Chapter 6: Start Of A New Life

After arriving in Konoha and telling Naruto that she will be sharing the apartment with him courtesy of the third Hokage Karin had woken up from her sleep and she had never felt so good before. Sitting up the redhead stretched her arms out and gave out a really loud yawn and she was pleased with having the best sleep she had ever had in her life until now.

''I've never ever felt so good waking up.'' Thought the redhead as she got off of Naruto's bed that she had taken control of the night before.

Getting up off of the bed the girl had noticed that she was still wearing her normal shinobi clothes and still had her newly acquired Konoha headband tied around her head and it was right then and there she realized that she had forgotten to go clothes shopping the previous night before and she felt embarrassed.

''I need new clothes..'' Karin said to herself.

The only thing positive about her sleeping in Naruto's. Speaking of Naruto she remembered also that last night she had rendered him unconscious by spraying her trademark perfume attack.

''I should go check on him.''

The redhead walked over to the wall mirror the blonde had in his room and saw that her red hair was in a messy bed head but she didn't mind. ''I look silly..I should've at least gathered my stuff from my house in Kusa before moving here..now I have to buy stuff.''

She then opens the door and saw the blonde sleeping peacefully on the floor of his living room and she thought he looked really cute in that weird position he was in, his butt up and his face down into the couch's cushion. She smiled sadistically to herself as she thought that she should wake up her blonde friend. Tip toeing her way toward the couch and blonde she got a hold of both his shoulders and began to shake him violently.

''WAKE UP NARUTO!" The girl screamed at the top of her lungs.

The speed she was shaking the blonde was enough to turn the boy into a literal blur, almost like a yellow flash and soon enough he began to groan as a result of being shaken violently.

''Oh Kami, Karin stop I think I'm gonna throw up!" Said the blonde.

Hearing the blonde's pleas the redhead ceased her shaking of her friend and set Naruto down and the blonde boy dusted himself off and adjusted his naturally messy hair.

''Thanks for letting me sleep on your bed blondie, it's the most comfortable thing I've ever slept on!" Exclaimed the girl.

''Hey! If I remember correctly you sprayed that weird perfume at me and it knocked me out so you stole my bed from me!" Naruto protested.

''It was because you told me to sleep on the couch! Seriously I thought you were a gentleman!'' Karin retorted.

''I am! Kami I can't believe you knocked me out and stole my bed for the night. My place has two rooms so we can go out and get you a bed of your own ya know.''

Karin knew that moving in with Naruto would come with its own perks such as him buying her food and other household accessories such as perfumes, clothes and...feminine items that she thought the blonde would freak out over buying for her. She didn't even go to Kusa right after the preliminaries and instead went with Naruto and his team straight back to Konoha so that left her with only the clothes on her back and she needed some new things pronto.

''Alright Naruto, today you're going to show me around Konoha and where all the clothes stores are because since we came straight from the tower I need new clothes and make up.'' Karin said authoritatively.

Taking a good look at the girl Naruto noticed that she still wore the same clothes she's been wearing since they met in the Forest of Death and how her hair was messy the blonde almost burst out laughing at how silly his friend looked but he knew that if he did laugh Karin would most likely break his arms and probably kill him with those weird chain things she uses.

''Karin your hair looks really funny, you look like a wrinkled tomato and you stink!" Exclaimed the blonde, pinching his nostrils shut with his hands.

A tic mark formed on Karin's forehead and instantly the redhead grabbed the blonde by the collar of his shirt and held him in the air and began to shake him violently like she had done a few minutes earlier.

''What did you call me Naruto?! You really want to die today huh?!''

''Okay Karin I'm sorry! I'm sorry please stop!" Naruto pleaded before noticing some strange marks on both her forearms. ''Hey, what are these weird marks on your arms?''

Almost immediately Karin stopped shaking her roommate and looked at the marks on her hand and as quickly as she picked him up she dropped the blonde on his behind and turned around trying to hide her forearms from plain sight.

''I-it's nothing Naruto! Just some scars I got when I lived in Kusa.'' Said the redhead defensively.

Getting up and dusting himself off the blonde walked over to Karin and placed a hand on her shoulder. ''C'mon Karin, you can tell me anything I'm all ears. Did you self-harm yourself when you lived in Kusa?''

''He only thinks they're scars from cutting myself? He must've only caught a glimpse of them. Good, because I would die if he saw that these are bite marks.'' Karin thought before turning around, arms still crossed over her chest to hide her weird scars from his prying eyes. ''Y-yeah, remember when I said I was picked on and stuff? Those bullies caused me to self-harm..so..yeah these are scars from using kunai knives on myself.''

''Well you shouldn't have to worry about people picking on you here Karin because Konoha is one of the most friendliest villages out of the five! People here are very friendly so you should fit right in.'' The blonde said enthusiastically.

Karin smiled at her roommate's optimism.

''I hope so, now we need to go and buy me some stuff Naruto because I have nothing.''

''No problem, but first maybe you should change into some of my clothes that don't fit me anymore. I have a few t-shirts that should be about your size.''

''Good, then let me try them on. Hurry hurry come on move it.'' Karin demanded.

The blonde held his hands up in surrender and quickly made his way into his room and walked back out with some sweatpants and t-shirts that looked like he had outgrown them and Karin hoped they would fit her. The blonde boy ran back toward Karin and handed her a plain white t-shirt that seemed too small for him and she took it and went to take her current shirt off before stopping abruptly when she noticed she was about to get nude in front of Naruto.

''What the heck you pervert!" Karin growled.

''What?!''

''Why are you just standing there when I'm about to undress?! Are you trying to sneak a peek of me or what?!''

''What are you talking about?! If you wanted to change you literally could've just went to the bathroom and not make a hassle about it.'' Naruto said, his hands held up in defense. ''Damn, I hope she didn't notice I looked down to try and catch a glimpse of her belly if she did take her shirt off.''

Karin knew that her friend was right and the only reason she made it looked like she was going to change in front of him was to see if he would try to steal glances at her and she hoped he did.

Despite being teenagers Naruto could tell she was developing well into a young woman and they both were currently fourteen.

''Anyway, I'll go shower now and I can show you around the village so please be patient Karin.'' Said the blonde.

''You'd better hurry up and make it a quick shower Naruto or I'll go in there and toss your ass out do you understand me?'' Karin growled. ''I don't like to be kept waiting blondie.''

Naruto held his hands up in mock surrender. ''Alright alright sheesh.''

He then walked off to his room to get some of new clothes for the day and after doing so he headed into the shower while Karin waited on the couch.

''You can relax on the bed if you want but just don't go through my things please.'' Said the blonde.

Karin snorted before heading for Naruto's room. ''Psh, whatever you say.''

The redhead then closed the door to the bedroom and Naruto prayed to Kami that she wouldn't go through and potentially take one of his belongings. Karin then began to rummage through Naruto's used clothes basket and took a big whiff of a white t-shirt that he had and sighed in content before stuffing it in her bag. She leaped onto the bed to wait for the blonde to finish his shower so that she can freshen up. She then made her way back to the bathroom door and stood there for a second before placing her ear against the door and heard the blonde whistling as he showered.

''Man I love taking a hot shower!" Naruto exclaimed.

It took the blonde teen about ten minutes to clean himself up and as soon as she heard the shower turn off and hearing Naruto push the curtain out of the way she kicked the door open catching the blonde completely off guard.

''What the heck?!'' A towel clad Naruto exclaimed.

''You're done! My turn so get out!"

The power of Karin's voice was enough to rattle the bathroom and left Naruto cowering in fear hoping Karin wasn't going to unleash some more of her anger on him.

''Oh god! You're so loud!" He cried out, hands covering his ears.

Karin didn't respond to his comment and grabbing the extra unused towel that was folded neatly on a nearby stand she grabbed Naruto by the hem of his towels and quite literally threw him out of the bathroom causing the towel that covered him to fly off.

''When a lady showers you don't even think about bothering her! If I catch you peeking I'll kill you!" Karin shouted before closing the door.

Naruto sat up and rubbed his temple as he landed on the wooden floor of his apartment enough that it was sore.

''Why are girls always like that?!'' He shouted before covering his mouth. ''Oops, hope Karin didn't hear that or I'd definitely be dead.''

Noticing that the mirror was still fogged up from the steam from Naruto's shower the redhead wiped some of it away so that she can get a good view of herself and her bed head. Boy did she really look silly, Naruto was right about how she looked.

