24

"Come in. I have fresh tea." Jirobo said, with a smile.

"Ok!" Naruto blurted out.

They walked into Jirobo's living room. It was modestly sized, furnished with ordinary looking couches.

"Sit down, I'll be out in a second."

Jirobo promptly went into the kitchen. "Naruto, how did you get to know Jirobo?"

"Oh, that old man? We met 2 years ago. I was getting bullied and the old man stepped in and helped me." Naruto replied.

Homura said, solemnly, "It seems you get bullied a lot."

"Worse than you can imagine. But, the old man said to not blame them and resent them."

"Why is that?" Homura was genuinely surprised at what Naruto was saying.

"Because of the nine tail incident. Everyone's anger and resentment from their losses, shifted the blame to me. So people thought I was the problem, and that I killed their family."

Homura was beyond shocked. 'Is this the same Naruto. He's somehow mature and immature at the same time.'

"Do you forgive them for what they do to you?" Homura inquired.

"Yes and no. It is impossible for me to forgive everyone, but I will try my best to anyways."

Homura didn't know what to say. He was genuinely speechless. Lucky, a voice was heard.

"Tea's ready!"

The old man walked into the living room. His tea set looked quite ordinary, but the smell aromatizing from the tea kettle was quite good.

"It's nothing special. Just my homemade green tea that I spent days to make." Jirobo said, shamelessly.

Homura took a sip. He had always liked green tea, especially the kind people find in vending machines. But this tasted way different to him. Not wanting to be rude, Homura said, "This is delicious. Thanks for the tea."

The old man just smiled in response. Meanwhile, Naruto didn't even attempt to try the tea. He just sat there, with his arms folded. Homura had a weird look on his face as a result.

Jirobo noticing this, said, "Don't worry. I'm used to it. He just hates tea for some reason."

Homura, wanting to change the topic, asked, "How long have you lived in the leaf for?"

"Well it would be best to tell my story. When..."

Jirobo told his story.

(If you want to read it, go to chapter 17)

He told his story for over 2 hours. "Alright. It's getting a little late. I'll tell you the rest of the story another time."

"Ok! Let's go Homura!" Naruto said, excitedly.

The left the residence. Naruto immediately followed up with, "Let's get ramen!"

Homura made an ugly face. He disliked ramen. It's not nearly filling enough.

"Yeah I guess." Homura said, reluctantly.

They quickly ran back to the inner part of the village. When they got to ichiraku's, Naruto screamed out, "HEY OLD MAN! I HAVE A NEW CUSTOMER FOR YOU!"

"Oh do you?" A voice could be heard behind inside the stall.

They made there way inside. Immediately, Homura could smell the heavy fragrance of chicken broth. Also, it smelt like cooked noodles.

"Since you brought some one, it'll be on the house." Teuchi said.

"Yay! Fee ramen!"

Homura inwardly sneered, 'Is he ever not excited?'

"I'd like pork ramen please." Homura said.

"GREAT CHOICE. THATS MY FAVORITE TOO." Naruto said, pumped that his new best friend eats the ramen as he does.

"Sure." Homura responded, akwardly.

Quickly, two bowls of ramen came out. Steam was flowing out the top, and a delicious smell spread throughout the shop.

Without hesitation, Homura took his first bite. It immediately hit him. The taste was like no other. The ramen was light, and the chicken broth wasn't too strong. It was perfect balanced, good enough to warm the soul.

"Wow." Is all Homura could say about it. It wasn't the best tasting thing, in his opinion, but he could taste the care and love that was put into it. Truly a meal fit of its popularity.

As Homura was finishing his bite, Naruto was already a quarter way through. He was drinking straight from the bowl. They both focused on their meals.

After 1 bowl from Homura and 5 from Naruto, they decided to leave. "Thanks old man." Both of them said.

Outside of the shop, Naruto said. "Bye Homura. See ya tomorrow." He then ran off.

AN: Sorry for the late release. I am studying for my exam, so I didn't have the time to write, as that takes about an hour and a half. But I hope you enjoyed this one. Thanks for reading.

Also, thanks for 1000 collections 😳.