Chapter 23

Iruka's Ramen Shop…

The sky turned black and was lighted by bright stars. Villagers were passing by the ramen stand and continued to their respective destinations. Inside the stand sat Kagome and Shadow on stools, Shadow causing people that passed by to look at the strange and amusing sight of a wolf sitting at the table. Kagome ordered a chicken and beef ramen for Shadow and a chicken ramen for herself. Ayame served Shadow a wooden bowl and gave Kagome a plate and chopsticks. Before Shadow could eat his food Kagome held out her hand and started to move two stools away. Ayame and her father saw this and backed away from Shadow. Kagome motioned for Shadow to commence his dinner and started onto hers. Large slurps and chomps were heard inside as Shadow made a mess. Kagome slowly ate her ramen and had not realized how bad Shadow made a mess until she turned to ask him a question. She looked at him for a few seconds and laughed. He turned his head in that way that said 'what?' and caused her to laugh even more. Shadow had the bowl on his head with strings of ramen in it that made it look like hair and a string of ramen on his snout, making it look like a fancy mustache. Shadow shook his head and kept on eating the ramen that was on the counter and started to lick the counter when most of it was gone, except the rest on his head that he could not see. Kagome kept eating her ramen until someone entered the stall and sat next to her. They didn't acknowledge each other until the person asked for a ramen and Ayame's father walked in to say hello to his number one customer.

"Ah Naruto! Done with today's training are we? What flavor would it be today?" When Ayame's father said the person's name Kagome turned with a mouthful of ramen and looked at Naruto. Naruto sensed that the female ANBU he sat next to was staring at him and he looked at her. He was about to laugh at her face when she spit all of the contents in her mouth at him. He looked at Kagome with annoyed eyes and moved one string that was in his eye. "Nice to see you too Kagome…How are you?" "Naruto!" Kagome had flung herself to her friend and knocked each other to the floor. Kagome hugged her friend and picked him up with ease. "I'm mad." Naruto stated bluntly. Kagome laughed and started to clean her friend up. She threw the ramen over her shoulder and Shadow started to gobble each piece up as she threw them. All the while Ayame and her father watched with amusement. "Why are you mad?" Kagome asked as she was finishing her task. Naruto looked at each piece that Kagome threw over her shoulder with disappointment. "That was a waste of ramen." Naruto stated. Kagome and Naruto laughed and ordered another plate of ramen for each other. Shadow looked around for anymore meaty ramen and looked saddened. As Ayame's father started to make their meals, Ayame had gotten close to Shadow, who was staring at her and asking himself why she was going for his head. She picked up something on his head and picked up the pieces of ramen on his head and placed it on the bowl. Shadow had tears in his eyes as he looked at Ayame, silently thanking her, and started to eat the rest of the ramen on his wooden bowl. Ayame had smiled and asked her father for another bowl for Shadow much to the happiness of Shadow as he barked enthusiastically. The three ate their food and continued to eat through the night. Kagome had notice that Naruto had grown much since the last time she had truly sat down and talked to him. He no longer wore a funny getup and had grown into an attractive man that had finally had a shot at impressing Sakura. Naruto noticed her staring and waved a hand at her face.

"Hey! You awake Kagome?" Naruto asked. Kagome blinked and looked at Naruto. "Huh? Oh yeah, yeah I'm good." She returned. Naruto looked at her surprisingly and smiled. "So…when are you gong to ask Sakura out again?" Kagome asked out of the blue. Naruto choked on the water he was drinking and needed Kagome to pat him on the back as to get some air. Kagome sat back down when he calmed down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "At least he's not using his sleeve…" Kagome and Shadow thought. "Why do you ask?" Naruto asked. Kagome looked at him as if he hadn't really changed. "Really? You haven't noticed that you changed? Not only that but you've gotten more attractive and cool-headed from before. Sakura is bound to notice you now!" Naruto looked at her blushing and couldn't keep eye contact with her for long, much to the amusement of Shadow and Kagome though they made no move to laugh in his presence. Naruto played with his ramen and looked at it as if it had the answer he was searching for. He sighed and kept looking at the bowl of soup. "I-I think I don't like Sakura anymore…She has rejected me so many times that I don't think that I should keep going at a losing cause." Kagome placed her arm around her friend and held him close, feeling Naruto relax and lean into her hold. "Don't think that way Naruto. You still have a chance to get her to notice you. You'll see, she'll come around." Kagome soothing voice reached out to Naruto. "No she won't…" He stated from his position on her shoulder. "Yes she will Naruto." Naruto rose from his positioned and looked at Kagome defiantly. "No she won't Kagome!" Naruto yelled at her annoyed. Kagome started at Naruto looking for anything that could have caused the outburst and found none. She was about to drop the matter when her friend sighed and looked at his ramen again. "It doesn't really matter anyways…Besides…I like someone else anyways." Kagome's mood lightened up at that and she soon started to ask what most people would ask: "Who's the lucky girl?" Naruto smiled and kept playing with his food. His smile fell when he remembered who he was talking to and who he was thinking about and started to furiously stab a piece of chicken with his chopsticks. Kagome watched as he played with his food and grabbed his hand before he broke the poor plate in half with the blunt chopsticks. Naruto stared at Kagome's gloved hand, looked at the owner of said hand, and than gave what must have been the hundredth sigh of the day for him. "I don't even know if she acknowledges me…we have become close friends but I'm really not on her level." Kagome stared at him quizzingly. "On her level? There are no such things as levels Naruto! Either she likes you or not, it's as simple as that." "Gee thanks Kagome you really know how to pick someone's spirits up huh?" Naruto stated sarcastically. Kagome scolded herself as she searched for a new set of words to help her friend out. "What I meant was that any girl would be happy to be with you as long as she likes you for you. You don't have to change for her if you don't want to. She has to accept you for who you are."