''It feels like it's been forever since I've taken a good, nice and long hot shower.'' She thought before taking her clothes off and letting it fall off her body.

She turns the handle for hot water and in almost an instant the steamy, hot liquid began to poor out of the shower head and the room began to slowly become steamy. Reaching for the pouring water she gently placed a hand and was met with joy when the temperature of the water was just how she liked it. Hot but still enjoyable and comfortable for her to clean herself. Karin then hopped into the shower and sighed in content at the lovely feeling of the hot shower water all over her body.

''Kusa never had hot showers that felt this nice..it was always cold or not very warm.'' Thought the redhead.

She closed her eyes and saw the shampoo Naruto had and took the bottle and opened it. Sniffing it she was glad that it had a more feminine scent to it and poured some in her hand and began applying it to her hair until it looked like she had a hair made up of suds. The girl took a good half an hour before she was finally satisfied with her shower and turned the faucet off and grabbed the two extra towels that was in the bathroom. She wrapped it around her body before taking the second towel and wrapping it around her wet hair.

''Karin are you done yet? I've set some clothes for you on the bed in my room.'' Naruto said from the other side of the door.

''Yeah I'm done, just give me a second.'' Replied Karin.

The redhead took a good look at herself in the mirror once more and admired how cleaned she looked. If there was one thing she liked so far about Konoha it was that the water was much cleaner than in Kusa where sometimes it would turn brown on an almost regular basis. Turning toward the door she opened it and saw that Naruto was making something in the kitchen and the scent was something she recognized immediately.

''Are you making ramen Naruto?''

The blonde turned around and smiled at his friend. He was clad in a white t-shirt with a frog on it and shorts. ''Mhm, I thought it would be cool if you tried my home cooked ramen since Ichiraku's, the place where I normally get my daily serving of ramen won't be open until later today.''

''Sounds good, let me go and get dressed.''

Karin then walked off toward Naruto's room and closed the door to change. Looking at the bed Karin saw that he had left her a black t-shirt that would fit her just right and gray sweatpants and she almost laughed when he left her a pair of his boxers too. The shirt wasn't enough to cover her scarred arms so she opted to wrap bandages around them.

''Good thing I always bring a pair of underwear with me.'' Karin thought before reaching into her bag and taking said garments out.

She quickly got dressed and using a towel to completely dry her hair it was left in it's signature style and content with everything she left the room and saw that Naruto had finished making the ramen and was filling two bowls with the food. After filling both of their bowls he sets two chopsticks in each of them before sitting down in front of his own.

''Hey Karin the food's ready!'' The blonde said motioning for her to sit at the table.

Karin smiled at walked over to join her blonde friend and sat down across the table from him.

''It smells really good Naruto.''

''Of course it does! I made it ya know? Go ahead and dig in.''

Karin took the two chopsticks and picked the bowl up positioning it near her face. ''Don't mind if I do!"

The two teenagers gobbled down the ramen at such speeds that the soup began to splash all over the table and after emptying his bowl Naruto gave out a loud burp and sigh of satisfaction.

''Oh man, I really love ramen I would hate for it to stop existing.'' He said.

''Finally, I was wondering when you were gonna finish.'' Karin spoke.

Naruto looked at Karin and noticed that she had her arms crossed and a smirk plastered on her face.

''You eat slow do you know that blondie?''

''Wait what, how did you eat it so fast!? We started at the same time.'' Questioned a now confused Naruto.

''Better question is, why do you eat so slow?'' Karin refuted.

Naruto decided not to argue against his friend and shrugged it off before taking the ladle and went to scoop up some more ramen. He held it closer to Karin who held her bowl and positioned it under the utensil.

''That's right Naruto, give me more ramen.'' She said with a scowl.

After filling her bowl up in two scoops the blonde went to fill his own bowl but the sounds of Karin devouring her ramen caught his attention and he set his eyes on his friend. He admits, her hair is really beautiful. He always thought Sakura was the prettiest girl in his class but when he met Karin there was no way to compare the two. He knew that Karin was easier to talk to and she had some similar traits to him as well as similar personalities. He learned that they both liked ramen and when they were growing up nobody really liked them except he thought she had it just a bit worse since she never had friends. Sakura and Sasuke stood up for him when the upperclassmen at their academy tried to bully him and both Kakashi and Rin had a debate on who would get to train him and he still wondered why. He absolutely loved the glasses on her too as they fit her and made her look very sophisticated which she truly was. Naruto wanted to understand why she got picked on despite being a surprisingly good fighter but decided to bring that up another time.

