Memories

Who are you, little one?

It has been a few days since then, I still had trouble finding my own apartment so when I couldn't find it I slept on the couch that was in the back of the shop. I loved working here, the ninjas that came in were kind and introduced them selves to me.

There was Gai and his team, they were a funny bunch with Lee looking exactly his Sensei. I smiled and let out a little chuckle at the memory. I was walking home from the grocery store thinking that I would be able to try and actually find my apartment. I sighed when I realized that I was lost.

A bell rung from beside me and I jumped a little not expecting it. I smile as small children ran out of the doors smiling and laughing showing off their headbands to their friends and families proudly.

I smiled and looked to my left as I heard boys taunting someone, there on a swing that was attached to a lonely tree was a blond child who didn't have a headband and looked around him depressed.

There were three boys around him mocking and yelling and laughing at him, as I walked towards them one of them raised a fist to hit the blond child. walking forward faster I placed my groceries on the ground and grabbed the boys wrist before he could hit him. The blond child flinched, expecting the hit but opened his eyes in shock when it never came only to see someone standing up for him for once.

"It is not nice to hit, child, nor is it polite to taunt and mock. Please leave the boy alone." it was polite but there was a threat laying underneath. The children ran away and the child I held withdrew his wrist.

"Watch it old lady! I'm a ninja! I can hurt you!!"
"Then you clearly need to be back in class with no headband. To be a ninja means to protect those who can't, To be a ninja means that you protect the people and all of the people's dreams and hopes for the future. To be a strong ninja one sees their weaknesses and makes them their strengths and protects those around him even if he dose not like him. You are unworthy to uphold such a title if you threaten a citizen and hurt a fellow ninja. Now leave." The small boy ran crying back to the crowd of people that were just outside the academy's doors, their chatter stopped as the watched the scene happen in front of them, I scoffed In disgust at them, how dare they watch and not do anything.

I crouched down in front of the boy, "Hi!" I said with a smile, "I am Kiada, would you like to get some ramen with me......" I left the spot open hoping for his name.
"It's Naruto."
"Well Naruto, how would you like to get some ramen with me? My treat!" My smile grew and never left my face. His small face broke out into a smile and the whiskers mixed with his excited blue eyes made him look cute and I couldn't help myself as I squealed and squished him in a tight hug.

"You are so cute and adorable!!!" I kept repeating as I rubbed my cheek against his, when I put him down he blushed and laughed, putting his hand behind his head and rubbing it. I smiled and picked up my groceries and he insisted that he take two bags as I followed him to the small ramen stand.

We ducked through the small curtain and sat on the stools and ordered two Miso ramens. I laughed as Naruto inhaled his like it would be his last and hit him on his back as he choked and ordered him another one. As I broke my chop sticks Naruto spoke up to me.

"Thank you, miss Kiada, no one has done that for me before."
"What? Buy you ramen? Anytime Naruto, anytime." I chuckled softly and stopped and looked at him curiously as he shook his head and looked at me seriously.

"Stood up and protected me, you are the first person to not laugh at me an call me names. Why? Why are you different? Why am I different?"

I put down my chop sticks, "Well Naruto-kun, us different people are needed in the world," he looked at me curiously and the old man that made our food and that has been watching me with caution since we came, my guess was to protect Naruto, stopped what he was doin to listen.

"I think that the people who dare to step out of the boundaries and expectations that are placed by the people around them can be the greatest and leave their mark on the world in a way that no one can understand. They are people who failed over and over and over again but never gave up to achieve their goal. Even though people told them to quit, to give up, that their dream was never going to happen, but they trained hard and pushed on and when they succeeded, they didn't rub it in the non believers face, they helped them achieve their own dreams." I looked to Naruto and gave him a smile, and kissed his forehead lightly, "I think you will do great things Naruto, things that will change the world and life as we know it, and all you have to do is be different, is to never give up and to work hard. Don't ignore the negative Naruto, take it as motivation to help you become stronger, use the positive as reinforcement for that. So dare to be different, become strong, and achieve your dream. What is your dream, Naru-chan?"

His awed face smiled at me with a huge grin showing his teeth, "I want to become a Hokage! So people will acknowledge my existence Believe it!!"

I ruffled his hair and ordered him another bowl, "I can't wait for that day, Naruto chan." I picked up my chop sticks and began eating, mumbling how good these noodles were and began to eat them like Naruto who smiled at me and ate his third bowl, watching me out of the corner of his eye.

After paying for 20 bowls of ramen later I rubbed the back of my head,
"Ne, Naru-chan, you may have not of noticed but I am new to the village, do you know where this is?" I showed him the address of my appartment and he nodded his head in excitement, "Yea! That's beside my place! It's this way! Follow me Kiada-chan!" And he took off really fast and I reached my hand out to stop him only to have him disappear from my sight. I sighed with a depressed aura around me. the old man from the shop chuckled, "no worries he will be back, he probably ran to clean his own appartment. While you are waiting I want to thank you."

"For what?"
"For helping him, I haven't seen his eyes shine like that in a while and it was nice to see someone stand up and believe in him. You know what he is right?"
"Naruto is not a what, old man, he is a who. Just because he has something evil inside of him does not make him evil himself, and that is what people have failed to see. Naruto is a silent hero, one who has saved the village on the first day that he was born and one that will do it again someday. All we have to do is in courage him and not let that will of fire die out, but encourage it to grow and soon it will infect others and cause theirs to grow as well." I smiled as I saw Naruto come running back around the corner and grab two bags of groceries and my hand pulling my along.

"I thought you got lost, Kia-chan! So I came to save you! Your new home is this way!" He ran again dragging leaving behind a smiling shop owner.

The third watched from his crystal ball, thank you Ichigo.