Ramen Lovers (Naruto Uzumaki)

Chapter 3- Busted and Big Decisions

"So, this is your favorite restaurant?" I asked Naruto. He had taken me to Ichiraku Ramen and was currently on his third bowl, happily stuffing his face full of noodles after climbing back up and getting my clothes, of course. Once he did, he realized that the clothes were already old and worn, but to top it off, covered in blood. This is why I was currently wearing that bright orange jacket of his on over my blood-stained shirt.

"Mhm." He mumbled with ramen hanging out of his mouth. "Yeah, it's the best! Ramen is my absolute favorite." He grinned happily. He swung his feet back and forth while he sat on his stool. He looked at me for a moment, seeming to have suddenly realized something. "Hey, aren't you gonna get some?" He questioned curiously. Honestly, I wanted to desperately. I was so hungry but I didn't have any money, obviously. What way would I have to make money trapped in a basement? There's no way I would ever ask him to get me some, though. We had just met, and even so, I don't ask people for handouts.

"No, I'm fine. I'm not that hungry. You just eat enough for the both of us, okay?" I gave him a fake smile. He studied me for a minute with narrowed eyes before snapping back to the front.

"Hey, let me get another bowl." Naruto continued eating his third as his fourth was on the way. Once the ramen was finished and set in front of him, he simply slid the bowl in front of me and continued eating. I looked down at the bowl in shock, and my stomach growled, but I wouldn't eat it.

"Why did you put this here?" I looked at Naruto curiously. He paused from eating his ramen and looked at me.

"It's for you, of course." He stated. "I won't except the whole 'I'm not hungry' excuse. This place is the best and you haven't eaten in days." He turned his whole body towards me, obviously waiting for me to take the first bite. I'm sure that he also noticed how underfed I looked but didn't want to say that.

I hesitantly looked down at the bowl of absolutely delicious looking ramen. Naruto reached forward and grabbed some chopsticks out of the container, and handed them to me. I broke them apart and grabbed the first bite of noodles. The second the noodles hit my tongue, my eyes widened, and it took everything in me not to grab the bowl and poor the whole thing down my throat. I haven't had anything like this in years. Not since I would have dinner with my family. I looked over at Naruto my eyes wide as I chewed. He giggled and turned back to his own bowl, resuming his progress. I finished my bowl in record time, and I noticed another one being placed in front of me. I looked up curiously at the man running the shop.

"It's on the house. You're a first-time customer." The man smiled and resumed doing his duties behind the counter.

"Thank you. Both of you." I smiled at both of them, touched by their unwarranted kindness. The man just waved his hand dismissively, and Naruto blushed a little and smiled.

"So, Naruto, why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?" The man behind the counter asked. Naruto practically spat his noodles out everywhere. His face darkened into a heavy blush, and he waved his hands out in front of him.

"N-no, she's not my g-girlfriend!" He yelled nervously as the man smirked at him. Naruto continued trying to make it obvious that we were not dating. Would it really be that bad to date me? I mean, I guess so. I'm severely underweight, dirty, wounded, weak, and not even pretty. I haven't gotten a haircut in years, and I'm just lucky that he let me brush my teeth and take occasional baths. Naruto seemed to notice my depressed look as he stopped talking suddenly. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked, reaching for my shoulder gently. I pulled away just before he reached me, and he looked kind of hurt. He retracted his hand and put it in his lap firmly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" I perked up, giving him a rather fake smile. He frowned and opened his moth to say something but was cut off before he could.

"Just what do you two think you're doing?" I heard a familiar voice behind me and slowly looked Naruto in the eyes with terror shown plainly on my features. He looked even more scared than I was. We both slowly turned around in our chairs to come face to face with the man who instilled so much fear into our hearts. Kakashi. His eye was squinted in annoyance, and he had his hands on his hips with his book in one. His whole body radiated vexation. "You," he began, pointing at me, "are supposed to be in the hospital, and you," he pointed at Naruto, "helped get her out, didn't you?" We both chuckled nervously, rubbing the backs of our necks. We looked like mirror images, action-wise anyway.

"Heh, well, you see..." Naruto trailed off, looking at me to come up with an excuse. I looked back at him in shock. I didn't know what to say either!

"We were hungry!" I continued laughing nervously. Naruto gave me a 'really?' face as did Kakashi, and I simply shrugged.

"I see... well, Lord Hokage visited your hospital room, only to find you missing. He wishes to speak with you." Kakashi stated before turning around and walking away. "I expect you can find your own way? If not, I'm sure Naruto would be happy to take you." He called over his shoulder.

"Uh, yeah." I responded weakly. He didn't even give me time to ask why the Hokage needed me. After a moment of silence, Naruto stood up and offered me a hand. After pulling me up, he began walking towards the direction that I knew the hospital to be in. "Hey, Naruto?" He hummed in response. "What does the Hokage want with me? Do you know?" I looked over at him.

"Oh, sure! He has to do this with everyone who enters the village. Especially those that stay here to make sure they aren't against our village." He smiled down at me.

"But I still don't know if I even want to stay here." I trailed off. Naruto looked at me surprised before quickly catching himself.

"Oh, yeah. Sure, that's right." He smiled, but when he thought I was no longer looking, I saw him frown lightly at the ground. Seeing him sad like that made me think about whether I did want to stay here or not.

It's true that I didn't have anywhere else to go, but as I was escaping from my own personal prison, I was planning on moving from place to place so that he could never find me. I knew he'd come looking for me, and the place he finds me at will be in danger too. I didn't want to endanger this little village because it seemed so lovely. All the people I've met here seem so nice, and I couldn't bring myself to risk their safety for my happiness, but there was the subject of Naruto and my inexplicable pull towards him. The very thought of leaving him made me sick to my very core, which left me dumbfounded. Why did I care so much about this boy I just met? What is it about him that's do alluring? I don't understand because I don't make attachments like this. It takes me a long time to really become attached to someone, and yet here comes Naruto, immediately gaining the utmost affection from me.

Perhaps for now I'll stay here. If only for a few weeks. Maybe this feeling will go away in a few days' time. Maybe this will be my first stop of many like I'd been planning. Or maybe, just maybe, I'll find an actual home for the first time in seven years.