Just as I had initially presumed, this village is ginormous!

From the short glimpse I caught of the Hidden Snow Village during my escape, the Hidden Leaf is at least six times bigger. And yet, despite its size and my lack of patience toward just how long it will take for me to tour every inch of it, I still want to see all the shops; to venture through the forest that lines the edge of the Leaf and its mountains; to finally attend the Academy the Lord Hokage told me I'd have to attend; and, I want to climb to the top of the cliff of rocky heads that sits high up above the Lord Hokage's mansion. At first, I'd found it odd to have a mountain of heads, until I was told they represented the previous Hokage to have protected the village.

I worry about what will happen when I get to the Academy. The Lord Hokage had told me that other children my age go there, too, to train hard to become strong and protect their home.

If I become strong, just like them... will I be able to protect it, too?

The very thought makes me shake with excitement as I walk down the sun-bathed street. At this hour, there are still just as many villagers out and about as there had been this afternoon. Some travel in small groups with either their friends or their relatives, and some go along on their lonesome. There is one thing about most of them that stand out to my eyes, and that is the steel-plated bands placed somewhere upon their bodies.

My keen nose pulls me abruptly from my thoughts as the smell of boiled leeks, meat, and garlic wafts through the air.

"Is that... ramen?" I say. I realize I must be starving to be able to smell it so strongly, especially since it ends up being a half a dozen blocks away from the street I currently stand in the middle of. I'd turned the corner and found a cabin-sized shack with the name "ICHIRAKU RAMEN" printed across the split banners that hang over the entrance.

"Yum, ramen!" I cheer on my way over to it.

I've never smelt anything as good as this. It smells even better than Makara-sensei's cooking, and that's saying something. Her cooking had been the best, although I'd never had anything else to compare it to. If this place can top it...

If it isn't obvious enough, I love ramen. I love almost every kind of ramen there is. Tonkotsu is my favourite, as Makara-sensei had always seemed to have all the ingredients stocked up whenever I had asked for her to make it for me. I'm generally a terrible cook, except for the few very simple things like rice or eggs or fish. I burn almost all the food I touch, so I stick to cleaning.

I weave in and out through the other villagers, and then push a piece of the banner away to avoid getting hit in the face by it. Taking a seat on a short wooden stool that was placed in front of a low table, I smile up at the people who turn around from a counter littered with different kinds of vegetables and meats— an old man and a teenage girl. Large silver pots are simmering on the stove next to it, occupying each of the flaming burners.

"Hello, there," the old man greets me brightly. His unopened eyes suddenly narrow down at me. "I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"I just arrived from the Hidden Snow Village this morning," I say, smiling back at them. "I've just moved here; my name is Kari Yamada."

"Well, welcome to the Hidden Leaf Village, Kari," the girl says, pulling a white bowl decorated with pink and red flowers from a stack of other bowls. "I'm Ayame, and this is my father, Teuchi."

"It's nice to meet you," I reply, bowing my head as she turns back around to tend to the stove. "Say... can I ask you something?"

"Of course," says Mr. Teuchi. I start grinning when I gesture to the road behind me.

"Where do I get one of those headbands everyone is wearing?" I ask. Mr. Teuchi shakes his head, letting out a quiet chuckle that confuses me. "W-What did I say?"

"You make it sound like you could just buy one from the shops," he says, grabbing the ladle that Ayame had been holding out for him so he can put some of the broth from one of the pots into the bowl. "A Shinobi headband is earned once a student graduates from the Academy and becomes a Genin."

"A Genin?" I repeat. "What's that?"

"A Genin is the first rank a Ninja achieves," he explains. "In order to become a Genin, a Shinobi must pass the graduation exam. There are two other ranks: Chūnin and Jōnin. A Genin can become a Chūnin by passing the Chūnin Exams, and a Chūnin can become a Jōnin by either a recommendation or a test."

"What do they do?" I ask, yearning for more information. Mr. Teuchi just chuckles.

