Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
January, x787.
After leaving the Hokage Tower, Alfonzo once again began levitating the Escalade. Meanwhile, he, Elicia, Ikaruga, and Irene engaged Kakashi in conversation while they walked through the village.
"So, how long have you been active as a shinobi?" Elicia asked curiously.
On a side note, Kakashi, as soon as he left the Hokage Tower, pulled a small book with an orange cover from his ninja backpack, a small pouch worn on his lower back that usually holds throwable weapons such as kunai and shuriken. In Kakashi's case, however, he added another pouch specifically for the book he was reading.
"Hmm… For about nineteen years, I think." Kakashi replied in a lazy tone.
"And just how old are you?" Irene asked curiously. "From the little bit of your face I can see, I would guess you are in your early to mid-twenties. So, nineteen years would mean you started taking missions as a shinobi before you were even ten years old."
"That sounds about right." Kakashi replied in the same tone. "I graduated from the ninja academy pretty early due to my talent and the fact that there was a war going on at the time."
"If I had to guess, that was the Third Great Ninja War, right?" Alfonzo asked. "I heard a little bit about that from Anko and Guy."
To that, Kakashi finally looked up from his book.
"So, you've met Guy, huh?" Kakashi asked curiously. "I hope he wasn't too hard for you to get along with. He's quite…"
"Youthful." Alfonzo and Elicia replied simultaneously.
"Yeah, that's one way to put it." Kakashi replied. Though, the smile in his visible eye made it clear that he was fonder of the Green Beast of the Hidden Leaf than his tone let on.
"Yeah, He was on my team when the Magic Council ordered us to find those two rogue scientists." Alfonzo replied.
"Oh, that's right." Kakashi replied with a nod. "I forgot about that. I haven't talked to him since he got back from his time with Quatro Cerberus. So, I haven't heard the details."
"Does that mean that all Shinobi spend some time with the Legal Guilds of Fiore?" Elicia asked curiously.
"Not all." Kakashi replied while shaking his head as he returned to reading his book. "I never spent any time in a guild."
"I see." Irene replied. "What did you do instead?"
"I can't go into detail, but I worked as a part of a certain division in the village."
'He's definitely talking about the Anbu.' Alfonzo and Elicia thought to themselves. 'Probably to keep his mind free of the thoughts of his teacher, best friend, and other team mates' deaths.'
Like that, the group of five continued to chat while they walked through the village. All the while, the Fairy Tail wizards, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Irene, made sure not to ask any questions that would dig too deeply into the villages secrets.
Ikaruga, on the other hand, simply followed the group at a respectful distance without saying a word.
Eventually, the group walked through what seemed to be one of the busier districts in the village. AS they did, they happened to see the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy from before. And when they did, they noticed he was walking into a shop.
"Ramen Ichiraku." Elicia said while looking up at the sign on the shop the blond boy just entered.
Elicia's words drew the rest of the group's attention to the store she was looking at.
"Hey, Fonzie, can we stop here?" Elicia asked as she grabbed Alfonzo's arm with a smile on er face. "After smelling the scent coming from this shop, I'm feeling a little hungry."
Instead of answering Elicia's question directly, Alfonzo glanced at Kakashi, who shrugged his shoulders care-freely. Then, Alfonzo smiled at Elicia as he replied.
"Sure." Alfonzo replied with a smile. Then, he turned to the rest of his companions. "What do you think, Irene, Ikaruga?"
"I don't mind." Ikaruga replied politely.
"What kind of food do they serve?" Irene asked curiously.
"Judging by the name, I would guess it's ramen." Alfonzo replied. "A type of noodle soup with toppings."
"I see." Irene said while bringing her hand to her chin. "I guess I don't mind trying it. I doubt it will be better than your cooking, though."
Hearing that, Kakashi looked at Irene skeptically. However, he kept his thoughts to himself.
"We'll just have to see about that." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "There's always someone better, after all."
Shrugging her shoulders, Irene took the lead as the group walked into the ramen shop. As they did, they saw the same blond boy waiting for his order. And as they noticed the kid, Kakashi seemed to flinch for a moment. Though, no one other than Alfonzo and Elicia noticed, as they were paying attention to his reaction.
'*Sigh* So, he's being neglected just like in the canon, huh?' Elicia asked herself as she watched Kakashi's reaction to seeing the blond boy. 'I wonder if Fonzie would be against us taking care of him for a while, while we're here. At least until he graduates and joins a team of Genin.'
"Welcome to Ramen Ichiraku." A middle-aged man with nearly closed eyes and wearing a white bandana said in greeting after noticing the new arrivals. He then continued when he noticed Kakashi. "Oh, Kakashi, it's been a while since you've come to visit. Howe have you been?"
"I've been well, Teuchi." Kakashi said as he put away his book.
"And it looks like you've brought some new faces." The middle-aged man, Teuchi said as he scanned the faces of the four people Kakashi brought with him.
However, when Teuchi made eye contact with Alfonzo, he froze. Alfonzo froze as well while maintaining eye contact. After a few moments, Teuchi snapped back to his senses. Then, he took a deep breath and his entire aura changed.
"It looks like I have a chef of quite the amazing caliber gracing my shop." Teuchi said as he tightened his bandana. "I'd better get serious so as to not embarrass myself. May I take your orders?"
Like Teuchi, Alfonzo could also feel Teuchi's culinary level. Because of that, he was looking forward to trying the ramen even more than before.
"Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen with two boiled eggs and Char siu." Alfonzo said confidently.
"I'll have Miso Ramen with pork." Elicia added.
When Elicia gave her order, the blond boy looked at her as if she had good taste.
Meanwhile, Ikaruga, Iren, and Kakashi also gave their orders. Then, they waited for their orders to arrive while chatting casually.
Eventually, the blond boy's order was the first to arrive. And when it did, he began eating as if he hadn't eaten for days. While Elicia, Irene, and Ikaruga looked on in curiosity, Kakashi continued to chat with Alfonzo while occasionally stealing glances at the boy.
A few minutes later, Naruto finished his bowl of ramen. And when he did, he stared into the bottom of the bowl as if he had lost his greatest treasure. At the same time, Elicia's motherly instincts kicked in. So, she glanced at Alfonzo with puppy dog eyes.
Luckily, Alfonzo did not have to even think about resisting the puppy dog eyes Elicia shot in his direction, as he was also thinking of helping the boy, as well.
"Hey, Kid." Alfonzo said in a casual tone. "You look like you haven't had enough."
*Growl!*
Instead of responding directly, the boy's stomach took care of that for him, causing him to cover his stomach with his hands while wearing an embarrassed expression.
"Hey, