Free Ramen

Chapter Three
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The sweet, airy melody of bird song drifted through the open window of Naruto's bedroom. The sun was just playing over the eastern treeline and golden rays showered through to bathe the boy in a new day's warmth. It was a beautiful morning. Such beauty, however, did nothing to change Naruto's sour face.

It was nearly six o'clock am when Naruto shot out of bed and threw his pillow out the window; something he immediately regretted. It wasn't his fault, really. With single minded determination to put an end to the joyful, singing lives of birds outside his bedroom, it was only natural that he use the closest accessible weapon.

So, wide awake and sulking over the loss of his pillow, Naruto stalked out of the house to retrieve it. Tsunade was already up and brewing coffee. When she inquired of the boy's dark mood, after he returned slamming the door behind him, he mumbled something about saving up for a slingshot and headed for the shower.

His mood had worsened when he emerged. Though he was clean, and a little more refreshed, his brain had yet to jump into awake mode. Which is why he knitted his brow in confusion as his guardian held a thin stack of papers under his nose. "What's this?" He blinked suspiciously, taking what he was offered. He noticed his name was on the top.

"you're resumes. I took the liberty of typing them up for you." She regarded the blond with reprimanding eyes when he groaned loudly. "A job will help you," she lectured. "To get out into the community. To fit in!" She returned to her coffee, continuing her rambling. Naruto made childish faces at her back.

"Since you chose to get up so early, you might as well find something to do until the shops open up."

"Chose" Naruto scoffed, reading over his resume. Quick learner was written under his list of skills, and he rolled his eyes, hoping his future employer wouldn't need proof of such a blatant lie. "No one in their right mind would choose to wake up at this ungodly hour! Speaking of which," He turned on the woman. "Why the hell are you up? Are you insane?!"

She waved her hand impatiently as she settled down at the table to peer over a scattering of notes. "I told you before that Mr. Nara is helping me set up a practice. She sipped her coffee and grimaced, obviously missing her assistant. Shizune had made the best coffee. "I'm going over my proposal before our meeting to make sure everything is in line."

Naruto had never paid close attention to his guardian's work life, but he knew she was a medical practitioner of sorts. He leaned over her shoulder for a closer look. "What are you dealing in, breast implants?"

He didn't see it coming. Suddenly he was swatted to the ground by a rolled up folder, his guuardian standing over him ranting wildly about the seriousness of her work and medical history.

Naruto, regaining his senses right on time, decided this would be a golden moment to be on his way. After scrambling to his feet he folded the resumes hot-dog style, shoved them into his back pocket and bolted.

He thought he could still hear her raving from outside. Hightailing it down the street, he didn't look back.

It was nice and cool in the mornings. Naruto knew it wouldn't last, as everyday since he'd arrived in this town has been pretty hot. Strangly so, for a place situated in the mountains, he thought.

He took the straightest path to main street. When he and the old hag had first arrived they drove around to get their bearings, so Naruto pretty much knew where everything was. It only took twenty minutes to tour the entire town by car. Hell, he bet he could walk every street in an hour or two.

The whole town was built around a highway traversing through the Rockies and the province to more populated cities. It was called a strip town, and on this so-called 'strip' -being downtown-, all the businesses were laid out one after the other until a sign at the very end proclaimed you were leaving 'city' limits. That same road continued to wind into the forest and away, leaving the desolute town behind. There were no more than fifteen or twenty shops including two restaurants, a gas station and the cafe Sakura mentioned she worked at, as well as the regular post office, grocery store, clinic, thrift store and the like.

Making his way up the long stretch of road, he took in the differences from his old city. For one, the sidewalks weren't cluttered with gum stains and debris. There were flowers everywhere, as well. Arrangements hung from the lamp posts and decorated the fronts of almost all the store windows. He felt bad for the people who lived in this town with allergies. It was also disturbingly quiet. There were no cars, no people, no corner whores, and no music floating out of alley pubs. He kind of liked it.

Passing a restaurant called simply "Gran's", he put his face up against the window to see inside. Though no lights were on, the early sun was enough to let him make out the black board on the wall behind the till. His stomach started to rumble as he read the delicious menu items. Like Tsunade had predicted, nothing was open. He looked at his watch and grimaced as the time. It was only six-forty-five and he had two and a half hours to kill.

