Ramen Lovers (Naruto Uzumaki)

Chapter 4- a Long Talk

We eventually reached the hospital that I had just escaped from and stepped inside. I walked up to the lady at the front desk with Naruto trailing behind me. "Excuse me, ma'am." I leaned against the desk as I spoke. The woman looked up, acknowledging that she heard me. "What room is the Hokage in? He wanted to speak with me."

"Oh, let me see..." She flipped through a book lying on her desk. "Room 405." She smiled politely at me.

"Thank you." I smiled in return before walking towards the stairs. I looked behind me to make sure Naruto was still following and saw that he was still at the desk, staring off into space. That boy, I chuckled to myself. I walked back over to him and grabbed his wrist, startling him out of his trance.

"Oh! Sorry." He said, blushing slightly as I dragged him back down the hall with me. I smiled back at him, and he returned it.

I wonder what kind of questions the Hokage is going to ask me? Will he even let me stay now that I've decided I want to? What's he like? Is he nice? Mean? I don't know anything about him. I was dreading this conversation for multiple reasons. One, the unknown factor of what the Hokage is like, and two, the fact that I'll have to tell him everything. Maybe I could lie again? That's not a very good idea. I think I'll tell him the truth to whatever questions he asks me, but only that. I won't elaborate on answers unless he asks me to, and I'll only tell him what he needs to know. If I lie to him, he might find out, and then I'm gone for good.

Naruto stopped suddenly, and because my hand was still on his wrist, I was pulled back as well. I let out a noise of surprise and almost fell into him, but he caught me by the shoulders before I could. "Sorry. What is it? Why'd we stop?" I asked him curiously. He looked at me seriously for a moment before responding.

"You don't need to be worried about meeting old man Hokage." What? How did he know what I was thinking about? "He's pretty cool. I'm sure he'll let you stay, and if he doesn't, I'll convince him. Believe it!" He smiled and let out that adorable giggle of his.

"Wha- How did you know that I was...?" I was still dumbfounded. I didn't think I was showing any nervousness on my face.

"I don't know, actually. I just kind of... sensed it?" He shrugged. We both paused for a moment, trying to figure out how he knew. "Ah, whatever. Let's go!" He grabbed my hand, and it was my turn to be the blushy one. He pulled me along to the fourth floor, and we eventually reached the door to the room. "Well, here we are!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yep, here we are." I muttered, much less excited than him, which he picked up immediately.

"Do you want me to stay in there with you?" He asked me worriedly. "I promise he's not bad, but I'll still stay if you want." I felt my cheeks heat up again and smiled at him. How come he just met me but he still is worried for me? I haven't felt cared for in so long that even the slight bit of worry that he showed meant the world to me.

"No, I'll be okay, I think. Thank you so much, though." I pulled him into a tight hug that surprised both of us. He blushed heavily, and his hands stayed by his side awkwardly for a moment before wrapping them around me. He held me just as tight as I held him and buried his face into my neck. After being alone for so long, it felt nice to have a moment like this. A moment of happiness. Physical contact that was caring instead of abusive or cruel. For some reason, it seemed like he felt that way, too. We both pulled away at the same time and looked at each other awkwardly. "Well, I should be going in now." I clasped my hands together nervously.

"Oh, yeah. Right." He nodded stiffly. I awkwardly opened the door to my hospital room,looking behind me before I shut the door. Naruto stood waving at me with one hand resting lazily on the top of his head. As the door shut with a resonating thud.