(AN: Welcome back all, here's another chapter I decided to write. Technically, it was originally going to be a part of chapter 1, but I decided to split it. Enjoy!)
"Yeah, I remember this place. Minato took me here years ago. Well, me and two others. It was a gift for returning alive from a mission. He was a great man."
"Lady Uchiha?" Naruto peeked around the woman's legs and saw old man Teuchi and Ayame behind the counter. Though, from the look on the old man's face, he didn't seem happy.
"Yo," Nanashi said lazily, waving as she looked around the small shop.
"I'm sorry, my lady, but we do not serve alcohol here." Naruto frowned at the lie. He knew for a fact the man always offered some to Iruka and old man Hokage. Plus, other customers always left behind their little saucers.
"Naruto?" Ayame asked in curiosity.
"Hey, Ayame-nii!" Naruto leaped onto his favorite seat. "Meet my new friend!"
"Nanashi Uchiha," the brunette's eyes wandered over Naruto's favorite shop as he waved for the old man to come over. "Though it seems you already knew that… nice place, small, quaint."
"I'll have two bowls!" Naruto grinned, "Miso! She'll have the same."
"Um, Naruto—" Teuchi began, only to fall silent as Nanashi threw a stack of ryo in front of him.
"Let's see if you're as good as I remember." Naruto smiled brightly as his new friend slid into the seat to his right.
"It's the best!"
"I remember. I'm pretty sure Kushina-san used to rant and rave about the place. And when she got going, you'd hear it halfway across the village."
"Who's that? Kushina?" he asked. Maybe it was another Hokage candidate or something. But instead of answering immediately, Nanashi turned to him with her own confusion.
"You don't know who—" An odd look passed over her face, and she bit her lip, "Right, sorry. Yeah, Kushina was my self-proclaimed rival… I could never hold a candle to her in a fight, but I fought with her on something else… I should have known I would never get that prize, though. Of course, when I say we fought, I suppose it was all in my head. Kushina was too nice of a person to consider me an actually rival for him…"
"Him?"
"Nothing, kid, don't worry about it. She actually passed alongside Lord Minato. She was able to hold the creature down, or so I'm told, when the Fox attacked."
"She held it down?"
Naruto leaned forward in excitement. "Yeah, she was an S-Rank, for a reason. It allowed the Fourth to se—kill the beast. Sadly, it severely injured her. But let's stop talking about sad things, huh? I picked up my own booze just in case the old man here wouldn't serve me. So let's keep this party going, huh, kid?"
"Can I try?"
"No!" Teuchi and Ayame were upon the two in an instant, obviously having been eavesdropping on the two, causing Naruto to laugh loudly.
"As if she'd let me!" The boy roared with laughter at their scarlet faces, not noticing as Nanashi slowly put away the second saucer she held hidden in her hand.
"Yeah, what kind of animal do you guys think I am?" Nanashi cleared her throat and poured herself a small drink. Sure, Naruto was interested in the drink, but he also knew most of the people who shouted at him or were annoyed at his presence always smelled of the burning liquid. Truthfully, he was worried about the woman drinking so much.
"You know, Iruka-Sensei always says that stuff is bad for you."
"Well Iruka-Sensei doesn't know how to live then, hm? I didn't know you had your own teacher either, kid. Lord Third must be pretty invested in your growth."
"Huh? He's my academy teacher. He can be a pretty cool guy! …When he's not interrupting my pranks."
"Hmm." That same odd look passed over her face, and Naruto filed it away for later. For now, a bowl of ramen was placed under his nose. "Hey, kid. Speaking of pranks, since I'm buying you dinner, how about leaving my home alone, huh? I had to get my little cousin to put in for a D-Rank job in order to get the walls cleaned. Orange paint and glitter don't go too well without red and white, you know."
The woman slowly turned as Ayame gave her a bowl, and Naruto finally noticed the symbol on her back. A red and white fan. Though hers was different from his.
"Are you related to Sasuke-teme?" Naruto said in between slurps of his broth. "He has that same fan on his clothes. Though yours has that string and scythe."
"Oh, does it?" She struggled to look over her should, pulling at the collar of her shirt trying to get a better look. "I didn't realize I had thrown this one on the other day."
Other day? How long had she been wearing this shirt?
