Infliction

Chapter 1: The New Boy

"So, what can you tell me about Naruto Uzumaki?"

A liquid poured into a cup as the person sat down on the chair. They wore glasses and and work attire. They kept their hair in a wound up bun and displayed professionalism that held no room for error. Their eyes studied their interviewee. It was another woman who sat across from her. She had brown hair and let it flow freely against her shoulders. Her outfit was casual. She wore a light clothing to help with the heat that they had been dealing with in the past couple of weeks. The woman with brown hair smiled as she brought her eyesight to level with the woman across from her. Then, she spoke.

"I remember the first day that I met, Naruto Uzumaki. It was an interesting day to say the least. With me being only a little girl at the time, I had no idea just how much of my life he would change. Even though there were tough times… I wouldn't… I wouldn't change anything."

"Were you ever aware of what he would become?"

The informal woman smiled lightly at that as she reminisced, "When I was younger, I thought he was just some cute boy who didn't have a family. I didn't know what he was. Back then… I didn't even think of what he would become. I didn't realize that he would become the hero of the entire world. Even now, I still can't fully grasp all of the things that he's accomplished throughout the years," She looked down to her hands. Her teeth bit at her bottom lip pensively, "You know… I still wonder if I really deserve him. There were many other women that were more qualified than I was. I was just some ramen cook helping her dad with his business. I was a normal girl. I didn't fight… I didn't know any jutsu. We weren't rich either. I was pretty poor. Every day, the money was tight and we worked ourselves to the bone when we had customers. I wasn't anything special. I was just… me."

"If my sources are correct, wasn't it you who wanted the relationship?"

There was a pause. A soft smile graced her features, "You're right. I wanted this relationship. But… even if I did want it, he still picked me," Her smile fell in melancholy, "He picked me. He didn't have to. He could have turned me down easily. We could have remained just friends. I would have been fine with that too."

"But you weren't truly satisfied with that, were you?"

After a momentary pause, she spoke again, "No… I wouldn't have been. I… probably would have regretted it for the rest of my life."

"Why don't you tell me about how it started? I'd like to know how your relationship truly began."

She sipped her tea before she placed it back onto the dish. A clinking sound pierced the air, "This may take a while. I wouldn't want to bore you to death at the expense of my life story."

"Nonsense! I'd like to hear just how your relationship with Naruto Uzumaki actually happened. If you're worried about time, then I wouldn't worry. I came prepared just for this. I have all the time I need."

"…Okay. If you really want to know, then let me start around the time I first saw Naruto," She recollected her memories and a smile grazed her lips as she pondered, "It was one of the busier days of the week. I was busy cleaning the store and my father was beginning to put things away. That was around the time a strange boy with blond hair and whisker marks on his face came to the restaurant. He was… very shy. Normally, boys his age were loud and outgoing, but he showed the opposite. I never really knew why back then. I didn't figure it out until later and my entire opinion about him changed."

It wasn't often that it rained as heavily as it did in Konoha. The weather looked wonderful just a few hours ago. The rain poured intensely and washed the streets in water. Mud sloshed against shoes as people ran by to either quickly get out of the rain, or to get where they needed to be. The grey canopy cast a shadow on everything outside. It was dark and wet, but one ramen stand stood tall in the storm. It's glowing lights lit up the world outside if only slightly. It showed a warmth from the cold. The smell of the rain couldn't even disturb the aroma that came from the restaurant. Looking in, you could see a younger girl barely over 13 years old, cleaning the floor with a mop. Several customers had come in before and left with mud tracking from their shoes. She was always taught that it was proper to keep the eating establishment clean. It would attract more customers.

Her father was always working to make sure that he showed her everything that he would need to show her. Walking out from the flaps that lead to the kitchen, he watched as his daughter continued to clean the floor with great effort. He smiled as he watched her busily scrub the ground. He knew that there weren't going to be many more customers today. It was the last half hour before closing time. He was already starting to prepare to close down shop for the day.

"Good job, Ayame! That floor is looking sparkly clean. I bet we would even be able to eat off of it!"

Ayame looked over to her father. Her hands stopped scrubbing with the mop and she only giggled, "I'm sure the customers wouldn't want to do that, daddy."

Teuchi laughed heartily, "You may be right. We would probably lose the few regulars that we do get here if we started doing that."

Ayame kept mopping the floor and moving down the tiles. She was almost done and it had been a long day. She was surprised at the amount of people that came through to their shop. If she had to guess, it was double the amount of people they would normally serve and that meant good money for the both of them at home. She was happy about that. That meant that her father would be happier too.