Naruto still seemed unconvinced but nodded none the less. He paid for the ramen he ate and said his thanks and goodbyes. He left the stall and Kagome looked at Shadow for a moment for any support. "Don't look at me. I was busy eating." Shadow stated as he continued eating his ramen. Kagome gave a frustrated sigh and asked Ayame if she could watch after Shadow for a few minutes and promised she would be back to pay the bill. As soon as Ayame nodded, Kagome ran outside and looked both left and right. She spotted Naruto's orange and black uniform speeding away towards the training grounds. Kagome ran after him.

Training Grounds…

Naruto stared at the three stumps at the center of the training grounds and threw another volley of kunai at each stump. A lot had happened today that had frustrated him. First training with Jiraiya was going nowhere and he hadn't learned a single new move in months. Second, while training, Naruto heard that Sasuke was training with Kakashi and had already got to learn three new jutsu's in one day. It took a whole month for Jiraiya just to show him the basics of one! After training he went to ask Sakura out again but noticed that she was hanging out with Sasuke again, which caused him to get angry at himself. After that he was hoping to ask Granny Tsunade for a mission to blow of some steam but got turned down when she said he was needed here. He thought that no more disappointment could possibly happen in his favorite ramen stand but was proven wrong when he found Kagome there with her wolf companion. She had tried to make him feel better but he was so frustrated that he stubbornly ignored her. He wished that he could have just told her to lessen some weight on his shoulders. He plucked the kunai's from the wooden logs and started to walk to a farther location in order to improve his aim. He looked at the targets, added some charka into the three kunai's, and threw them. He watched as the kunai's went completely pass the target and went into the trees behind them. He cursed at his lame aim.

"You have to control your charka." A voice stated behind him, causing him to jump slightly. He turned around and looked at Kagome with a blank face. "I know." Naruto said a little angrier than he wanted as he headed towards the trees to get his kunai's. "Then why does your aim suck and say otherwise?" Kagome asked as she followed him. Naruto gave no response except a grunt. When he reached the edge of the trees he looked around for any sign of the kunai's he had thrown. "You're not going to find anything like that." Kagome stated behind him. "What do you want Kagome?" Naruto turned around and looked at her. She had an almost hurt look to her face at his jab and he immediately turned around; mostly so he didn't have to look at her. "You don't have to be a jerk about it Naruto Uzumaki! I'm just trying to help!" Kagome yelled at him, her next words more of a whisper. "All I've done was help. I don't know anything but to help people…" Kagome stared at Naruto's blonde hair as the wind blew lightly against it, she felt her own hair dancing with the wind lightly. They stood in silence as they both stared at different things, thinking different things, and yet knew that their thoughts were connected, the same subject. Naruto felt Kagome hug him from behind and turned her head on his back. Even though she was older than him, she was still shorter than him by a couple feet. Naruto relaxed a little as he stared at Kagome's hands that encircled his waist.

"Your never alone Naruto…you have friends that would gladly stand by you; on the good and especially on the bad time's. You don't have to face your troubles alone. You have friends that you can rely on and them on you. And if you don't say sorry to me soon I'll make Shadow eat you for dessert; and trust me, no one wants that, especially Shadow!" Naruto laughed at this and turned around. Kagome stared at Naruto as they gave each other a hug. Naruto looked down at Kagome. "Sorry…shorty." Naruto grinned and Kagome pouted playfully. She slapped his arm and laughed with him. "So what's wrong about my aim?" Naruto asked with a smirk. Kagome laughed and started to walk away. She turned around when he hadn't followed and started motioning with her index finger to follow her. Naruto walked behind her until they stood at the same spot he was standing a few minutes ago throwing kunai's. She pulled out a kunai and placed a bit of charka in it. "You have to control how much charka you put into the weapon, instead of putting too much. Too much charka causes the weapon to become more effective and deadly but also makes it inaccurate." As if to emphasize her claim she pulled another kunai in her other hand and put a considerable amount of charka. She looked at the targets and threw both kunai's at the same time. One went faster than the other but completely missed the target and exploded a tree behind it into pieces. The second hit right on target a few seconds later. What Naruto hadn't realized was that Kagome had thrown another kunai and had managed to get the projectile through the target and hit one of the trees behind it. Kagome motioned to the third kunai. "Or you can train yourself to do both. But you have to remember that each throw has its disadvantage; too much charka and you fail in accuracy, too little and you have a projectile that most can dodge because of its speed. So you have to learn to do both: fast and accurate with the just the right amount of charka to do it." Kagome explained with a smile. Naruto and Kagome had trained for most of the night and had finally finished when the sun was rising over the mountains. "Thanks Kagome! This lesson really helped me out. I hope to teach you some awesome move soon too!" Naruto said with an exhausted laugh. Kagome grinned and started to pat him on the back. "It's a deal." She said as Naruto rose with a sheepish look on his face. "Rin…" Naruto said as they looked at each other. Kagome looked at him with a questioning look. "What about Rin?" Kagome asked. "And they say I'm a blockhead! I like Rin!" Naruto laughed nervously. It took a good ten seconds for Kagome to realize what he said and blushed. Naruto kicked his feet and waited for the uncomfortable moment to end. Kagome looked at his feet and smiled. "Good for you Naruto…" Kagome simply stated. Naruto looked at her. "Good for you Naruto? That's it?" Naruto asked. Kagome was about to answer when Rin appeared.

