The Mother He Never Had

1

Naruto's POV

After yelling at the villagers, I ran off as I could feel the villagers cold stares and frowns on me. Tears began to fill the brim of my eyes, making me close my eyes tightly and run faster until I bumped into someone, sending both of us back on our sides.

"Ow..." I moaned in pain as I sat up while rubbing my head, my eyes still closed. "My, my... Aren't we in a hurry?"

"Huh?" I opened his eyes to see I had bumped into a woman. She had long green hair with a flower pattern headband, green eyes, and looked pretty young for her age. She wore a yellowish-tan dress with yellow shoes, white socks, and a brown bag with a flower design on it was draped over her body.

"You really should be aware of your surroundings, little boy," The woman stood to her feet and dusted the dirt off her dress. "You're not harmed, are you? Any injuries?" She asked, holding her hand out to me.

"Uh..." I stared at her as I couldn't find my words. I think the woman noticed because she started to giggle softly. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? Come on now. Stand up. You don't want to sit there in that dirt all day now, do you?" She asked, gently taking my hand.

She helped me to my feet and crouched down to dust the dirt off my clothes. "Well, you don't seem to have any injuries. Just some dirt." The woman informed me. I stared at her with a small frown, but blushed at her kindness.

"...Thank you..." I mumbled. "You're very welcome." She replied with a kind smile. When she was finished dusting me off, she rose to her feet. "Well, see you around." She said before walking off. As she did, she hummed a soft tune.

'She's... really nice.' I thought to myself before walking away with my hands in my pockets.

*****

Later that day, I laid in my bed as I stared up at my ceiling. It felt so boring in here with nothing to do. I sat up when my stomach growled. "I'm hungry." I mumbled to myself. I got off the bed and left my house to find something to eat.

I came across the ramen shop and took out some money to see how much I had, but it wasn't enough. I sighed and shoved the money back in my pocket. 'Now what?' I thought as my stomach growled again. "You sound hungry,"

"Huh?" I looked to my side and lifted my head as someone stood beside me. 'It's that woman again. The one I bumped into. What's she doing here?' I thought. "The ramen definitely smells good from this distance, wouldn't you agree?" The woman asked.

"I guess..." I mumbled. She looked at me and smiled. "Come on. Let's go eat." She said, leading the way inside. I watched her go and she stopped to look back at me. "Well? Aren't you coming?" She asked.

"Well..." I looked down, too embarrassed to tell her I didn't have the money to eat. "What's the matter? Aren't you hungry?" The woman asked as she stood in front of me in a crouching position. "I... don't have any money." I said with a blush.

The woman stared at me and giggled. "Silly boy, I'm going to pay for you. You didn't really think I was gonna let you pay for the food, did you?" She asked with a closed-eye smile. "Come on, let's go." She rose to her feet and took my hand before leading me inside the ramen shop.

After we ordered, I began to happily eat my ramen. "This ramen is delicious!" I cheered as I ate. "Amusing. Ramen must be your favorite food, huh?" The woman asked with a smile. "Mm-hm! It's the best!" I said with my mouth full of ramen.

The woman giggled. "Silly boy, you've gotten your face all dirty," She said. She grabbed a napkin and began to clean my face. "There. All clean." She smiled. I grinned at her and continued to eat my ramen.