''Naruto I want another bowl! Hello?''

Karin noticed that the blonde was just staring at her in a dreamy state she leaned on the table and waved a hand in front of him.

''Hello?! Earth to Naruto?!''

''Huh? What?''

''I said I'm ready for bowl number three, now c'mon and fill this thing up with more food now!" Karin instructed.

''Oh sorry, I was just zoning out.'' Said the blonde as he began to fill her bowl once more.

The two spent the next hour having a ramen eating contest that Karin initiated and to Naruto's surprise he was beaten badly by the girl and this left him speechless.

''Looks like I win with a lead of ten servings!" Declared the girl.

''Yeah, I thought I ate fast but crap.'' A shocked Naruto muttered.

''And it looks like I ate all the ramen.'' She said, crossing her arms as if she accomplished something.

''Yeah, looks like I have some serious competition when it comes to eating ramen. I won't let her take my spot as the best ramen eater in Konoha that's for sure." Naruto thought. ''So Karin, now that you ate all of my ramen do you want me to show you around the village?''

''That's exactly what I had planned blondie, not only do I want you to show me around the village, I want you to show me where all the best restaurants are and we can go, well, you can show me were the clothes store is and we'll get some new ones for myself. Also, we need some air freshener for your house because it smells like boys in here.'' Said Karin.

''Okay! Sounds like a plan. Let's clean up first though.''

Together Naruto and Karin expertly cleaned the table and after picking up food that had dropped to the floor as well as washing the dishes they then headed out to walk around the village.

-Streets of Konoha-

''Wow, this village is so bustling and active during the day.'' Karin said in awe as she saw lots and lots of people going about their daily routines as they walk through the central district of the village.

''Sure it is! Konoha is the most populated and largest of the great villages! You can meet all kinds of people here.'' Naruto said.

The two teens continued their leisurely walk and Karin noticed that there were a lot of stands on the side of the road selling various goods from street food to ninja tools and this was nothing like she had when living in Kusa.

''In Kusa we never see a lot of people roaming around the village it was almost quiet everyday.'' Said the girl.

''Oh really? I guess it makes sense since Kusa is one of the smallest villages right now.'' Replied the blonde. ''Hey, there's the biggest clothes store we have in the village.''

Karin looked at where the blonde was pointing and saw a large building situated at the end of the road and saw a picture of clothes as well as a kunai.

''Not only is it a clothes store Karin it also sells equipment for the shinobi here.''

The excitement was all too much for Karin to handle and she took off but not before grabbing the blonde by the hand and dashed straight for the store.

''Let's go then!''

''Slow down Karin"! Naruto shouted but his call fell on deaf ears as he was dragged across the road to the building.

Karin charged straight through the door causing a huge dust cloud to fly into the store and the shinobi who were already inside shopping coughed from the sheer thickness and volume of it. As the dust cloud cleared Naruto was seen slowly flailing around as the speed Karin had ran while dragging him behind made him a bit dizzy. Karin? Well she was looking in every possible direction looking at all the items on display on the shelves in the store.

''Now this is what you call a store!" Declared the redhead. ''I am really starting to like Konoha Naruto, in Kusa we had to make our weapons and clothes by hand.''

''Gee, that's nice to know Karin..'' Naruto said, still dazed. ''Anyway, how do you like it? It's pretty neat huh?''

''Neat? It's amazing!'' Karin shouted excitedly.

Before they could go and shop a brown-haired girl with two buns walked up to them with her hands on her hips.

''Hey you two please don't be so loud!''

Naruto and Karin turned around and the blonde instantly recognized the girl as one of his fellow Genin.

''Hey Tenten!"

''Naruto? That was you causing all the ruckus?'' Tenten asked before noticing Karin. ''Aren't you the girl from Kusa who fought and beat Choji?''