Pouting, he stepped away from the window, leaving a mouth print of condensation. Why did he have to wake up so freaking early? And why did Tsunade have to run him out of the house before breakfast!?

He jammed his hands in his pockets he continued down the road, trying to keep his mind from hunger when he remembered the gas station was open twenty-four hours. It was located at the very end of the strip and Naruto made his way to it with a hurried pace. As he went he counted the stores, counted his resumes and realized Tsunade had made too many.

She probably thinks I'd wreck a bunch of them. He thought. Does she think I'm a child? I can hold on to a freeking peice of paper without ruining it. Jeez...

His thoughts returned to his stomach as he neared the gas station. Mmmmm, he bet there were fresh morning toquitoes and hotdogs. Not that anything that came pre-cooked and reheated could ever be fresh, in the sense of the word ...

Naruto had only just wrapped his fingers around the door handle when he noticed something out of place. Through the glass door he saw what looked to be a human form slumped over the counter, an arm dangling in front of the magazine rack beneath. He paused, eyes moving slowly over the odd scene and came to rest on -Naruto's breath hitched in his throat- red liquid dripping from the motionless fingers.

Holy Shit! Naruto jerked back from the door. He blinked once, heart reverberating in his ears as he stared in disbelief. Shaking his head briskly he mentally slapped himself to wake up. To move, god damnit!

Without stopping to consider calling for help, Naruto ripped open the door and took the few steps to the counter in a leap. At the sound of the entrance buzzer the body's head jerked up. More blood smeared his face in long sticky lines. Naruto froze, skidding on the tiled floor he came to a painful stop as the counter colided with his ribs. The crack was enough to make him nauseous.

He groaned, then slowly tilted his head back to see the man before him. Inches away from his own face was a man with a livid scar, and blood streaming from his scalp and ears. A scream began forming on his lips. What the fuck! ZOMBIE?!?!

"Mornin'." the man mumbled tonelessly, an automated greating from his training. Then his eyes shot wide open as he took in the blond's horrified expression. "W-what..."

Naruto couldn't move. His every feature was strained with fear.

The other squinted in confusion and his skin crinkled uncomfortably by the movement. He brought his hand up to touch his face and gasped at the red liquid oozing through his fingers and trickling down his arm.

"Shit!" He cursed under his breath.

Huh? This guy's not a flesh-eating corpse, he's hurt! With his new realization, Naruto launched into action. "Hey! Where's your phone!?!" He yelled, vaulting the counter. "We need to call an ambula-WAH!" His foot landed on something not secured to the floor and he crashed into the cigarette cabinets in a twisted heap. He sat there for a moment, dazed, un-heroically upsidedown, and staring at the culprit.

A cup...? A simple wax, disposable cup with red slurpie oozing out of it's mushed form. He righted himself into a sitting position, and blinked. Trying to put one and two together.

"Excuse me," A voice from above broke through Naruto's puzzlement. He let his eyes travel slowly up to where the 'blood' soaked man was standing, regarding him with a look bordering outrage and amusement. "Customers aren't allowed behind the counter."

Naruto was slow to answer. "Right..." He rubbed the back of his head slowly. Relieved and a little overwhelmed. "You might wanna ... um." He gestured to his own face.

"Good point." The other touched his face as well, the sticky substance all but dried to a crust. "Watch the store a minute, will ya?" With that, the man headed toward the public washroom.

Naruto got to his feet gingerly, frowning at the mess. How could someone fall asleep in this stuff? He decided that the man was either incredibly exhausted or the slurpie was already melted when he knocked it over. He didn't think anyone could sleep through a brainfreeze. He found some paper towel and cleaner under the register and started sopping up the partially solidified mess.

When The man returned Naruto was sitting on the freshly cleaned counter reading a magazine and slurping up some cup-ramen with a plastic fork. "Wow," The man gestured to the store. "You cleaned up nice."

"I'd say the same for you." Naruto chuckled, swaying on his perch. "But you look like a cherry."

The other rubbed his red face which he had scrubbed raw trying to get the stains out of his skin. Naruto noted he still bore the scar mark over the bridge of his nose, but it was obviously old, and he didn't ask about it. "Yeah, well, thanks anyway."

