The noren curtain was gently lifted as nma led Naruto into Ichiraku Ran.
"Welco—oh, it's you, nma." Teuchi looked up from behind the counter, his smile warm and familiar.
It wasn't quite dinner ti yet, so the place was mostly empty, save for two ordinary Genin slurping their noodles.
"Teuchi-san, one tonkotsu chashu ran, no..."
"No naruto, extra nma… got it." Teuchi chuckled, already moving before nma could finish.
For so reason, the order felt familiar, as if soone else had once said the sa thing. But the mory remained frustratingly hazy.
Naruto lingered behind nma, hesitant.
When the two Genin who were eating ran saw Naruto at the door, their expressions twisted with disgust, causing him to instinctively shrink back in fear.
Just as Naruto was about to run away out of instinct, nma placed a hand on his shoulder, "What're you spacing out for? Pick sothing from the nu."
"By the way, I still don't know your na," nma said, already sitting on a high stool, raising an eyebrow as he feigned ignorance.
"My na is Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto scrambled onto the stool next to nma and peeked at the wooden nu board on the ground.
Unfortunately, Naruto couldn't read yet, so he just copied nma, "I-I'll have the tonkotsu chashu ran too!"
"Coming right up! Please wait a mont, you two." Teuchi called out as he got busy.
"Boss, we're leaving the money here." The two Genin said after finishing their ran, placing so bills on the counter.
As they left, they muttered under their breaths.
"That guy earlier… he's that thing, right?"
"Yeah, the one who got the Fourth Hokage killed…"
"Ugh, what a mood killer. I almost threw up just now..."
Naruto sat with his back to the door, but he still caught their words, his mood sinking.
He didn't understand what 'the Fourth' ant, nor did he know what the 'demon fox' was, but he could tell they despised and rejected him.
"Aya, clean this up," Teuchi's voice broke the heavy silence.
Coming! Coming!" A little girl of about eight or nine, wearing a white headband, rushed out from the kitchen like a whirlwind, her blue apron fluttering with her movents.
She deftly cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, her cloth drawing smooth arcs across the counter.
"nma-sama, bringing friends again, huh?" Aya teased, blinking playfully, her hands never pausing in her work.
"Stop with the 'sama', Aya-nee~" nma shot back sarcastically, deliberately dragging out the last syllable.
The word 'nee' made the cleaning cloth in Aya's hand freeze mid-motion.
"Hey!" The little girl puffed up her cheeks in indignation: "You shouldn't make girl sound old!"
Even though she was only eight or nine, being called 'nee' by soone younger still made her grit her teeth.
'So his na is nma…' Naruto, who is nearby, watched their banter with a hint of envy.
"By the way, what's your na, little guy?" Aya asked, having finished cleaning but not rushing back to the kitchen. Instead, she leaned closer to Naruto.
"I-I'm… Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto stamred, his cheeks flushing from the unfamiliar warmth of being treated kindly.
What's more, Naruto could sense that neither nma nor Aya held the sa malice toward him as the other villagers did.
"Nice to et you! I'm Teuchi Aya. Feel free to co to our ran shop anyti!" Aya patted her chest proudly.
"To welco a new custor, I'll make you so tempura." With that, Aya folded her cloth and dashed back to the kitchen.
Soon, two bowls of ran and a serving of tempura were placed before nma and Naruto.
"Enjoy your al!" Teuchi and Aya stood behind the counter, bowing slightly with warm smiles.
"Itadakimasu!" nma picked up his chopsticks and pressed his hands together.
Just as he was about to dig in, he noticed Naruto beside him staring at the rising steam, tears suddenly splashing onto the wooden counter.
"Hey, kid, why are you crying?! Didn't anyone teach you what to say before eating?" nma hates crying children the most.
"N-no one taught …" Naruto wiped his tears.
From the mont he could rember, the people around Naruto had been filled with hostility. No one had taught him basic life skills, and he'd had to navigate this cruel world alone.
"Then follow my lead. 'Itadakimasu'!" nma scowled but handed Naruto a pair of chopsticks.
Naruto took them, looking at the boy beside him who cursed harshly but acted so kindly. A strange warmth surged in his chest.
"I-Itadakimasu!" Naruto mimicked nma's gesture, pressing his hands together before clumsily splitting the chopsticks apart.
Slurp, slurp-
The sound of the two eating ran filled the shop. Teuchi didn't fully understand what was happening, but he could tell it was sothing heartwarming and quietly returned to his work.
anwhile, Aya glanced curiously at nma, then at Naruto.
For so reason, the two of them almost seed like brothers.
Perhaps because Naruto was so hungry and had never eaten a proper hot al before, this bowl of ran tasted like a feast to him. He devoured it ravenously, even drinking every last drop of the broth.
nma had only eaten half of his ran when he noticed Naruto had already set down his empty bowl, staring longingly at the plate of tempura between them, drooling slightly.
"Look at you, practically drooling. Here, you can have it all." nma said, casually sliding the tempura toward him.
"But..." Naruto instinctively wanted to refute.
nma raised the chopsticks in his hand: "First rule: When soone helps you or offers you kindness, you say thank you. Second rule: You don't waste that kindness."
Seeing Naruto still hesitating, nma added, "I've eaten enough today. Not like you, who looks like he's starving."
With that excuse, Naruto finally grinned, picking up a piece of tempura with his chopsticks: "Thank you, nma!"
"Teuchi-san, today's al is on this kid." nma said as he set down his chopsticks, pointing at Naruto, who was happily munching on the tempura.
Teuchi lifted his head from the steam and said with a warm smile, "Sure! Since it's a new custor, I'll give you a 10% discount. That'll be 900 Ryo."
Naruto, who was eating the tempura, was stunned when he heard the price, and quickly picked up his wallet to count.
Soone would send him money every month, but the amount was not much. The house was arranged by the village, and he basically didn't have to pay for water, electricity, and rent. When calculated every month, Naruto's living expenses were just average, so he should be able to afford a few bowls of ran.
But sohow, Naruto always ended up broke from eating instant noodles every day. He could never figure out where his money went.
For Naruto, these 900 Ryo still stung.
Naruto took out a thousand-Ryo bill and handed it to Teuchi reluctantly.
Aya took the money, took out a 100-Ryo coin from her pouch and handing it back, "Here's your change."
The two stepped out of the ran shop, nma patting his full stomach in satisfaction while Naruto clutched his asly 100-Ryo coin, his entire aura dimming in despair.
User Comments
0 comments from readers