Somehow, Guy managed to turn eating ramen into a competition with Kakashi.
I just shook my head while eating my food.
"I'll eat more than you Kakashi!"
Kakashi looked at him with a glint in his eyes, meaning Kakashi was amused by all of this. Kakashi never liked admitting it, but sometimes he could get pretty competitive. Now being an example.
Then Kakashi quickly slid his mask down with lightning speed and started chewing when his mask was back on.
"Try and top that, amateur,"
Guy gasped loudly and dramatically, making a few heads turn in our direction.
Teuchi was watching this, also amused.
Guy shoved more ramen into his mouth without chewing and then shoved the food to his cheeks so he could open his mouth to yell at Kakashi.
Before he could speak, I gave him the "look" I learned from my aunt. "Don't you dare,"
Kakashi just chuckled at how similar it was to Aunt Kushina's and Guy nervously swallowed his food since he was aware of that look.
Guy finished swallowing his food and then spoke. "Just try and top THAT," He said putting an emphasis on 'that'
I rolled my eyes as they continued their competition. "Men..." I muttered to myself.
After finishing, Guy wanted to go out for some drinks.
I reluctantly agreed.
I followed them to the bar and sat down with them.
"Did you wanna have some too?" Guy asked. "I'll pay,"
I shook my head.
"No, I'm okay,"
He nodded and ordered a bottle to share with Kakashi.
I was tempted, but I knew I couldn't do it.
I ordered some water and Guy immediately got drunk. He started rambling about being youthful and Kakashi just listened quietly as he poured himself another cup of sake.
I knew Guy was gonna need me and Kakashi's help since he has a very low tolerance for alcohol.
After another hour of us talking and catching up, I found myself actually feeling okay for once.
I wasn't trying to be a downer all the time, but I'm always stuck on my past. I'm always regretting decisions I've made, thinking about Obito, or missing my only best friends that I've pushed away.
Guy was now too drunk to stand up and I sighed.
"It's only 6 pm, how is he this drunk already?" I shook my head.
The man who manages this stand is smart when he makes his customers pay first.
"I knew this wasn't a good idea," Kakashi added.
Kakashi lifted him up on the left and I did the same on the right.
At least this would allow him to rest though, instead of training.
"Ttthanks," Guy slurred. "You guys are really nice,"
I snickered at how he could barely maintain a sentence.
We walked like this for about ten minutes and then I used my foot to open his door. We tried to gently place him onto his bed, but he went tumbling down and then rolled over to his side.
I sweat dropped at how quickly he passed out.
"You know, sometimes I wonder why he does this knowing he can't handle his liquor," I said.
Kakashi agreed with me as we left his apartment.
"I've got some stuff to do, so I'll see you around," Kakashi said.
I smirked. "Oh please, we all know you're gonna read Makeout Violence. I think you like it more than I do,"
Kakashi rolled his eyes. "You're the one to talk,"
He turned around, waving and then walked away.
I turned the other way so I could go home to shower. I felt disgusting after sweating profusely earlier from the training. I practically rushed home and immediately got into the shower.
Once I was clean, I decided I'd go to the grocery store so I could stock up on a few things I'm running low on. Of course, when I got to the store, my decent day was now replaced with anger.
A woman was shouting and threw something at the door.
"Get out of here, you stupid demon!"
I immediately knew what was going on, but I waited until Naruto was out of sight before I went off.
"Excuse me," I said, with a passive-aggressive tone.
She turned around and gave me an icy stare. This woman was the owner of this store and she was old.
"I'm going to ask you nicely to stop treating him like that," I returned her icy stare.
"Of course, you're brainwashed just like our Hokage is. I can't understand why people like you would allow him to be here, after what he did to our village,"
I had enough. I snapped.
I didn't care if she was a regular old woman. I didn't care if she didn't have any ninja skills.
No one insults my family like that and gets away with it.
I grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pushed her against the wall.
She looked taken aback by my actions and widened her eyes.
"Listen here," I started. "I don't care what you think about me or what you say about me, but if you bring our Hokage or that child into this, then I will care,"
She was too speechless to say anything and everyone in this store was staring.
"I could go on and explain that it's actually people like you who cause any problems for this village, but I know you're too narrow-minded to understand," I continued. "So this is my only warning to you. If I ever see you treat him like that again, you will understand why I'm called Firecracker,"
She nodded.
She was too scared to say anything more or even ban me from the store.
I put her back down and had to calm myself down.
I knew I shouldn't lose my temper like that, but how can I control it when these people treat him so horribly?
I grabbed the things I needed, paid for them, then walked out.
As I walked home, I suddenly had a feeling that someone was following me.
