Ramen and Naruto

After the rain stopped, the skies stayed clear for three days.

Kiyoshi's life settled back into a routine: school in the morning, zoning out in class, then training on the hill behind the village after school.

Nakajima hadn't bothered him again. But whenever their eyes met in the hallway, Nakajima looked away first.

He wasn't scared. He just hadn't figured out how to deal with Kiyoshi yet.

Kiyoshi needed to get stronger, fast.

But Taijutsu wasn't something he could master in a day. Every day, he did forty push-ups, forty sit-ups, and a set of instinctive boxing moves, then collapsed on the ground, panting. He was making progress, but slowly.

After school on the third day, he decided to skip training.

Not because he was slacking off, but because he was running low on money.

He had only a little pocket money left. He rummaged through his drawer and counted it again. There really wasn't much.

After some thought, he decided to go to Ichiraku Ramen.

Cheap and filling.

He pushed the door open and walked in.

The shop was small. A few people sat at the counter, their heads bent over steaming bowls of noodles. The aroma of pork bone broth filled the air.

Then he spotted Naruto.

Naruto sat in the farthest corner, eating with his head bowed over a bowl of noodles.

He didn't look like he was enjoying himself. It was more like he wanted to finish quickly and leave. His chopsticks moved fast, and he never looked up.

The seats around him were all empty.

Not because no one wanted a seat, but because people deliberately left them empty.

A middle-aged man approached with a bowl of noodles, glanced at Naruto, then changed course and sat at the other end.

Kiyoshi stood in the doorway, his hand still on the handle, watching it happen.

A thought flashed through his mind. Naruto's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. The villagers of Konoha are experts at bullying, and they really hate him.

Besides, getting close to Naruto isn't that simple. The Third should be fine as long as I don't activate my Sharingan. Danzo... forget it. If he finds out, I'm guaranteed a warning.

But he glanced at Naruto again.

Naruto kept his head down and ate quickly, as if he was afraid someone would drive him away.

He picked up some noodles, blew on them twice, and stuffed them into his mouth. They burned him again, and he sucked in a breath before carrying on eating.

Kiyoshi remembered how he'd eaten alone in his previous life.

He'd been just like that.

He let go of the handle, walked inside, and sat down beside Naruto.

Naruto looked up, froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

"Bro Hao!"

"Yeah."

Kiyoshi waved to Teuchi. "Two bowls of chashu ramen." Then he pointed at Naruto. "Put his on my bill too."

Naruto froze.

His chopsticks hung in midair, and the noodles slipped back into his bowl, splashing a few drops of broth.

"You're... buying me another bowl?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because we're friends!"

Naruto blinked. It took him a long moment to process that before a brilliant smile spread across his face.

He slapped his chopsticks down on the counter.

"Awesome! I've never had the chashu kind!"

"...Never?"

"It's expensive. I usually just get the cheapest one."

Kiyoshi said nothing.

Teuchi soon brought over two bowls of ramen, the slices of chashu neatly arranged on top.

Naruto looked down, picked up a slice, and stuffed it into his mouth, hissing as it burned him.

"It's delicious!"

Kiyoshi took a bite of his own noodles. The broth was good. After a few more bites, he heard Naruto talking between mouthfuls.

"Bro Hao, those punches you were doing in the rain the other day-I tried them when I got home, but I couldn't do them."

"You tried them?"

"Yeah, in the empty lot downstairs. I spent ages trying-" Naruto put down his chopsticks and demonstrated a couple of moves. "Like this, then this, then that-no, that's wrong. Completely wrong."

He demonstrated earnestly, but his movements were awkward and crooked.

"That's not something you can learn in a day."

"I know." Naruto drank some broth and wiped his mouth. "I've got nothing to do after school, so I just wander around by myself."

Kiyoshi lowered his head and ate without replying.

Naruto took a few more bites, then suddenly spoke.

"Are you coming again tomorrow?"

Kiyoshi paused.

"...Depends."

"Then I'll wait for you!"

"Do you come to Ichiraku every day?"

"Not really." Naruto grinned. "But I can come every day."

Kiyoshi said nothing and kept eating.

Naruto bent over his bowl for a few more bites, then suddenly said, "You're the first person who's ever bought me ramen."

Kiyoshi's chopsticks paused.

He didn't reply.

He put down his chopsticks, finished the last of his broth, and stood up.

"I'm heading out."

"Okay! See you tomorrow!"

Kiyoshi walked to the door. The moment he pushed it open, he felt the chill of the wind outside. Standing in the night breeze, he glanced back.

Naruto was still inside, chatting with Teuchi. Kiyoshi couldn't hear what he was saying, but he was smiling happily. Teuchi wiped the counter and occasionally replied, his expression gentle.

Kiyoshi looked away, turned, and headed home.

After a few steps, the night wind slipped through his collar, cool against his skin. He paused and murmured a few words.

"Stay alive, then prove them wrong."

His voice was so quiet that only he could hear it.

He kept walking.

Behind him, on the rooftop across the street, an ANBU wearing a cat mask sat in the shadows, watching Kiyoshi walk away. He jotted a few notes in the notebook in his hand, then followed him into the night.

Kiyoshi didn't look back, but he knew someone was watching him.

From that rooftop, a gaze rested on him. It wasn't particularly intense, but it had never shifted away.

This wasn't the first time he'd felt it. It used to make his back tense, but now he was used to it.

Today was different, though.

Today, he'd bought Naruto a meal. That information was probably already in the notebook.

He quickened his pace without looking back.

The night wind slipped through his collar, cool against his skin. After a few steps, he remembered what Naruto had said earlier: "I've never had chashu ramen."

He paused, then kept walking.

When he got home, Misa asked why he was so late. He said, "I went to Ichiraku Ramen," then went into his room.

After closing the door, he sat on the edge of his bed and glanced out the window.

There was nothing on the rooftop across the street.

But he knew someone was there.

He reached out and touched the system panel, wanting to check today's progress.

Sure enough, without seriously grinding, he'd barely earned any coins.

He stared at the number for a few seconds.

Closed the panel.

Lay down.

The crack in the ceiling was still the same one, just as it had been yesterday.

But the thoughts turning over in his head were no longer the same.