"No problem." Naruto waved a dismissive hand, returning to his magazine. "Hey, I helped myself to your wares and the hot water by the coffee. Money's right here." He nodded to a small stack of coins beside him.

The man looked at the money and yawned widely. "What a way to wake up ... I couldn't for the life of me figure out why you were staring at me in like that until I saw myself in the mirror. I looked like I'd been ruthlessly cut up."

"Yeah, and I came running in to save your life!" Naruto chortled. "I'm Naruto, by the way, your rescuer." He held out his hand for the other to shake. "Uzamaki Naruto."

The other took it. "Uzamaki. That name sounds vaguely familiar... You're not from around here, though, are you?"

"Nope. Just got here a little over a week ago." He slurped in some more ramen and flipped a page in his magazine. "Everything's so quiet here. Well," he added with a grimace. "Except for the damned birds... I'm not used to it yet. The people are weird, too." He recalled the way everyone accepted, and even welcomed, his pranks. Then the way Sakura didn't want him to stick up for her when Sasuke was such a dick. "I just don't understand it."

The other was watching the boy closely as he explained his take on his new surroundings. Running a hand through brown hair he made a decision. "Keep your money, kid. It's on me."

"Really?" Naruto looked up with uncertain eyes. "Why?"

"Heh, my boss is due to take over my shift in about an hour. If you hadn't come and woken me, that is, 'rescued' me, it would've been ... rather awkward." He smiled. "The ramen's on me."

"Sweet!" Naruto grinned. "How 'bout seconds?"

The man just laughed and waved his okay.

"Oh, I nearly forgot." Jumping off the counter, Naruto put his empty cup down and pulled the papers from his back poket. He grimaced when he found them to be sticky with red goo. Damn ... he thought, separating the top six that were soaked through. He could only imagine what his ass looked like. Counting his remaining resumes he found he still had enough to hand out, silently refusing to admit Gran was well prepared ... He took out one of his remaining clean resumes and pressed it to the counter top, smoothing it with his hand. "Are you guys hiring?" He asked, pushing it towards the man.

"Maybe. I'll give this to my boss and throw in a good word." He slipped the sheet under the counter and regained a business-like tone. "Anything else I can do for you, mr. Uzamaki?"

Naruto made a face. "Come one, I just saved your life in a simulated fashion. Don't call me by my sur-name, everybody does that."

"None of your friends call you Naruto?" The man inquired, taking on a concerned tone.

"Nah, they didn't even defend me when I was getting wailed on either." Naruto scowled.

The man laid a hand on the boy's head, ruffling the golden tresses. The teen looked up, cocking an eyebrow. "Naruto. You're going to need a little patients. Friendship can be a difficult thing to gain. You must take the time to learn the ropes, because If the bonds aren't secure, they can be easily broken."

"Yeah? And what if that proves to be more work than what it's worth?" Naruto let that question hang. "Anyway, I've got some things to take care of." He made his way to the door before the other could speak. At the entrance he turned around. "Oh ... um, I didn't get you name."

The man smiled broadly, elbow now resting on the counter and eyes threatening to droop closed once more. "It's Iruka."

"Alright, Iruka. I'll be back some other time for that second cup-ramen you owe me." He waved and exited. "Nice meeting you!"

He was gone in a blur, leaving Iruka behind to ponder. Uzamaki. Where had he heard that name before ...?

Well fed and filled with energy Naruto ran home. Free ramen! He silently cheared. Not his favorite kind, but ramen in itself was always good. Feeling pumped up, he didn't stop running until he reached his front door. Seeing that the car was gone and knowing Tsunade must be out with mr. Nara by now, he immediately tore off his jeans. Stalking into his bedroom in his boxers he threw the stained slacks into the hamper and rummaged through his dresser drawers. He produced a bright, sunny orange pair of knee length shorts and got dressed again.

The old hag hadn't let Naruto wear anything she condemned 'hard on the eyes' for his first day of school. He'd only agreed because he was honestly afraid it might actually ruin his chances at making friends. Having survived that first day, save for the suspension of course, he decided it was time to get back to acting himself.

By the time he returned down town the shops were opening up. He applied at all the restaurants, the pub, the grocery store and a few others. He saved the cafe for last, deciding to get himself a treat for all his hard work. Coffee shops always had desserts.

