Babysitted by the Uchiha Avenger

The Chapter After The Seventh One (Chapter 8)

My eyes widened considerably. I felt happiness bubble up inside me.

Ichiraku.

I was actually at Ichiraku.

How had I not noticed that I lived within driving distance of Ichiraku?!

It was different than in the books. Still charming, still cute, but it was more modern. People chattered excitedly inside as waiters and waitresses dashed from one table to the next, receiving and delivering orders. My heart skipped a beat when I spotted Ayame.

I was dying to try some ramen.

"Aw, yeah! Ramen time!" Naruto grinned, punching the air with his fist. Sasuke exhaled through his nose in an effort to be nonchalant, but there was something off about it that made me look at him closely.

He looked painfully uneasy as he stared at the neon sign above us. His shoulders were tense, his jaw flexed, his knuckles white as he clenched his fists tightly.

"Sasuke?" I muttered wonderingly. "You okay?" He looked at me from the corner of his eye briefly. I swallowed. "Oh."

Naruto's eyes softened, too. "You worried about running into someone?"

Sasuke cleared his throat. "I asked to come here."

"You sure?"

"Yes," Sasuke muttered forcefully, and took a step forward to prove his point. Naruto and I exchanged a look before follwing him inside.

It was even better than I'd imagined.

The smell of Asian spices wafted through the large room pleasantly. A cozy sort of warmth filled the room, and the sound of cutlery clinking and people laughing rang in my ears. I took all of this in instantaneously. Naruto watched my expression, bemused. His arm was still wrapped firmly around my shoulder.

"Cool, huh?"

I nodded. "It's...it's so cool. Better than I'd imagined. And I've got a pretty good imagination."

Naruto laughed. "Yes, well, this is where I practically live! I wouldn't come here if it wasn't any good."

"Because you have such refined tastes," Sasuke sighed sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up, you bastard!" Naruto growled, though I could tell he sounded kind of relieved Sasuke was acting normally again.

 I scanned the room; it was packed with people. I doubted we'd able to be able to get a table anytime soon. My heart sank.

Suddenly, from across the room, someone called, "Naruto!"

We all looked to the direction of the voice. I felt my bottom jaw drop, but made no effort to close it again. A boy with tousled brown hair and a big grin was waving to us and making his way towards us, squeezing past tables and waitresses.

He had a spiked choker-necklace round his neck. His smile faltered when he spotted me, and even more so when he spotted Sasuke.

I felt Sasuke shift closer to me. Naruto raised his hand in greeting and smiled.

"Kiba!"