"But yeah, Sasuke's my… something cousin. Our dads were brothers, whatever that means. He's just like his father, though. An arrogant toe rag."
"He is!" Naruto grinned, at finally having someone else to talk about the boy with. "He's always so broody and thinks he's better than me!"
"Really now? I don't get to interact with the kid too much. Our sleep schedules are opposite. Though the first times I get to see him a week, he's always so loud and obnoxious. Though I guess that's all kids…"
There went that same look.
"Do you have any tips for me to beat him? We've got a sparring match tomorrow, and I just know I'm going to get his name drawn again. It's always him or Kiba, they're the best in taijutsu. Man, I've got the worst luck."
"Not sure about the Kiba kid, but Taijutsu is my speciality, so I guess I could give some pointers for Sasuke."
"Really?!"
"Tell you what, promise to leave my compound out of your pranking sprees, and I'll give you one that'll at least get you a point tomorrow."
"Really!" Naruto could always get at least one point on Sasuke out of the three, but if he could get that second one then… For that trick and the free ramen he could give up pranks around her house. "Deal!"
Forgoing her saucer, Nanashi took a long swig of her sake bottle and grabbed two pairs of clean chopsticks from the counter. "Alright then, kid, this should would for at least one point. I'm guessing you all are going for knock downs instead of blood or knock outs?"
"Uh, yeah. Ring outs and knock downs." You got penalized for any heavy blood or completely knocking out your opponent.
"Alright then. So, Sasuke is probably just like his father and older brother were. Which means he's using either the beginner or intermediate interceptor fist, which heavily favors the right side. It leaves an opening on the right side. Most Uchiha are trained to cover that gap early on, but I doubt Sasuke was shown this."
"Huh? Why not?"
She merely raised an eyebrow at him before continuing on, snapping apart the chopsticks and using them like little legs. "So, as a word of warning, keep this in your back pocket, alright, if you use it too much or too frequently, he'll realize it and switch tactics. I'll be sure to show him once he graduates, so I'd say you've got at least two more years to use this secret weapon. Anyhow. As you're fighting, wait till he's sure of his own victory. Everyone lets their guard down when they think they're about to win. Maybe set up a tie if he beats you the first or second time, alright, then back yourself into a corner. Now—"
Nanashi moved the chopsticks, demonstrating the tip.
"Once he's got you into a corner, move forward, and step to your right, his left, try to get into his guard, and get your leg behind his. Wrap your leg around his, twist, and kick out. He'll hit the ground harder than me after a three-day binge. I would definitely wait to try this under he's sure of his victory. If you can get a point first using a different method, then he'll go serious during your second bout, and probably beat your ass decisively. He'll get arrogant during your third and leave off some. His father was the same way. It's how I beat Fugaku when I was sixteen. Got a hell of a beating for that one… anyway, step right, wrap your leg, twist left, kick out. Simple, right?"
"Totally!"
"Just practice your footwork when you get home, kid. And remember, use it once in a blue moon."
"Got it!" Naruto stored the information away, eager to finally get one up on his rival. Honestly, besides the bottle incident, today was shaping up to be a good day.
Nanashi stumbled into her home, a new bottle sloshing in her hand. While fumbling for a light switch, she continued to drink from her bottle, not caring for the spillage or mess she made. She'd clean it up later, or just let it dry. "Who gives a shit."
Her feet took her to the kitchen, where she fell into a chair, glaring at the now empty sake bottle in her hand. She was thirsty, no—she was hungry. Definitely hungry… and thirsty. She narrowed her eyes at the clock and saw the time: 2:07am… she needed grease. After getting up and shuffling to the fridge, she pulled out bacon and sausage, deciding on some eggs with cheese as well. Sasuke would be getting up soon for the Academy. Probably anyway, she couldn't remember the day. But if that blonde kid was going to kick her little cousin's ass, she might as well feed him as an apology.
Looking around, Nanashi slurred, "Now then… where is that salt and pepper?"
(AN: Nanashi is an alcoholic. A severe one. When she's drunk, she gets her words and thoughts mixed up. Her actions are stilted, her movements aren't precise, and she just doesn't care about anything but herself. Yet, she has found Naruto, the young energetic Jinchuriki that is the son of her Hero. Anyway, hope you all enjoy, I'll catch you in the next one!)