minutes since the stand opened, don't worry about it. I'm sure if they're friends of yours, they'll come for sure, something must be holding them up a bit is all." He held out his hand. "I'm Jiraiya"

She took it and shook it. "Call me Kono" She got up and wrapped him in a hug, just what he was wanting. "Thanks, sometimes I guess I need a shoulder." 'Yeah, else i'll go nuts and try to kill Nuken' She grumbled in her mind 'Again...'

"I'm always here." He wrapped his arms around her and hugged back, not too lecherous, but just enough.

"Umm..." she blushed, "You can... let go now..." She realized exactly who he was moments after he didn't, but didn't do anything yet, thinking on how to get out of there with all seeming civilian-ness. She would not blow her cover now. Even though she wanted to. Reeeeaaaaalllllyyy,reaaaaaaaaallllllyyyyyy baaaaaddllllyyyyyy...

Screw that, she'd blow her cover higher than Sasuke's pride if she didn't think of a way to get out of this right now!

Well, kinda a cliffie, huh?

Kyuubi: Is it my turn yet? Okay, Review. -half hearted sigh- I really wanted to go with the kit...

Me: What?

Kyuubi: The kit's got this important mission he's gotta do. And as his demon, i've got to protect my vessel from harm. Plus, i've grown slightly fond of the bratling. Who wouldn't grow somewhat fond, or just posessive,of the thing they've been stuck in for the past twelve years? Especially my bratling, he's very amusing.

Me: Okay... Well, review guys!

Bye!