Karin looked at Tenten and recognized her as one of the members from Team Guy. you could never miss those buns.

''Yeah, aren't you the girl who fought against Sakura?'' Asked Karin.

''That would be me.''

''Oh, it's too bad you lost. I was surprised pinky beat you considering you almost beat her just with the use of weapons as well. You seem to be fine too.'' Karin said.

''Yeah, you were in pretty bad shape at the end, how did you heal so fast?'' Naruto questioned curiously.

Tenten only smiled. ''Goes to show you that Konoha always had the best medics around. So what are you guys doing here?''

''We're shopping of course! Old man Hokage had Karin become a kunoichi of our village since Kusa didn't want her back.'' Naruto answered.

The mentioning of the word Kusa made Karin feel anger inside but knew that if she lashed out she would be viewed as that one redheaded girl that was constantly on her period.

''He's right.''

Karin's sudden voice made Naruto and Tenten look in her direction.

''What?'' Said Tenten.

Karin looked up from the floor and looked Tenten in the eyes and the brown-haired girl could see the emotion in them.

''My stupid village doesn't want me because after the preliminaries ended the Hokage contacted Kusa's leader to ask about me and they pretended like I didn't exist. So the old man thought I would be better off living here in Konoha which I'm glad for since Kusa is a really terrible place for an outcast like me.'' Explained Karin.

''Oh, I see, I never knew you had a hard life growing up Karin, sorry to hear.'' Said Tenten.

''Eh, don't worry about it, they have no idea how much of a loss it is for them to get rid of me.'' Karin said shrugging.

Naruto patted Karin on the shoulder to show his support for his friend and even though he couldn't read her mind she was grateful she had met him in the forest because if he didn't show up who knows? Maybe she would've been killed by those Iwa Genin or eaten by some snake.

''Say, since you told me that the Hokage transferred you here you're a kunoichi of this village with me. You can probably tell this store sells everything we would want so why don't you and Naruto take a look around?'' Tenten suggested.

''Aren't you a customer here too?'' Karin asked.

Naruto and Tenten both shook their heads.

''She isn't Karin, her parents own this store!" Said the blonde.

''That they do, sadly they aren't feeling well today so I took it upon myself to run it for the day. Feel free to look around and come to the register once you're all set.'' Tenten said before waving at them and she walks away.

''Now that's out of the way should we get shop..woah!''

Naruto felt Karin grabbed him by the hand and once again ran throughout the whole store and she was amazed by what they had in stock.

''Wow! Look at all those kunai and shuriken!" She exclaimed before seeing another display of weapons. ''Look at those katanas!''

''Hey we're only getting you a few things and clothes!" Naruto said hoping she wouldn't ask for the sword.

Karin immediately turned around and shot her blonde friend a glare. ''I don't care, you're getting me what I tell you to get understand?''

The evil tone in her voice made Naruto inwardly shiver in pure fear of her wrath. What a stupid thing to do with her by denying her what she wants.

''Uh..uh..okay..go ahead and pick whatever you want out..I'll pay for it.'' The blonde said.

Karin then patted Naruto on the head like a pet. ''That's a good blondie. Now get me that sword so we can move on!"

Naruto reluctantly took the sword off it's display and Karin took off again and he followed.

''This is gonna be a depressing shopping experience.'' He thought.

Karin ran throughout the whole store the entire time they were there and every time she stopped at a display she would always pick out an item from it and so far Naruto was carrying a fairly large load of various items ranging from several kunai and shuriken holsters, several scrolls as well as a book on increasing one's skill in medical ninjutsu.

Almost three hours would pass before Karin had finally concluded her shopping by picking out an entire aisle of clothes and the blonde didn't even question why she needed to many and just assumed it was a girl thing to have that much clothes.

''There we go! I'm all done Naruto now can you be a sweetheart and pay for me?'' Karin said sweetly.

Naruto was having trouble carrying all the items she had gotten and a pair of kunai almost fell off and landed on his face.

''S-sure thing Karin could you wait outside please?''

Karin smiled a sickeningly sweet smile to her friend and walked out of the store to wait for him as the blonde struggled to make his way toward Tenten who was awaiting his arrival at the register. The sight proved to be humorous for the various other shoppers and they couldn't help but laugh lightly at the blonde's predicament, Tenten included.

