On the whim of a stranger

Just before..

Last night..

Naruto and the rest of team seven had come back from a mission to the Land of Waves. He had enjoyed visiting Tazuna, Inari and Tsunami again. He even stayed a little longer because he had wanted to eat a bit more of Tsunami's cooking but he had to leave for Konoha before Tsunade sent her Anbu after his ass.

How did he know she would do that? Well.. It had happened maybe once or twice before. Worst of all, he was banned from eating ramen for a week as punishment. A WEEK! That old hag was crazy! Luckily Konohamaru was nice enough to deliver take aways from Ichiraku's whenever he could.

After finishing their mission report and getting a good nag from the hag herself, Naruto and the others went their own ways. Sakura to the hospital, Sai to the general store to restock his ink and Kakashi to the bookstore to get... Stuff.

Naruto went back to his apartment since he already had lunch before arriving. He landed in front of the door, taking out keys that he miraculously had never lost through any of his missions, unlocking it, and stuffing it back into his jacket before opening the door to his 'humble home'.

He took off his jacket and placed it on the hook near the door. Then, he noticed a small piece of paper poking out of it. Curious, he took it out and unfolded it carefully. As he read it, his face grew more and more determined. After finishing he folded it again and placed it in the pocket of his pants, where he felt it was less likely to fall out.

'I wonder whether I should tell the others about this.'

~~~

Later that day, Team 8 was heading towards Ichiraku's when Kiba noticed Naruto heading their way.

"Naruto, the ramen is that way," he joked, pointing at a spot behind Naruto. "We're heading there, want to join us?"

Naruto looked up at him, wondering whether he should. In that split second, Hinata, who was behind Kiba, noticed he didn't have that bright shine he normally has in his eyes. "Nah," Naruto said flicking his wrist as he walked away, his posture hunched and his eyes shadowed.

"What's wrong with him?" Kiba scoffed. "Let's go Hinata, Shino. That jerk wants to be alone."

Hinata watched Naruto's back as he walked away, worried about him. Is Naruto-kun okay?

~~~

Shikamaru was searching for Naruto and his teammates. Apparently Tsunade needed to send them on another mission and had sent the first person she could see in the office; him to fetch them. What a drag...

The first place he thought Naruto would be was Ichiraku's. He had just come from a mission that lasted about a week, which meant he had been a week away from his favourite ramen stall. Surely he would eat there first. To his surprise, instead of finding a stuffed Naruto, he found a grumpy Kiba, a worried Hinata and a silent and forgotten Shino.

"Hey, have you seen Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. "He and his team need to see The Hokage immediately. I thought he would be here." He scratched the back of his head.

"That guy? The bastard went who knows where. I asked him if he wanted to eat with us and he just flicks us away like bugs!" Kiba replied. "No offence, Shino."

"Some taken."

"Naruto doesn't want ramen?" Shikamaru asked, severely surprised. "That's not something you hear any day."

"Well, I've got to go get him before he does something stupid." Shikamaru left and headed to Naruto's apartment.

He knocked on the door. "Naruto! Open up! Sure, it's late but Tsunade really needs to see you now!"

Silence

"Oi! Baka wake up!" He slammed his hands on the door. Still nothing.

"I'm not paying for this.." He muttered before busting the door open. Weaving his way though the multiple piles of dirty laundry, He walked up to the bed, grabbed the sheets and..

'Thump'

"That idiot.." Shikamaru ran out and started sprinting towards Ichiraku's leaving behind a bunch of pillows and a note on the floor.

'Don't tell Grandma. Went out the village to do something. Will be back soon.

-The Future Hokage'