[ Voice ]

[ramenkage]

 [ There is silence for a long, long time--He'd died, on that trip. He should be dead. Yet...here he was, a-ok. Breathing. Alive

The hell... ]

Hey...is everyone who went on that exploration trip okay? I--[ I died. I should be dead. ]--wanted to make sure those skin stealing bastards didn't get their hands on [ sakura ] anyone else, yeah? Just...let me know everything turned out okay. 






Heh...they couldn't keep me down for long, huh? Yeah yeah, I'm too cool to be gone for good. [ He tries to sound boastful. Obnoxious.  Like himself. It sounds forced, though. He's too worried about Sakura and the others.




If they had died...would they come back, too? ]

Comments

[sthenic]

Yeah, it's nothing. ((She smiles and shows him the little item, then approaches to slide out of the room. Looks like she'd taken the time to straighten the sheets on Naruto's bed too.))

1/2

[ramenkage]

[ ...


It takes everything he's got to stop himself from gathering her into another hug. ]

Sakura...

[ramenkage]

Want some ramen?


[ Noodles: The solution to everything. ]

[sthenic]

Ha--?

((A pause; she smiles, almost laughing.)) Yeah, sure, why not? Just give me a second, alright?

[ramenkage]

Yeah, no problem. I've gotta heat up some water, anyway. [ He somehow manages a more normal, goofy-looking grin. ]

[sthenic]

((Sakura's quick to slip by. She sets the forgotten item, her headband, on her dresser and looks at herself in the mirror quick. She always looked a bit like a mess since arriving in Discedo, but leaning into the mirror slightly saw that her eyes were still red from crying on him. How embarrassing... A quick tissue, she tries to make herself at least feel like she hadn't bawled every day the last week...

She comes out again, taking her seat at the little counter they ate at. A pause as she watches, sort of smiling. It's amazing to her what she had to be grateful for.))

[ramenkage]

[ Once she leaves he quietly goes to heat some water, staring at it absently until he hears her coming down the hall--Replacing the blank expression with something more cheerful. Well, an attempt at cheerful, though the thought of Ramen is enough to lift his spirits somewhat.

Once the water's heated, he pops open the tops of the Ramen cups and pours the water in, closing the tops to let them sit for a few minutes--turning he grins, setting her Ramen on the counter in front of her. ]

Ta-Da!

[sthenic]

((A smile.))

Thanks, Naruto...



Are you... feeling any better?

1/3

[ramenkage]

Yeah, I'll be okay.

[ A smile to prove his point, before he sits down to enjoy his ramen-- ]

[ramenkage]

[ Only as he opens the top, the ramen tips over, spilling it's delicious, noodle-y insides all over the counter. ]

[ramenkage]

SHIT!

1/2

[sthenic]

Ah--((She jumps away, not wanting to her clothes covered in noodles. A pause..))

[sthenic]

((And she starts to laugh.))

Geeze, Naruto, you're as clumsy as ever. Here, just have mine and I'll clean up.

[ramenkage]

No, no. That's yours. [ And as much as he'd like to, he's not gonna take it from her. ]

[sthenic]

You like ramen better than I do.

((Spoken with that matter-of-fact tone. Annnd cleaning up that mess now.))

[ramenkage]

Yeah, but...[ He made it specifically for her. ] Maybe we could split it?

[sthenic]

...

((She takes the fallen bowl and stands it up, sliding both to him.)) Just split that up then... if you could.

[ramenkage]

Right! [ And he will do just that! Maybe leaving more in her bowl than in his. Gosh isn't he the sweetest. ]

[sthenic]

((The spilt noodles don't get thrown away, fortunately--Sakura knew better than to waste good food. She returns, and eyes the bow she got, then glances at Naruto.

There's a sort of laugh on her lips.))

Hey, you know, we ended up finding treasure after all. I think the chest is already open, too. We can go stop by and check out what's inside later, if you want?