He continued to push onward toward the brown-haired girl and every step he took he almost toppled over and it took a good solid five minutes before he finally tossed the pile of items as gently as he could onto the counter.

''So Naruto, how do you like shopping with a girl?'' Tenten asked as she began to bag the items.

''Oh man..that was the worst experience of my life! I never want to do that again!'' Naruto exclaimed rubbing his tired and sore arms.

''You know if you went shopping with me I wouldn't take long like Karin did..okay maybe I would but I wouldn't let you carry everything.''

Tenten finished bagging all the items and Naruto took out his wallet and pulled out an enormous sum of money. The total price was a grand total of 111,897 ryo and that made the blonde's eye almost fly out his socket.

''Why do girls always insist on having the guy spend so much money shopping?!'' Screamed Naruto as he handed the money to Tenten.

''Honestly, even us girls don't know, but you got to remember that she only just became a Konoha kunoichi Naruto so she's broke right now.'' Tenten said as she took the money. ''Here's the receipt Naruto, see you around and good luck in the finals!"

Naruto summoned several dozen shadow clones to carry the bags with him and together they all headed toward the exit.

''Thanks Tenten! Hope you'll be rooting for me!"

The blondes made their way out of the door and the real Naruto spotted Karin sitting on a bench on the sidewalk and she noticed him and his clones carrying all the bags.

''A man should always carry the bag for the lady Naruto, hope you know that.'' She said in a matter of fact tone.

''Yeah yeah..whatever you say Karin.'' All the Naruto's said in unison. ''So where to now?''

''Well you tell me blondie, you're the tour guide after all.'' Snorted the redhead.

Naruto took a moment to think about what he can show Karin next.

''Hm, I got it, why don't we go out to my favorite ramen stand?'' He suggested.

Karin was about to object but then her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl. ''That sounds like a good idea, I could use some food in my stomach..'' She said rubbing it.

''Awesome, but first let's drop the bags at my house before doing so, I don't feel like carrying all this.'' Naruto said.

''Sounds good, I wouldn't want to walk around wearing these, I want to try on some of the clothes I got.''

-Ichiraku Ramen Stand-

After heading back to Naruto's house to put all of Karin's new ninja tools and clothes away the two friends were now headed toward the east side of Konoha where the ramen stand was. Karin had taken off the t-shirt and sweatpants Naruto had her temporarily wear and changed into a set of new clothes. Her new outfit consisted of a purple long sleeved shirt with a white t-shirt under it with black shorts. She wore black sandals with mesh leggings and she had caught Naruto eyeing her when she changed and bonked him on the forehead that was enough to leave a little bump on it.

''You never gawk at a woman like that, you had to learn the hard way huh?'' Karin said as they approached the stand.

''It wasn't my fault you looked good in your new clothes! I'm sure any guy would look at you too I mean, you're quite pretty so expect a guy to look at you.'' Naruto said in defense, until he realized what he said.

Karin blushed at his unintended and unexpected compliment and the two stopped in their tracks right at the counter of the ramen stand.

''Uh, I mean..'' Naruto couldn't think of something to say in his defense.

''D-don't worry about it Naruto, I'm sure you didn't mean to say that.'' Karin said. ''It's nice to know you see me that way..''

''I did mean it though.'' Naruto thought.

The two teenagers stood there completely silent as they looked at each other until..

''Naruto! It's been a week since your last visit!'' A girl with brown hair with a cloth wrapped on her head and a white apron exclaimed.

The girl's voice caught both teens off guard and they nearly jumped through the ceiling at being caught off guard.

''Holy crap Ayame you scared me!'' Naruto said holding his hand over his rapidly beating heart.

''Yeah what's the deal?!'' Karin, who was in the same state as Naruto said.

Ayame giggled into her hand at the teens' silliness.

''Sorry for scaring you and your friend Naruto but I couldn't resist!''

Naruto and Karin took a seat in front of the girl.

''I sure miss eating the ramen here! This is Karin by the way Ayame.'' Naruto said.

''Nice to meet you, any friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine.'' Ayame said shaking hands with the redhead.

''Guess I can say the same thing, you seem really nice.'' Karin complimented.

''I've never seen you around the village before, are you a foreign friend of his?'' Questioned the waitress.