I pretended not to notice to see how long it would go on for, but this was getting too close to my house.
I stopped walking and didn't turn.
"I know you're there. Why are you following me?"
Whoever was following me tried to run away, but I was too fast and dug through the bushes to see who it was. I knew they were hiding there the whole time.
I was thrown off guard.
Instead of a criminal, it was Naruto.
He almost looked scared.
It took me a few seconds to speak. "Kid?"
I held my hand out to help him out, but he rose an eyebrow and got out by himself.
"Who are you?" He asks bluntly.
"W-What?" I was kind of taken aback by how blunt he was.
"I asked who you are. Don't think I don't notice you yelling at people who run me out of their shops. I can tell that you wait till I'm gone to do it too," He continued.
Goddamnit.
The one time I speak to him and it starts like this.
But now that I think about it, it kind of makes sense that he noticed. I made a scene every time and now I realized those barrels that tipped over a few days ago was probably him watching me defend him.
I wish I didn't have to lie to him. I wish I could tell him the truth, but I couldn't.
"Oh, me?" I stalled. "I'm just a regular kunoichi. I just yell at them when they're mean to you because I hate seeing children get mistreated. It especially bothers me since you didn't even do anything,"
Lord Hokage did say I could talk to him, but he just couldn't know who I was until he was ready. I'll just have to lie to him for now.
"Do you know why they treat me this way?" He asked, changing his tone a bit.
"No," I shook my head. "That's why it bothers me so much,"
Yeah, that was an obvious lie. Obviously telling a child that he has a jinchuriki inside of him isn't a good idea.
"So what's your name?" I ask.
He gave me a cocky smirk.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm going to be the next Hokage!"
I chuckled and he looked confused.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing," I smiled. "It's just you remind me of myself when I was younger. I'm Hana,"
I'm not sure how I'm going to keep my last name a secret from him. I'd have to figure that out somehow.
Maybe I should change my last name?
If I did, I don't even know if I'd use my father's last name or Uncle Minato's.
His stomach growled loudly and he looked a bit embarrased.
"Uh, I gotta go,"
"Wait,"
"What?"
"You're hungry, aren't you? You can come eat dinner with me if you want. I was actually about to go home to cook,"
His eyes lit up.
"Also, I'm not letting you walk alone at this hour. It's almost 8:30 and a child shouldn't be out this late," I added.
Aunt Kushina's motherly instinct rubbed off on me.
He followed me to my house and I couldn't help but wonder how things would be if they were still here. He'd probably be living here with them while I lived somewhere else.
He took his shoes off and then walked inside.
"You have a nice house," He remarked and looked around.
"Oh crap..." I muttered, realizing I still had the big portrait of me, Kushina, and Minato hung up in the living room.
Damnit. He probably knows who the Fourth Hokage is too.
"Is that the Fourth Hokage?" He asked, looking at the portrait with amazement. "And is that you with him?"
"Uh...yes," I answered. "That's his wife and my uh...sister,"
"Your sister knew him?" He asked, with shock.
"Yes, she did. She told me he was a very nice guy and that his wife was nice too," I lied.
I started cooking dinner. I just went with stir-fry tonight, since that was easier and faster to cook.
Naruto sat at the dining table, looking around at some of the pictures in my living room.
"You and your sister look like twins,"
"Yeah, we are," I replied awkwardly.
I know I'm gonna have a lot of explaining to do when the time comes for him to know the truth.
I finished cooking and then made his plate, then poured him a glass of milk to go with it. I poured myself a soda to go with my dinner and then set our plates down. His mouth was watering and he immediately dug in.
"This is great! You're a good cook!" He complimented. "I eat ramen almost every night, so this is the best meal I've had in a while,"
"Thanks," I smiled and started eating mine.
He started telling me about how he was in the academy and already has a rival.
Even though our bond is starting off with a lie, it's a start. I needed him to trust me so when the time comes, I can tell him about everything with Lord Hokage. I just hope he understands that I wasn't trying to lie to him on purpose.
He finished his plate and had some seconds.
"Did you want to take leftovers home with you?" I ask.
He nods.
"Okay, I'll pack some in a dish for you and then walk you home so no one gives you any trouble."
He finished his plate and then I handed him the dish full of leftovers.
I walked him home after that and made sure he got inside safely.
Talking to my little cousin actually made me happy today. I wish I could tell him everything right now, but I know it's not the right time.
~~~~~~~~~
I made the mistake of googling 'amateur' to make sure I was spelling it right lmao. Don't do that and just let autocorrect handle it. 😂 This is also a longer chapter since I made you guys wait for an update for so long.