Chapter 74 - Ramen Talk

A/N: I spent a lot of time on this one. It's mostly character dialogue, and I don't really know I feel about it overall tbh. Kept writing and deleting whole swaths of paragraphs for the past few days. Hopefully it reads okay. Anyway, thanks for reading. I just do this for fun now, so hopefully some of you like it, too.

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The dark-haired woman almost forgot to reply to Jin's greeting due to being surprised that this young civilian man would even speak to her after seeing the symbol on her back. Briefly, she glanced in his direction again out of curiosity, only to see him tapping on a metal tablet of some sort. 

"Here you are, Mikoto. It's on the house today."

Raising a brow, Jin lifted his eyes from the chat group logs to observe the woman. Compared to most others he had met so far, she had one of the strongest reactions of life force. Strangely, the shopkeeper had no sign of life or death on him as if he was a ghost, but Jin didn't think too much of it after hearing so many theories about the man's identity in his last life.

'Mikoto? I had suspicions, but how interesting to run into her of all people.' 

Distracted by the approach of the Ramen shop owner, Mikoto faced forward and accepted the bowl. Then, she shook her head and replied, "Thank you, Mister Teuchi, but I will pay for the meal."

"Haha, don't worry about it. You're here all the time, so consider it a thank you for your patronage."

"...In that case, thank you."

"No problem. Enjoy your meal."

With that, Teuchi sauntered over to the other side of the counter while wiping his hands with a moist towel.

"Hello there, young man. Always nice to see a new face in my establishment. What can I get for you?"

Jin returned Teuchi's friendly smile. Then, he looked over at Mikoto's bowl. The slightly spicy scent wafted over and made his mouth water.

"Excuse me, miss, but may I ask what you ordered there? It smells amazing"

The unanticipated question caught Mikoto off guard. She halted blowing on the Ramen noodles held between her chopsticks and turned her head to meet Jin's questioning gaze.

"Spicy pork miso ramen."

"Thanks,"Jin replied. Then he looked at Teuchi and said, "I'll try that, then."

Ever so briefly, Teuchi looked towards the bowl in front of Mikoto with a melancholy expression. He quickly erased his melancholy with a friendly smile and exclaimed, "Absolutely! Coming right up!"

When Teuchi started preparing the ramen, Jin returned his attention to his phone. For a few minutes, he amused himself by watching Misaka try to help Zoro figure out where the characters to fix his username were without much success. 

Whilst enjoying the farce taking place in the chat group, he heard a small group of people talking rather boisterously outside Teuchi's stall.

"You guys wanna eat here?"

"We just finished a mission, so I guess we can afford it today. Old chap charges way too much even though I hear his Ramen is amazing."

"Haha. Let's just splurge," The first man responded with a bout of laughter. 

The first man who Jin heard pushed aside one of the cloth flaps that had Ichiraku written on them. However, the moment he stepped inside, he froze. His eyes locked onto the fan symbol on the back of Mikoto's blue jacket.

Curious about the sudden silence, Jin looked over his shoulder. There, he saw an unfamiliar Shinobi who wore a headband but no Chunin vest. Noticing the man's hesitant gaze focused on the Uchiha crest, Jin sighed and returned his attention to his phone.

"Hm? What's wrong, Tanaka?"

The man holding the flap open suddenly turned back to his companion and said, "Honestly, you're probably right that we should eat somewhere cheaper."

"Huh? Wh-"

The second man halted his words when the first man gestured at the Uchiha crest on Mikoto's back.

"Um… Yeah, I guess you're right. Probably better to save my money."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jin watched the unknown Shinobi walk away without turning back. Nearby, he heard Teuchi sigh, though the simmering broth drowned out the sound enough for Mikoto not to hear it. 

When Jin glanced at Mikoto again, she didn't show any sign of reacting to the situation. As if nothing happened, she simply slurped her noodles. If anything, perhaps her eyes looked a little distant and glazed over.

'I know it's none of my business, but since I'm here anyway…'

Sighing lightly, Jin got up and moved over to the seat adjacent to Mikoto. The woman frowned and gave him a sideeye. 

"Mind if I sit here?"

"..."

"Hm. Well, sorry to bother you, but you looked a bit lonely. Reminded me of myself before I made a few friends recently, so I figured I'd give you some company. If I'm intruding too much, just say so. I'll move back."

Staring directly into her bowl of ramen, Mikoto stirred the broth with her chopsticks for a few moments before finally saying, "It's a public space. You can sit wherever you'd like."

"Cool."

From there, Jin rested his chin on his fist and pulled his phone back out. Mikoto looked at the device with some curiosity but then focused on her piping hot Ramen.

Meanwhile, Teuchi turned his head from his work to look at them. Although his eyes remained closed, his lips curled upward while watching them. He soon returned to focusing on his cooking, though.

Before long, Teuchi brought another bowl over and slid it onto the counter in front of Jin.

"Here you are, one spicy pork miso!"

"Thank you."

Jin picked up a pair of chopsticks and stirred the broth. Spicy herbal scents tickled his nostrils as though to tempt his appetite.

As soon as he tasted it, his eyes widened.

"This… this is amazing. Any way I could get the recipe from you to give to my mother, shopkeep?"

"Haha. Trade secret."

"Too bad. I'll just have to visit more often, then."

"Please do."

Jin happily consumed several mouthfuls of ramen before Mikoto paused her comparatively slower paced eating to ask, "Is there some reason you approached me? If so, let's please get it out of the way."

Chopsticks having just dropped a mouthful of noodles in his mouth, Jin paused. When he looked over at Mikoto with ramen noodles hanging out from between his lips, the corners of her lips twitched.