Ayame and her father lived together in a small apartment, several blocks away from the restaurant. It was a cheap place, but it had everything they could need. There were only two people living there anyway. They both worked hard to support their lives. She knew that her father was working himself ragged. She felt it was only right that she pulled her weight also.

"Oh, young man! Are you hungry? Would you like some food? You're more than welcome! Have a seat!"

Ayame, disturbed from her rumination, looked from her dad to the entrance to the store. There was a blond boy with blue eyes staring into the establishment. He was always showing up to their place. He was always quiet and had a deep sadness welling deep within his eyes, 'It's that boy again. Why does he keep showing up here?'

He would always stick his head into the establishment and look at them with that saddened expression before leaving, only to repeat it a few days later. She didn't know who the boy was, but seeing him today really bothered Ayame as she stood there to stare at him. If he was always looking, but never ordering, maybe he was scared? He never said anything, but you could see in his face that he wanted food.

It was then, that the boy started to leave again. He slowly walked behind the flaps and started to turn. Ayame, who couldn't take it anymore, decided that she wanted to help the boy. Her dad was always insisting that he should eat, but he never came in. That is, until today. Ayame will make sure that he eats something, even if she has to drag him into the place.

"Hold on!" Ayame shouted as she ran out of the flaps. She saw Naruto running away from them. Her arm was raised as she attempted to call out to him out in the rain, "Little boy! Don't you want something to eat!? You're welcome to eat here!"

She saw as the boy kept running and disappeared around a corner. Her hands fell to her knees as she stood there to catch her breath. That boy was surprisingly fast. After a few more moments, Ayame begrudgingly walked back into the restaurant. Pushing the flap over, she trudged inside. After a few steps, she realized that she left mud prints on the floor she just cleanly mopped. She sighed heavily as she walked to the mop to start cleaning all of the floors again.

"I guess you couldn't get him in here," Her father said confused, "That boy is always popping up, but he never wants to eat. Some people call him trouble, but I don't see what's so bad about him."

Ayame looked to the ground that she was cleaning as Teuchi went to the back to continue his half of the cleaning work. It looked like her attempt to get him into the place was a failure. She should have expected that at least. The floors were losing more and more grime as she continued to mop and clean her mess that she made, 'If I couldn't get him in here today. I will definitely get him to eat here the next time he shows up!' Feeling more fired up, she started to scrub harder and faster, so she could finish her work earlier. That next time, she was going to get him to eat there for sure.

Ayame and Teuchi failed, over and over again to bring the boy into the establishment. Anytime she would try to grab him, he would always avoid her hand and run away. They even made traps, by making food and placing it close to the flaps, but when he would get close and try to start eating, the boy dropped everything and ran once he noticed anything suspicious.

Ayame sighed in frustration. They attempted to get that boy that kept coming to their shop six times and every single one failed. She didn't know if that blond boy would ever come to their place and actually eat. It didn't help that today was one of their empty days where they had virtually no customers. No customers meant no money and that was always bad.

Ayame and Teuchi were both bored to death. He was reading a newspaper and it crinkled every time he turned a page, while Ayame sat at the counter and tapped her finger lightly in silence. Her head was rested on her hand and she could only wonder if there would be any customers. The sun was still in the middle of the sky and by the looks of it all, they weren't going to have anyone else show up.

She watched as people walked by, both ninja and civilians alike. They didn't show any interest in coming into the establishment and just casually walked by on their trek. Sometimes, there would be people that looked like they wanted to come in, but then they changed their minds and walked away. People just didn't want ramen today.

Suddenly, She saw a couple of people walk by and head their way into the shop. She got excited and almost shouted before they stopped. One of the people mumbled something before the other person laughed and they both turned and walked away.

Ayame sighed again as she rested her head back on her hand. She really wished that they would have a customer. A few minutes passed by before Ayame started to get up. She wanted to work on something to give herself something to do. It was driving her nuts. She picked up a rag and started spraying the counter. If anything, the dry dirt from the outside path would trail and dust the countertops. She could keep the counter clean, so that no dust gets into the food.

She sprayed a few times on the smooth surface and started to wipe. It was at that moment, that she heard a rustling sound. She turned her head and thought it was a customer. She almost got excited, but she held her tongue. It was the same blond boy that kept evading her. She already knew his routine. He would just bail again and leave them to wonder why he never came in.