''I'm originally from Kusa, but transferred here, that's all.'' Karin answered.

''I see, so I take it that Naruto took you here on a date huh?'' Teased Ayame.

Karin and Naruto immediately blushed at the girl's teasing and they began to protest the idea.

''We are not dating Ayame! She's my friend that's all!'' Shouted Naruto.

''Where did you even get such an idea in the first place?!'' Karin screamed.

''Relax you two! I'm only joking!'' Ayame said in defense. ''Naruto I know you want the usual, what will you be having Karin?''

The notion of eating ramen calmed the two teens down and Karin looked at the small poster on the wall that had all the different flavors of ramen listed as well as all the side dishes. Having already eaten all the flavors of ramen listed she decided to have what her friend was having.

''Whatever Naruto is getting I'll get it.'' She said.

''Alright, I'll get cooking right away!"

Now that they were left alone this left Karin the opportunity to make more conversation with Naruto.

''So Naruto, the way you talked about this place earlier means you come here quite often huh?''

The blonde nodded. ''That's right, when I was growing up no other place would allow me to eat but here. Ayame's dad owns the place and he gave me free bowls of ramen as I grew up.''

That's right, Karin had forgotten that he was hated by his village and she was curious to know why.

''Why do they hate you Naruto if I may ask?''

Naruto's face softened at the question and he only looked at the counter. ''Honestly, I don't know and I've always wondered myself. Kakashi and the old man refused to tell me but I don't think they know either.''

Karin only shook her head in disapproval.

''Sounds like the Hokage and your sensei is keeping something from you.''

''Probably, but I'm not gonna pester them to know the answer, I'm sure I'll find out one day.''

''I hope you do. How could someone as likable as him be despised? I just don't understand, these villagers must be blind to see that wonderful personality of his.'' Karin thought.

''Whatever the reason is for them to not like me, I know it's much worse than what Karin went through.'' Naruto thought.

''I find it really hard to hate you, I know we haven't known each other long but from what I've seen so far you're a really likable guy Naruto. I wouldn't mind being with someone like you.'' She said teasingly.

Naruto looked at Karin with a slight blush. ''You really think so? I always thought I was annoying!''

Karin inwardly giggled at his silliness. ''Annoying yes, but very likable!"

''Thanks Karin, I can say the same thing to you too! You come off as mean..uh..um..I mean you're a very tough girl and I like that! I want a girlfriend like you some day! You're very pretty and nice."

''That's right, watch what you say around me blondie.'' Karin thought evilly, until she heard the pretty part. ''Wait..you really think I'm pretty?''

''Of course I do! Why would I lie?'' Naruto said shyly.

''You're lying.'' Karin said sternly.

''What?! I am not!"

Karin began to giggled and poked the blonde on the cheek much to his annoyance. ''Relax Naruto, I'm just messing with you.''

Naruto sighed in relief. ''Oh man! I thought you really meant that I was laying!''

''You said was, so you were lying?''

''Oh come on!"

''I'm just playing sheesh!" Karin said faking annoyance. ''No guy has ever complimented me the way you do..''

''Food is ready!" Ayame exclaimed.

The girl was carrying two bowls of ultra mega sized ramen bowls and placed them gently in front of the teens.

''I hope you two enjoy the extra extra extra extra extra pork, beef and shrimp ramen special!"

''That looks good!" Karin exclaimed and before Naruto could begin eating his bowl the redhead had already finished hers.

''Uh..that was fast.'' Naruto thought.

Naruto then began to devour his bowl at a rapid pace as Ayame set another for the redhead and before the waitress knew it the two of them got into a ramen eating contest and she could only watch in amusement as food and soup began to splash all over the counter.

*1 hour later*

''I ate so much..I think I'm pregnant with a ramen baby..'' Karin said.

''I feel like there's a human in my stomach.'' Naruto burped.

Ayame chuckled as she was amused at how much ramen and bowls these two teenagers went through.

''My my Naruto it looks like you have some serious competition for the title of ramen king!''

''I'm the ramen queen, I think the king's reign is over.'' Karin gloated.

''No it's not!''

Naruto and Karin both wanted to go another round but they knew that if they ate some more their stomachs would probably burst so the redhead decided to save the competition for another time.