"You should save your enthusiasm for the Academy, Kari," he says, reaching over the serving counter to pat my head. "They need more kids like you."

"And what does that mean?" I insist. When he doesn't answer me, I sigh in defeat and slump against the table.

"Hey, Kari." Ayame appears beside her father after returning from a room to the left of her. "What kind of ramen would you like? It's on the house!"

"W-What?" I blink several times. "You r-really don't have to—""How come you never give me free ramen?!" a sudden, harsh voice demands. At the arrival of the voice, I turn my head in time to see a short blond boy plop down in the stool next to me.

"Ah, Naruto," Mr. Teuchi says, wiping his freshly washed hands on his apron. "The usual, right?" The boy nods, leaning into the table.

I find it extremely funny how easy he had been able to evade the boy's question, and what's even funnier is the gleeful look on the boy's face, making it pretty obvious that Mr. Teuchi's strategy had worked. And even though the ramen isn't ready, Naruto takes a pair of wooden chopsticks from the container on the counter in front of us and pulls them apart. Clicking them together, he twists himself around in his chair and stares hard at me. I swallow.

"H-Hello," I greet quietly, sending a small wave his way. Since being in the Hidden Leaf, starting a conversation has proved a little problematic. Where are you even supposed to begin? Really, the only problem is just deciding on which words I should say to them. Thankfully, Naruto speaks up first, sparing me.

"I've never seen you before," he mutters, squinting over at me. I smile nervously at him, feeling slightly embarrassed under his gaze as he attempts to recognize me. "Nope, never. Who're you?"

"I'm Kari," I say automatically. "I'm not originally from here, so t-that's probably why..."

"Well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" he introduces himself cheerily, "and I'm gonna be Hokage!"

"Y-You are?" I say, surprised. He nods in confirmation. "But isn't there already a Hokage?" He nods again, still smiling. "But... but then... Oh, you mean you'll be the next Hokage." I laugh, red-faced, at my stupidity. "Well, Naruto, I hope you do become Hokage."

"Thanks!" Naruto says. Mr. Teuchi, who turns around with Naruto's bowl in his hands, sets it down in front of him, where the blond-haired boy immediately starts shoveling its contents into his mouth with his chopsticks.

"So, Kari," Mr. Teuchi says, smiling down at me, "have you decided what kind you'd like?" I look over to Naruto, who pauses to look at me in the same moment.

"Could I have a bowl of tonkatsu, please?" I finally decide. Naruto has already eaten half of his bowl. "... with extra narutomaki!"

"H-Hey, Naruto?!" I call ahead of me, struggling to keep my footing as he drags me up a long and winding set of stairs. Well, first it had been the streets of Konoha, and then the rooftops of several buildings, and if it hadn't been for those Taijutsu lessons Makara-sensei had given me, then I just might've died jumping over the edges of them! I'm incredibly thankful for that. "N-Naruto?!"

"Just wait!" he shouts over the wind, laughing as he turns to continue up an eleventh staircase. Where does his stamina come from?! "I want you to see something!"

It hasn't even been an hour since we first exchanged names, and yet, I feel... as though its been an entire lifetime. He's told me quite a bit about the village, about the people, about the Academy, his goal of becoming Hokage... I had been right think of him as a possible new best friend, except now, I think that instead of "possible", the correct word should be "probable", as in, we already are friends.

What a wonderful feeling this is, to have the chance to make a connection with someone, to share even the smallest of bonds with them! I just hope that the small bond I now share with Naruto will go on forever.

I struggle to keep my balance, constantly tripping over my feet as Naruto suddenly pulls me ahead of him, covering my eyes with his hands.

"Naruto, w-where are we going?" I ask shakily, breathless, depending solely on my memory to remember how thick the steps were so I could climb them without getting a concussion.

"We're almost there," I hear him say over the wind. "I've always wanted to bring someone here, but..."

"... why didn't you?" I ask him, when he'd stopped talking suddenly. He sounded... so sad. I have to know why. He pauses on one of the steps, his hands still a blindfold to my vision.

