The Angel's Ambivalence [Naruto]

Intruder

"Don't say you love me unless you really mean it, because I might do something crazy like believe it."

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Minxie's POV

"Ah! Ramen!" I said excitedly, picking up my chopsticks as I dove into the wonderful creation of Ichiraku's. Naruto was, as expected, already on his fifth bowl.

"Your appetite really hasn't changed either, has it?" I asked teasingly, slurping up a ramen noodle.

"Not at all!" Naruto announced proudly. "I've gotta keep my strength up, so I eat as much as I can!"

"Oh, wow... Minxie? My, my, you're all grown up!" Teuchi, the owner of the ramen shop, exclaimed, giving a big grin. "And Naruto's here, too? Wow! Are you two on a date?"

I almost spit out my ramen. I started blushing, and I gave Teuchi a flat look. "Old man!" Naruto and I exclaimed at the same time, both of us blushing furiously.

"Ahaha! I was just teasing," Teuchi boomed, "Your first bowl's on the house!"

"Thanks," I said, grinning at him. He smiled back, retreating into the kitchens to create other bowls of ramen.

"So all that happened, huh?" Naruto asked after I had told him all about how I acquired my second kekkei genkai, the Heart's Eye.

"Yep," I said, "It's actually really cool. It lets me see into people's souls. You know, to see if they're really good or not."

"That sounds cool, believe it!" He exclaimed brightly. Then, he got a distant look on his face. "Minxie, are you still a genin?"

"Nope," I replied.

"SAY WHAT!?" the blonde shouted.

I laughed. "I became a Chunin not too long after Lady Tsunade returned to the village. Why?"

"Because... Out of everyone in our year, I'm the only one who's still a genin..." He muttered, sounding bummed out.

"Being a genin isn't that bad, Naruto. I mean, who cares about rank? I know you're super strong just by looking at you. You trained with Pervy Sage for two and a half years! I'm sure you got a whole lot stronger," I said, shooting him a grin.

He grinned back at me. "Yeah! I bet I can even beat you now!"

"Don't push it," I warned flatly, pointing my chopsticks at him.

He held up his hands in defense, and I smiled. "Oh! Did you hear the news!?" He asked excitedly, speaking through tons of ramen noodles.

I laughed as one fell from his mouth, but shook my head. "No, I didn't. What happened?"

"Gaara! He's Kazekage now!" He said brightly.

"He is?" I asked in disbelief, my eyes widened. He nodded.