''What's the bill Ayame? Naruto here is paying for our food.'' Karin said.

''Let's see...that would be... 10,000 ryo please.''

Ayame held out her hand for the money and Naruto could only gasp in shock at the amount of money Karin had him give up again.

''WHY ARE GIRLS SO EXPENSIVE?!''

-Streets of Konoha-

''Thanks for paying for our meal Naruto! You're such a sweetheart.'' Karin said giving the blonde's cheek a pinch.

''Eh...I've never seen my wallet so skinny before..'' The blonde said.

''Relax Naruto, you still have a lot of money in that thing, speaking of which, how do you fit so much money into a little wallet like that?''

''It's..magic..what do you want to do now?''

Karin placed a finger on her lip and thought about the question before shrugging. ''No idea, we went shopping my new clothes and ninja tools and we ate the best ramen I've ever eaten in my life. Your call.''

It hit him.

''Oh I know! I got a really nice place to show you and since it's sunset now is the perfect time!"

Like what Karin had did before with him the blonde grabbed her by the hand and proceeded to drag her across the entire village.

''Woooah slow down Naruto!"

-Hokage Monument-

''So you dragged me all the way here for what?'' Karin said as she dusted herself off.

''We're at the top of the Hokage monument.'' Naruto answered.

''I know that, I mean it looks cool but..''

Karin was unable to finish her sentence when she felt Naruto place a hand on the top of her head and moved her head to face west.

''Look.''

The girl was awestruck at the sight before her. Never in her life had she seen such a beautiful site in her life as she looked at the setting sun.

''Wow..''

''The reason I brought you here was because the Hokage monument is the best place to watch the sun set! I always come here to have some time to myself and my team know to never bug me when I'm up here.'' Said Naruto.

Karin kept staring at the setting sun and she was grateful that her friend had brought her here for such a breathtakingly beautiful view.

''In Kusa..we never get to see the sun set because our village is literally in the middle of a giant mushroom forest..it blocks out the sun so it's always miserable there.'' Karin said.

''Well now that you're out of that place you get to experience this view with me every evening if you want.'' Naruto said putting an arm around her.

The sudden gesture caught her off guard as she was lost in the beautiful site but welcomed the sign of affection. She had only been here for not even a day and Karin could tell Konoha was going to give her a new life and with Naruto as her friend she couldn't wait to have moments like these with him again and after almost an hour the two friends decided to head back to Naruto's apartment to call it a day.

-Naruto's Apartment-

''Huh? What's this?''

Naruto and Karin had arrived at the front door to his home only to find a note sticking to the door. Taking it the blonde and redhead read it together.

Hey Naruto, Karin. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up that since we are given one month to train you guys for the finals I've decided to start it at around 10 in the morning tomorrow. I won't be the only one training you guys since a former teammate of mine wants to pitch in as well. Anyway, that's all I have to say so I'll see you guys tomorrow at the training field.

-Kakashi

''Oh, that's right I completely forgot we still have to train for the finals.'' Karin said.

''Yeah, I forgot too but looks like we're gonna start tomorrow so maybe we should call it a night now.''

Naruto unlocked the door to his apartment and leaped onto the couch. ''I'll crash on the couch from now on Karin, you can have the bed, it's yours.''

Karin questioned why Naruto was being insistent on giving the bed to her but decided to play along with him.

''That's right, the woman comes first blondie. I'll see you in the morning Naruto.'' Karin said with a wave.

Naruto watched as she walked into his room and once she closed the door shut he had other thoughts.

''Man! I only did that so you wouldn't strangle me to death with those weird chain things she can shoot out! Girls..''

Karin walked over to the dresser and took off her top leaving her in her white t-shirt and took her sandals and leggings off and laid on the bed. She then took off her glasses and set them on the small stand beside the bed and pulled the blanket over her.

''He's the only real friend I have, I really don't understand why the villagers don't like him! He has a great personality and his smile is cute and he is good looking. I may not show it Naruto, but I really appreciate you even if I come off as mean.'' She thought with a warm smile as she closed her eyes.

Karin couldn't explain it, but since the day started she would look at Naruto and feel a weird feeling deep down. She soon drifted off into sleep and the snoring of the two teens filled the house.