When Jin finished chewing, he thoughtfully answered, "Just thought it was sad that a descendant of one of the founding clans of this village is treated like an outcast. Even if you are used to it, the loneliness of isolation I used to know well is pretty obvious in your body language. Others helped me out a lot with that, so I'm just trying to do the same. I understand if that seems unusual, though."

Mikoto quietly observed Jin's facial features. A few beats later, her lips curled into a nostalgic half smile. She stared down at her Ramen bowl and muttered, "I used to have a friend who was nosy like that."

"I see. Sounds like a long story."

"...Yeah."

Jin slurped down another helping of ramen before adding, "I don't mind listening to long stories."

In response, Mikoto thoughtfully stirred her ramen without actually eating any of it. 

"I don't know if you are trying to make advances on me, but I am a married woman."

Raising a brow in an exasperated manner, Jin said, "I don't see what that has to do with telling stories."

"You're not?"

"No."

Forehead wrinkling at Jin's flat response, Mikoto said, "Oh."

Not wanting to force the conversation any more than he already had, Jin casually resumed eating. Next to him, Mikoto also resumed eating in a distracted manner. 

A while later, when Jin almost finished eating, Mikoto commented, "My friend used to buy this flavor of ramen all the time."

"Is that so?"

Lips rising into a painfully reminiscent smile, Mikoto nodded and said, "We often came here together, and although she liked all the flavors, this one was the one she ate the most, especially when she was pregnant."

'Checks out.'

"It might not be my favorite, but I only ever get this now."

"A pleasant memory,"Jin mumbled while also recalling some of his battle brothers from his past life. "May as well eat enough of it for both of you."

"Yes. Well, I certainly try, but I think I'm putting on enough weight for both of us, too."

"Pft- Ahem, sorry. That was rude of me."

Mikoto smiled at Jin's sorry state after he spewed broth all over the counter. While Jin cleaned up the mess, she continued the conversation.

"What is your name, by the way?"

"Hideyoshi Jin. You?"

"Uchiha Mikoto."

"Nice to officially make your acquaintance, then, Mikoto."

"You as well, Jin. Thank you for talking to me today. Even if you might have ulterior motives that I'm not aware of, talking to a stranger like this was a refreshing experience."

"You're welcome, then."

The two then resumed eating until Mikoto asked, "Are you not from Konoha?"

"No. I'm a traveling swordsman, though the Hokage gave me papers to become a citizen here."

"Lord Third? Really?"

"Is it that surprising?"

"Can I see the papers?"

"Sure."

When Jin set the papers on the counter, Mikoto carefully leafed through them. Then, she mumbled, "They're real… Are you strong?"

"Moderately."

"I see. He is probably trying to rope you into village interests, then."

Sensing an unexpected hint of concern in the woman's voice, Jin chuckled and replied, "I'm aware."

Inwardly, Mikoto noted Jin's confidence, though she could not determine whether this young man was overconfident or actually strong enough to disregard the schemes of the village elders. Her thoughts whirled chaotically in her head.

'If Fugaku had this kind of mindset, then maybe… No. I shouldn't think such things. What's done is done. I only need to do my duty as the wife of the patriarch.'

"Honestly, I appreciate the heads up. You have a kind heart."

"...Not really."

"Even if you don't think so, you have shown me that you do, and I'm sure your friend would think so, too, with how you are coming here to honor her memory."

Mikoto subconsciously reached up to twirl a few strands of hair between her fingers. 

Instead of paying attention to Mikoto's reaction, however, Jin turned his head toward the cloth flaps behind him. Once again, his senses noticed the unique life signature of the young crow-masked Anbu member hiding nearby. He did not sense the other person who had been tailing him anymore, though.

'All of these characters I've interacted with since joining the chat group were part of my childhood. A butterfly effect is probably already in place, so why not try to make these people a little happier? Can't be worse than what already happened to them in the original canon even if I mess something up. Eh, whatever. I'll just do what I can and hope for the best.'

Turning back to Mikoto, he commented, "Honestly, it is a shame your clan has been pushed into a corner over the years if you are anything to go by."

In an instant, Mikoto's finger halted with a few hairs still wrapped around it. She frowned and glared at Jin.

Outside, the crow mask Anbu shifted uncomfortably.

"What do you mean by that?" Mikoto asked, her eyes a little colder than before.

"The Senju are basically gone. The Uzumaki are also gone. The Uchiha should be able to be a stable pillar for this village with their power, yet somebody kind like you has been pushed down by the internal struggles here. Sad to see the descendants of Konoha's founders and the Sage of Six Paths himself declining to such a state. If things continue on their current path, it won't be long before even the final embers of that long history die out if nothing comes along to reignite them."

Nearby, Teuchi's hands halted their movements. The dishes he had been washing dropped into the water basin in front of him. Then, he tilted his head a little and stared at Jin for a few moments. Then, he sighed and resumed washing dishes.

"Sage of Six Paths?" Mikoto responded, her forehead creasing. At first, she thought the young man was just spewing random words, but his face showed no signs of lies or falsehoods that a Jonin like her would look for in a spy. "Who are you really? And what is your purpose in speaking with me?"

"Just somebody who knows a little about this world, and talking with you was honestly a coincidence. What I stated earlier about keeping you company since you looked somewhat down was the truth. I mainly wanted to cheer you up a little even if it was a bit nosy."

"..."

"And feel free to take this as the ramblings of a random wanderer, but people often fail to see the whole picture and delude themselves into thinking they can only take one path forward, but then they miss out on the path to their right, or to their left, or even behind them, that could bring them the most satisfying conclusion."

Mikoto narrowed her eyes and wondered why this young man spiraled the conversation in such a weird direction. She went from disregarding him, to appreciating his reaching out to her, and finally to confusion, all in the span of a single meal.

"So, what do you think, Uchiha Shisui? Do you think the vision of your people is too narrow?"