He had a different look on his face and she noticed it. He still looked sad and scared, but there was something else behind those eyes.

Ayame watched intently as the boy stood just before the flaps. Stopping what she was doing, she picked up the stuff and started to put it away behind the counter. As she did that, the boy took a few steps into the restaurant. Ayame stood back up from behind the counter and looked at the boy. He was actually in their restaurant.

"Daddy…" She said as she turned her head, but never took her eyes off the boy, "We seem to have a customer."

Her father, tilted his newspaper down and looked at the boy that was standing in their ramen shop for the first time, "Well, I'll be dipped…" The shock was apparent on Teuchi's face, but that quickly changed to a grand smile. Seeing her dad smile, caused Ayame to smile too. She looked to him as she spoke.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's! What would you like to order?"

She knew that the boy was always scared, but today, he seemed to finally gain the courage to move forward. Sure, he still looked scared, but the hardest part was already over. She could see that he was gaining more and more courage as time passed. After a few moments of hesitation, the boy shyly responded, "I… I don't… know what to order."

Ayame and Teuchi knew that the boy was probably poor or an orphan, so it was possible that he never had the luxury of being able to order for himself.

"How about I whip you up a nice Miso Ramen? That oughtta be a good one to start with!" The young boy nodded as the older man folded his newspaper and put on his apron. He was going to make sure that this Miso Ramen was going to be one of the best things that boy ever tasted. He didn't want to have the boy regret ever coming into the restaurant. He smiled as he started gathering his ingredients and noodles together. Today didn't seem so boring after all.

Ayame watched the boy studiously who noticed that he was under the girl's stare. She smiled at him, "You know, now that you're not running away and I can see you, you're pretty cute."

Naruto smiled as he took the compliment. A light blush adorned his cheeks before he shuffled in his newfound seat.

"What's your name?" Ayame asked him curiously. Throughout all of the ordeals of seeing the boy and his constant running away. She didn't know who he was. It was common sense to ask what his name was.

"Naruto," The boy said shyly.

Ayame giggled as she brought her hand out to him, "My name's Ayame! That old man in the back is my daddy, Teuchi! We are the Ichiraku's!"

Naruto smiled again as he saw her grand gesture. He hesitated momentarily before he brought his hand out to hers and they both shook hands. Naruto blushed lightly as he shook hands with the girl. It was surprising, but also vexing how these two people were so nice to him, while everyone else was always shunning him. He would always receive constant annoyance glares from people and no one wanted to be around him or have anything to do with him. He never knew why and it always hurt whenever he would see their distaste for him.

But he didn't see that in Ayame or Teuchi. For some reason, the both of them were always being welcoming to him. In all of his years being alive, he never once had anyone besides the Third Hokage, ever be nice to him as they have been. They were pretty insistent and he noticed it every time he walked to their establishment. Why didn't they hate him as much as the others did? He didn't know, but he wanted to see if they were being honest.

He came by every other day and was always greeted the same way. Of course, things changed as they actually tried to get him into the store. He knew that they were trying something, but he was too afraid that they would hurt him or say something mean to him. It wasn't until they kept being nice, that Naruto decided that maybe they weren't as bad as he thought they were. He figured that he should probably give them a chance and took the plunge. With all of his mustered up strength, he walked into that restaurant.

He never knew just how much he regretted not coming into the place sooner.

"So, Naruto," Ayame said as she leaned over the bar, trying to get closer to talk to him, "Have you ever had ramen before?"

Naruto kicked his feet as he looked down, "No, Not really. I've… only ever had instant ramen and I don't eat it often."

"Well~, I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I'd say we make some of the best ramen you'll ever put to your mouth!" Ayame smiled broadly while pointing to herself. Her confidence was almost glowing. Naruto only smiled more as he watched her, "It's not like that cheap stuff you buy from a store. We make all of it right here in this shop! Everything is hand made. All of our ingredients are delivered fresh. I wouldn't have this much confidence if I didn't think that we really are the best ramen shop in the village."

Naruto only nodded as he watched her, "I believe you."

Ayame was shocked at his response. She felt like she was hamming it up and making it seem more than it was. Naruto believed her entirely and that made her genuinely smile. A wide grin spread across her face, as she brought her fists to her sides, "You betterbelieve it! Our ramen is made with hard work! I help daddy prepare everything in this place. I have to if I want to take over the business one day."

"Do you… like to cook?" Naruto asked softly.

