Chapter Text
On a day like any other, Naruto happens to sit down at her favorite restaurant and notices a new face behind the counter. The owner of said face asks, “What’ll it be, Hokage-sama?”
Naruto blanks on her order as the young man’s name dangles in front of her but continues to escape her grasp. Finally, she sets aside the troublesome memory and grumbles her usual order, “Miso pork ramen with extra chashū, ya know.”
“What’s that?” asks the familiar, not-familiar man while cupping his ear.
“Teuchi! Have you gotten Hokage-sama’s order yet?!” interjects Kouta while shaking out noodles.
“Sorry, Granddad!”
“I know it’s your first day, but—”
The rest of their conversation fades to the back of Naruto’s mind as the name finally reunites with a face. Teuchi. Old man Teuchi. Well, she’s the old one now. How strange.
It’s been so long since she last saw him and a smile comes to her face as all of her memories of him come rushing back. The man that was kind to her when no one else in the village would look at her with anything but scorn. The man that gave her food when she was starving. The reason she loves ramen so much.
Scratching the back of her head, she apologizes, “Sorry, Teuchi, I spaced out for a second there! I always get the same thing, ya know! Miso pork ramen with extra chashū!”
Breathing a sigh of relief as his grandfather goes back to preparing the noodles, Teuchi nods in thanks to her and gets to work on her order. When he places it on the counter in front of her, it brings back so many memories that she can’t help a tear slipping down her cheek. Quickly wiping it away, she enjoys the familiar taste of her favorite dish made by all too familiar hands.
~xXx~
After the long journey from the Land of Lightning to escape the border skirmishes, the refugee caravan finally comes to a stop in front of some impressive village gates. Jiro and Sayuri weren’t entirely sure what to expect of Konohagakure, but a quaint-looking village in the middle of a forest is far from what they thought it might be like. Granted, the farmers had never even been to Kumogakure, but the village looks oddly inviting for a military stronghold.
A line of early arrivals stretches out from the gates, waiting to register. Jiro and Sayuri slowly shuffle forward to join it. As they wait, Jiro takes in the sights. It’s mostly trees in every direction, but he makes the most of the small glimpse he has of Konohagakure. The streets and storefronts are thankfully familiar enough that adjusting to their new home shouldn’t be a problem, but the mountains immediately behind the village catch his eye. Specifically, the two faces carved into them. One of them doesn’t look too descriptive of the person, but the other has facial markings that look an awful lot like whiskers, strangely enough. They must depict the Hokage if he had to venture a guess.
Sayuri, on the other hand, aches for a chair. The journey had been tough enough in her second trimester, but standing in a line for eons borders on the unbearable for her throbbing ankles. As if answering her unspoken pleas, her and her husband finally reach the beginning of the line. One of the clerks manning the desk calls out to them without looking up from his work, “Next!”
Jiro hands him their papers and the man collects them with what most would call a snatch. He quickly skims them and just as he’s about to reach for his approval stamp, his eyes halt on their names. Voice full of disbelief, he reads, “Namikaze?”
The clerk beside him pauses and looks over to the document as well. Jiro and Sayuri share a worried look as they mumble to each other for an awfully long time. Finally, the original clerk they handed their refugee documents to directs them to a space off to the side, and orders, “Wait over there.”
Genuinely anxious now, the Namikaze’s step out of line. As the clerks move on to the next people in line, they wait for the hammer to come down on them for some unknown crime. Agonizing minutes pass as they wait, but no one else is asked to step out of line nor does anyone come to collect them. Just as Sayuri is about to demand a chair at the very least, a woman comes rushing toward the village gates from the heart of Konohagakure.
Her golden hair and blue eyes are an unexpected, but not unwelcome sight to the couple since they seem to be rare features outside of the Land of Lightning. The whisker marks on her face are a bit odd, but they’re not about to be picky when she comes to a stop in front of them with a welcoming smile on her face. “You’re the Namikaze’s, right?!”
Out of patience, Sayuri snaps, “That’s right, now will someone please get me a damn chair?!”
“Oh! Of course! We could get lunch at a restaurant if you’d like? Or, I can take you to your new house?” offers the woman, her smile not dropping in the slightest as she glances at Sayuri’s round belly.
Flabbergasted and a bit uncomfortable with the special treatment, Jiro asks, “Um, may I ask who you are?”
Her smile somehow widens further before she answers, “The name’s Uchiha Naruto, but you can just call me ‘Naruto,' ya know!”
