Ramen Doodles

By Andrew J. Talon

Disclaimer: I do not and probably never will own Naruto or any other copyrighted works mentioned in this story. I am not writing this for profit.

There is an enormous amount of writing for shipping the Naruto characters (as in any fandom really), but some friendship stories wouldn't go amiss either. This first part is written by Darkol.

It was a fairly normal day in the village of Konoha.

The birds were chirping, the dogs were barking, the ANBU were silently and invisibly jumping all over the place.

And of course, a pink-haired girl was stalk..ehh...following her crush, much to said crush' annoyance.

Though there was something unusual going on this day.

As the pink-haired girl and the boy with the permanent scowl were walking, they noticed their orange-clad compatriot talking to a most unusual figure.

A young man dressed in green. A lot of green. Too much green.

Naruto: It was nice talking to you Lee! See you tomorrow at Ichiraku's!

Lee: Yosh, I will see you there my friend! And may our flames of youth burn as bright tomorrow as they did today!

As they watched their blonde-haired teammate walk away from the green-clad boy with a smile on his whiskered face, they had the urge to ask him what he was doing.

Sasuke: Hey, dobe. Why are hanging around with Gai's student?

Naruto: Ehh, me an Lee have been best friends for a couple of years now.

Sakura: What? That's impossible, we would have known about it.

Naruto: I mean...not really. You don't really ask me all that much about my personal life or my hobbies or anything like that, so you wouldn't really know.

Embarrassed, the pink-haired girl chose to switch the topic so that she can figure out what was going on.

Sakura: Ehh, why do you hang out with him anyway?

Naruto: Well we started hanging around during the academy. Because some of the teachers weren't helping me with my taijutsu training, he offered to help me train. It was...intense. But it paid off. I really liked hanging around him. When I told him about my dream of becoming Hokage, he didn't laugh like other people did. He actually encouraged me. And when he told me about his dream of becoming the greatest ninja ever by just utilizing taijutsu, I told him to never give up and that he'll succeed one day. And don't get me started about my training sessions with Gai! When Lee saw me running from some guys that were trying to punish me for a prank, he recommended that Gai and he chase me around the village for their workouts. They get some extra training and I can become faster at running away from people who try to stop my pranks!

At this he laughed, but when his laughter stopped his teammates noticed he had a smile on his face.

That wouldn't be so unusual, seeing as he practically always had one, but this one was different. It was not the big toothy smile he usually gave.

It was smile, but it was true.

Naruto: He's really the best friend I ever had.

This part is written by me as a continuation.

Sasuke: "Naruto. We're going to train in wire work today."

Naruto: "Eh?! You're gonna teach me wire work?!"

Sasuke: "Yes. You... Were able to tie me up that one time. You weren't terrible at traps. That can be an asset to our team."

Naruto: "Well, I mean, Lee and I were gonna train in taijutsu after-"

Sasuke: "I'll buy you Ichiraku ramen for dinner."

Naruto: "-But I think we';l be okay for one day! I just gotta tell him first so he doesn't think I bailed on him! Thanks Sasuke!"

Sasuke: "Hn. Whatever, idiot. It's just so you don't drag me down."

Naruto: "Hmph! Asshole!"

Naruto is still smiling as he says this, and runs off.

Sakura: "... Uh... You know Sasuke... I'd like to learn wire work as well."

Sasuke desperately tries to avoid rolling his eyes.

Sasuke: "... Fine. I'll teach you both. Anything to make you less useless."

Sakura: "Hee!"

The next day...

Tenten was passing by Training Ground 47, when she saw Sasuke working with wires. Naruto was tangled in them, as several of his clones practiced throwing the lines. Sakura was struggling to whip the wire just right... And ended up smacking herself in the face with the blunt kunai tied to the end.

Sakura: "AHHH!"

Tenten: "Oh hey! Hey!"

Tenten headed up, and shook her head. She took hold of Sakura's wire.

Tenten: "You want to use your wrist, not your whole arm. Like this, watch me."

Tenten lashed out with the wire, and stuck it into a nearby tree trunk perfectly. Sakura gaped in amazement, as Tenten tugged on it to test the hold.

Sakura: "Wow! You're amazing, Sempai!"

Tenten: "Thanks. Hm? Oh, hey Sasuke! Hey Naruto!"

Naruto: "Hey Tenten!" Naruto is still tangled in his wires.

Sasuke: "Hello Tenten-sempai."

Inner Sakura: Wait, they know who she is?!

Sakura: More politely "Oh. So you two know her?"

Naruto: "Yeah! She's on Lee's team! She's a weapons specialist!"

Sasuke: "She helped me with some weapons and wires questions I had. A few times."

Tenten: "Yeah. Sasuke's a natural at this stuff. Though he does keep throwing his kunai way too hard."

Sasuke is just a little... Annoyed.

Sasuke: "I do not."

Tenten: sighs "Go ahead. Show them."

Sasuke throws a kunai at a nearby tree. It is embedded deep in the trunk.

Sakura: "Wow! Great throw, Sasuke!"

Tenten: "No, see." Tenten took Sasuke's hand in hers and pointed to his wrist "You're forcing it too much. You need to be more loose with your muscles, or you'll hurt yourself."

Sasuke: "I don't always use kunai."

Tenten: "No, but if you hurt your hands it'll slow down your hand seals. That could be lethal." She smiles at him "You need to think ahead in fights, or you'll get killed by some scrub when you finish off the boss! That wouldn't look good, would it?"

Sasuke: "... No, Tenten-sempai."

Tenten: "Good! If you'd like to do some practice, I'd be happy to help!"

Naruto: "Hey! How about right now?"

Tenten: "Sorry but I'm already late for a mission with my team. Next time though! It was great seeing you all!"

Tenten ran off. Sasuke looks down to pick up some wire. When he looks up... Sakura is standing right in front of him, her smile frosty. For the first time in a long time, Sasuke actually feels some fear from the killing intent Sakura is unleashing, despite her cheery disposition.

Sakura:"So... She's your sempai, huh?"

Sasuke: "... Yes."

Sakura: "You two are... Close?"

Sasuke: "... Not romantically."

Sakura's smile becomes less terrifying.

Sakura:: "Oh! Wonderful! Now, as you were saying in your lesson?"

Sasuke looks over at Naruto. The blond looks back at Sasuke. They nod in unison, and reach a silent understanding and bond as only men can know:

Women were unpredictable creatures, indeed.

A bit of fun for you to enjoy. Still script format, yes, but it's easier.