"What? Are you kidding? I love to cook!" She looked upwards with a warm smile, "There's just something about cooking that always brings smiles to people's faces. Sure, there's always the one or two that don't agree with the cooking, but if I can just make a difference in one's day just by giving them some warm and delicious food, then I would like to keep doing that."

Naruto pondered over her words. A glint of curiosity appeared in his eyes, "You like making people happy?"

Ayame laughed as she looked down to the floor, "Food can be used as comfort too. Sometimes, people need an escape. A warm meal could start to feel like home from the outside cold. Maybe not everyone understands that, but… they don't have to."

Ayame grinned as she looked to Naruto's peculiar expression. He was slowly starting to open up to her the more they talked to one another. It was such a refreshing experience now that she could actually talk to the boy that kept evading their shop for so long. She wondered a little about his story, but she knew that things like this took steps. It would be rude to ask him things so bluntly.

"Well, here we are! One Miso Ramen!" Teuchi said as he brought the bowl down to the young boy, shaking both him and the girl beside him. Naruto's eyes were fixated on the steam as it rose from the broth. Teuchi continued, "And since this is your first time coming to our restaurant, I added extra pork! I know you must be hungry."

Naruto's stomach grumbled in response to the smell and he only smiled nervously, "Thank you, sir."

"Just call me Teuchi!" The older man said to him as he smiled widely, "This isn't school or anything. You don't have to be so formal with me. I want you to feel at ease here," Teuchi's smile lessened as he looked down to the boy, "Whenever you get hungry, you're welcome to eat here anytime you want."

Naruto was visibly shocked at the old man's warm response. He didn't know what to say. This was the first place that really opened up to him in his entire life. He never knew why people always ignored him or why they shunned him with such hatred. But these people weren't like that. There was a certain feeling of warmth whenever he looked up to the older man and his daughter. He could see that they both wanted him there. They felt comfortable with him.

"T-Thanks for the fooood~" Naruto said as he put his hands together. Tears began to dip around his cheek and he had a hard time controlling himself.

Teuchi and Ayame both looked surprised at his sudden sadness and tried to quell his tears.

"Hey, Hey! It's okay! You don't have to cry!" Ayame said as she went up to him to try and stop the flow.

"Yeah, Naruto," Teuchi said as he stared down in concern at the boy, "Don't worry about it okay? If it makes you feel any better, I'll make this bowl of ramen on me. Free of charge."

Naruto started to sob even harder as he reached and pressed into Ayame and cried. Both of the store owners were quite surprised at his sudden breakdown, but they couldn't do anything for him. They knew that a boy like this would probably stop on his own. Trying to make him stop would do no good. Therefore, Ayame rubbed his back as he sobbed into her chest.

'Naruto, huh?' Ayame thought in silence as she smiled gently at Naruto. She could tell that Naruto was missing something. Whatever it was, she didn't know, but she hoped that at least having a warm place to turn to would help alleviate his worries. She didn't think that Naruto would get so upset over something so simple, but she was glad that he was opening up to them even if only a little. It was better than him being quiet and running away.

Naruto let go of her as he sniffled a few times and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. His eyes were stained red from the constant tears, but he looked like he was done with his performance. He looked back to his food as he snapped his chopsticks apart. A large grin burst forth from his features as he once again said, "Thanks for the food!"

Naruto started to slurp his noodles methodically, taking in every flavor and texture. He swallowed his first bite after a few chews before Teuchi interrupted him.

"Well?" Teuchi said, intrigue written on his face, "What do you think?"

After a momentary pause, Naruto looked up to him and closed his eyes with a smile. Tears started to break free again as he spoke, "It's the best food I've ever had."

Teuchi and Ayame both smiled widely at his response before they both started laughing. Naruto joined in as well while he continued eating more of his ramen. Tears still streamed from his face, but these tears weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of joy. Even though the ramen stand only had one customer that day, the shop was full of life as if it was packed.

Author's Note: So, here we are. This is the story that I've had in the works and now I'm finally moving forward with it. This is the Naruto X Ayame story. There aren't any good ones on FF and it really shows. It's actually pretty damn sad because she's played a large part in Naruto's life, even if she isn't shown that much. This fic is going to be pretty long. It's also going to get into a lot of things. I know you guys have been desperately wanting a Naruto X Ayame fic and here's one for you all. This is for all of the fans of the series who wanted to see it.

Eternal Sunshine will be updated next! Sorry I didn't update it yet, but I had more inspiration to write this first chapter first. Lol