"What's good for Naruto?" Rin asked Kagome. Naruto looked nervously away and Kagome stared at Rin with a cross between a laugh and a nervous smile. "It's good that he's taking a break from ramen for awhile…" Kagome stuttered out slowly. Rin looked at Naruto who had a shocked look on his face. "Really? I thought you loved ramen Naruto…" Rin said as she looked at Naruto questioningly. Naruto didn't say anything but he nodded anyways as if she hadn't mentioned his love for ramen. "Anyway…speaking of ramen, Ayame asked where you are since last night. Seems you forgot to pay and left your pet at the stand?" Rin looked at Kagome, whose eyes where getting bigger with each word Rin had said. "Oh crap! I completely forgot! Sorry Naruto I got to go!" Kagome said as she ran with Rin close on her heals. Naruto laughed to himself and started to head to the castle for a mornings rest.

Ayame wasn't that concern that Kagome hadn't come back in a 'few minutes' but was wondering if she was alright and if she was going to pick up her dog. As soon as Kagome had paid her bill plus a little extra, Rin, Shadow and her headed home. They waved goodbye to Ayame and her father as they closed shop and walked into the village heart. The early morning wind started and blew lightly on their path as the trio headed towards the village gates. "So mom how did you forget poor little old Shadow at the ramen stall?" Rin asked as she patted Shadow's head. "I'm not little or old you little knee-biter! But your mother did leave me there with people that kept calling me a dog. A DOG! I hate dogs! They make every four legged animal look simple minded and grovel at their masters' feet. Those flee ridden mutts have no relation to me what so ever. The only thing that we can agree on is our hatred for those stupid cats. Bunch of fur balls...good for being an oversized pillow and ball is what they're useful for." Shadow ranted. All the while Kagome and Rin laughed as they continued towards the castle. Kagome remembered what Shadow had said about dogs and their masters and put it to the test. "Hey Shadow who's a good boy, who's a good boy?" Shadow stared at Kagome with a bored expression. Kagome thought a little harder on her next sentence but was sure it would work. By the time she had found the fool-proof plan Rin and Shadow had been staring at her for two minutes. "Huh oh well, I guess you're not a good boy at all." Kagome stated and started to walk again. "That's right! I'm no groveling mutt!" Shadow stated as Rin and he followed. "I guess I'll just give the delicious bacon at home to The Tiger Guardian…oh well." Kagome grinned with her back facing her companion. She didn't need to see his face to know how he felt about that, she just saw him run for the castle faster than a shot. The two women looked at the dust cloud as Shadow ran for the castle.

When they had reached the castle, they saw a group of people standing outside the kitchen and staring inside. Kagura, Konan, Sesshomaru, and Zetsu looked at Kagome and Rin and were about to say something when a pot went flying from inside the kitchen. Everyone could hear plates, drawers, and other things being moved around inside as something rummaged through the kitchen. Kagome open the door to the kitchen and dodged another pot that hit a wide eyed Sesshomaru behind her. She turned around to look at Sesshomaru and crouched to pick him up. Just as she crouched though, another pot went flying over her head and hit Zetsu in the face as well. Konan and Kagura giggled as they dragged Zetsu and Sesshomaru respectively out of the way. Kagome turned away and laughed when she saw Shadow with his nose on the floor and smelling for something. "Bacon, bacon, bacon oh where are you my meaty delicious friend. Don't tell me the evil lady had gotten to you already?!" As soon as he heard the door open he raised his head expecting to see someone, or something, else. Kagome giggled. "You're making a mess Shadow." "I'll search this entire kitchen until I stop looking for it! There is no way that oversized cat is going to get my bacon! All the bacon in the world wouldn't fill that guy up! He needs at least to eat all the bacon in the world three times…I think. I mean he's not fat but he's a big guy!" Shadow ranted as he kept looking for the bacon and laughing nervously. Kagome grinned and was sort-of happy that her plan worked. "How about you help me clean the kitchen and I'll give you the biggest bacon breakfast in your life?" Shadow stopped moving and slowly turned to Kagome. Before Kagome had a chance to prepare, Shadow slammed into her and started to lick her face. "Yes please!" Mission accomplished Kagome grinned.