The cafe was called 'The Rocky Roasting Company'. The front walk was decorated with sunflowers and burlap sack coffee bag props. Two benches made of woven wood sat outside the shop window. Opening the door a small bell jingled in greeting and the aroma of freshly brewing coffee saturated the air. Tables lined the floor-to-ceiling windows at the front and slightly larger, round tables were placed randomly in the center before a small stage. Naruto smiled and wondered if he'd get to see any live entertainment at this hour.

He took a seat in the center and continued to take in the cafe. The walls were covered with frameless art of all sorts and were randomly painted various shades of green, blue and purple. The light fixtures overhead bore large star-shaped hoods. He was just admiring the small statuette sitting in the middle of his table when the waitress came upon him.

"Good morning, how can I help - Oh ... Hello, Uzamaki." Her tone dropped.

Naruto winced inwardly, recognizing Sakura's voice. "Did I do something?" He looked up, squinting as though sheilding himself from an attack.

She tossed her pink locks over her shoulder and huffed. "I'm still angry at you for trying to hurt Sasuke."

Naruto deadpanned. "You're serious...?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" She crossed her arms. "You had no reason to go after him the way you did."

This was ridiculous. "Sakura, you were there. You heard the way he spoke to you and I wasn't going to let him get away with that. No man would!"

"Of course I heard!" She snapped. "He's not comfortable with public confrontation. It's the only way he knows how to react when a pretty girl addresses him." She brought her hand to her chin in thought, she'd obviously been pondering over the matter for some time. "Maybe I shouldn't have been so up front. I don't think he's used to living here yet ...I must've down something wrong."

"That's stupid."

Sakura seemed to have forgotten Naruto was there and continued her pondering. "It was his face. He didn't have the same deep scowl that day. Well ... he was scowling but it was different. I thought he would be more comfortable to open up."

"Ugh! Are you listening to yourself?!" Naruto hit his palms on the table.

Sakura jumped. "What the hell's the matter with you?"

"Open your eyes! You didn't do anything wrong, the guy's just a jerk, Sakura."

She narrowed her eyes. Placing her own hands on the table, a considerable distance from Naruto's own, she leaned in close. "And what would make you, a kid who's never even spoken to Sasuke, believe that?"

"His foster sister and Kiba!" His voice was certain. "They're like this." He made a sign with his pinkie to indicate their romantic relationship.

Sakura only looked amused. "And?"

"She tells him everything. She's practically head over heals for the guy! She told him that Sasuke's a selfish, criminal ass hole who can't even keep to a foster family long enough to finish a school year." Naruto crossed his arms, feeling as though he made a point.

"Honestly. You think that Hanabi, who's the last person anyone'd expect to share gossip, would tell this to a kid she's only been seeing for a week?"

"They've only ... I assumed ... "

"You assumed." She bit off the sentence to accent the finality of it. "But do you know anything about Hanabi?"

Naruto was beginning to lose his temper. "It doesn't matter how long they've been dating! Kiba said-"

"Who cares what 'Kiba said'! He doesn't know anything! No one knows, Naruto, do you know why? Hanabi's a loser who does nothing but read martial art magazines and ignore the rest of the world. The only time you'll see her with some one else is when her father gives her time off from her training, and you can always bet it'll be some poor, dimwitted guy she latches onto. I wouldn't trust anything she tells Kiba!"

"Sakura! I can hear you from the kitchen!" They both whipped their heads around at the distraction from their heated argument. At the counter was a squat woman in chef's attire. "You're in uniform, child. Try to act civil ... for God's sake..." The end of her sentence was faint as she shuffled back into the kitchen.

"Whatever." Sakura huffed. "I'd like to see what dhe'd do if I ripped this hideous uniform off right now and ran outa here naked..." She mumbled to herself.

Naruto couldn't think of anything more repulsive.

"Well." Naruto stood. "I've lost my appetite."

Sakura turned on him. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

Naruto was already at the door. "If what you say about Hanabi is true, then Kiba's a moron for letting a girl use him like that. And you are just as stupid for making excuses for a guy who is such an outright jerk to you."

Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but Naruto had already left.

This would be the first of many times Naruto would leave the girl speechless

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end chapter.