The whisker marks he noticed earlier on the mountain carving come back to Jiro and he turns white as a sheet. He immediately lowers his head into a deep bow in apology for their rudeness. “Hokage-sama, please forgive our tones!”
Naruto laughs, “Don’t worry about it! I’d be pretty tired after such a long journey and standing in that long line, too, ya know!”
Surprised beyond belief that the leader of a ninja village could be so friendly, Jiro and Sayuri can only gape before Naruto drags them to the best restaurant in the village and treats them to the most extravagant meal they’ve ever had. When Jiro attempts to hand over their small savings to help pay, Naruto refuses to take their money and casually hands over a small fortune to cover the whole meal.
After that, she shows them to a house that couldn’t possibly be set aside for mere refugees. The size alone seems like a bit much for a couple expecting their first child, but Naruto insists that they take it. After a tour of the house, she gives them her personal address and insists that they ask her for help if they ever need it. Just before she departs, she welcomes them to Konoha with the most sincere, joyful expression on her face.
~Five years later~
On her way to Aoba’s office, Naruto always stops to chat with his aide, Fuso. However, she notices a new friendly face sitting at the desk in her stead. She can’t imagine Aoba firing such a competent assistant, so she comes to a stop in front of them and asks, “What happened to Fuso?”
The man does his best to restrain a grin as he answers, “Sorry, Hokage-sama, my wife is out on maternity leave. She asked me to cover for her until her fill-in arrives. My name is Ise, by the way.”
“Oh! Congratulations, Ise! Ya got any pictures? What’s the baby’s name?”
“His name is Nagato,” Ise mentions as he eagerly whips out several dozen pictures of his first-born son and wife. Quickly brushing off her shock before the proud father can take notice, a smile settles on Naruto’s face as she leaves through numerous images depicting a happy start to a hopefully joyful life for Nagato this time around.
“He’s so cute, ya know! You must be very proud!” praises Naruto as she hands back the stack of photos.
“Thank you, Hokage-sama, and I am!” answers Ise with a wide smile. “But, I won’t keep you or Uzukage-sama waiting any longer. Please, head in!”
“All right, thanks for sharing the photos with me, Ise!” laughs Naruto as she knocks and opens the door to Aoba’s office.
Just as they exchange pleasantries, however, a small girl bursts through the door and shouts, “Ojii-chan!”
Mortified, Aoba scolds, “Kushina, I’m in the middle of a meeting!”
A man follows after Kushina, profusely apologizing, “Uzukage-sama, I’m so sorry! Kushina-chan just won’t listen—”
“You’re the one that won’t listen, Tanaka!” retorts Kushina to the man as she whips back around to face him.
“Tanaka-sensei, Kushina!” admonishes Aoba.
When all she does is huff in response, Aoba sighs and apologizes, “Sorry Naruto, could you excuse me for a moment?”
“Sure! Take all the time you need!” she reassures as he ushers the exhausted teacher out into the hallway. As soon as the door closes behind them, Naruto hears rustling from the couch in Aoba’s office. She turns to see Kushina studying her as she opens a snack from the bowl on the table in front of her.
Taking a seat across from her in one of the armchairs, Naruto does her best to hold in a laugh as she casually asks, “Get in trouble?”
Intrigued that an adult isn’t admonishing her, Kushina answers in between bites, “Yep. Got in a fight.”
The strange woman surprises her with her next question. “Did ya win?”
“You bet I did!” exclaims Kushina. “He made fun of my hair, so I made sure he won’t be laughing at anyone for a while!”
“Sounds like ya showed him,” replies the woman with a smile.
“Right?!” agrees Kushina. Her curiosity piqued, she asks, “What’s your name?”
With a chuckle, the woman answers, “The name’s ‘Naruto,’ ya know.”
Though she thinks the name is weird, Kushina refrains from saying so to her new friend. Instead, she asks, “What were you talking to Ojii-chan about?”
“Oh, ya know, boring meeting things. We have to since I came all this way,” answers Naruto with a shrug.
Kushina sits up. “Where are you from?”
“A forest village called Konoha. It’s in the Land of Fire.”
“That’s where our sister clans are!” exclaims an excited Kushina.
Surprised, Naruto asks, “The Uzumaki have a sister clan other than the Senju?”
“Yeah, the Uchiha! I heard that there are even red-haired ones that have the Sharingan! Have you seen ‘em?!”
With a chuckle, Naruto responds, “Sure have. You’re welcome to visit and see for yourself.”
“I will!” promises Kushina.