"No one would come with me," he says. My lips part, a small gasp passing between them. This kind person, this bright ball of fun... Why wouldn't anyone want to go with him?

"Naruto," I start.

"It doesn't matter now, though," he says, interrupting me. "You're with me, and that's all that matters now!" And with that, he continues to walk me up the steps, until we've finally reached flat ground all around us. "Okay, just keep walking straight, you're almost there!"

And then suddenly, we've stopped, a metal bar now pressing against my middle. And then Naruto removes his hands, and I blink to adjust my eyes to my new surroundings, and...

"T... This is... beautiful..."

From where I stand next to Naruto, I stare out over the stone mountain of Hokage heads and down at the village. From here, I can see everything: all the lights that keep it alive during the night glow, almost like the stars that used to shine back in the Snow. I can see the Lord Hokage's mansion, which is a long way away beneath us. I can even see the rooftop of my home, sitting on the opposite side of the village near the main gates, secluded by the little forest around it.

"A lot of people always come here," Naruto says, leaning against the metal railing at the edge. I dare to peer over it, my legs stiff and my hands wrapped tight around the bar. "... at least... they do when I'm not around."

I frown at him, before taking note of his eyes. Before, they were a brilliant blue, bright with joy, and now, they're dark, clouded by... some kind of pain. The look on his face... he's in... so much pain.

I suddenly feel even worse than I had before. Ever since Makara-sensei's death, I hadn't been able to actually properly process what my current standings were. I'd lost my mother and my father, and with the probability of them not actually being dead being very, very slim, it's hard to cast out any hope. And then, I'd lost my grandmother, who had probably been my only family left in the world.

Naruto... he probably has a family. Ayame and Teuchi have each other, and I'm sure that the Lord Hokage probably has a wife and their own children, who in turn, probably have children of their own...

At this point... just who do I have left?

"Naruto." I place a shaking hand on his should, still nervous from being so high up, and give it a squeeze, in an attempt to give him any sort of comfort. I don't know if I'd be any good at giving it yet. I've never had much experience with sad people... or any people. "Please tell me why you're so sad."

For a long time, Naruto is quiet. Even when I give him a slight shake on his arm, he doesn't speak. Is he... He's not ignoring me on purpose, is he? I don't know. Or maybe he's just too upset to speak right now. Whatever the case, I'm determined to make him happy again.

"Everyone hates me," he suddenly says.

"B-But why?" I ask, tilting my head downward to look at his now downcast face. "You're so nice!"

"That's the thing... I don't know why they hate me," he tells me. "That's why I want to be Hokage, so everyone will respect me and have to look up to me. And thanks... you are, too."

I... I know I came from a place where only two people existed together... but to learn that so many people could hate someone, a child, it... I-I feel sick.

"I respect you, Naruto," I say, staring directly at him. Looking shocked, his head whips in my direction, his lips parted. "I also look up to you, too, for having such a beautiful dream. Even though we just met today, and I don't know you that well yet, I... I truly believe that you will become Hokage, someday." His blue eyes shimmer under the moonlight, and I lose my place by looking into them.

"Y-You do?" he says, his tone disbelieving, as if I didn't mean it. But I do mean it, with my whole heart.

"Of course," I say with a smile. "You have such a big heart, and I'm sure you're a talented Shinobi. I'm not quite sure what it takes to become a Hokage, but I'd... still like to be there for you to see that you get there, Naruto, if that's okay?" He lets out an embarrassed chuckle.

"... so, then... we're friends, now... right?" he says. My face flushes with heat, relieved. He does want to be friends. Thank goodness.

"I guess we have the ramen to thank for this, huh?" I realize, grinning. Tucking his hands behind his head, he grins, too, and starts swaying back and forth on his heels.

"It was really good, huh, Kari?"

"It was great, Naruto!"

Life might not always go the way I'll want it to, but I know that this life will keep on living. After all, I did make a promise!

Updated January 13th, 2020
2,547 words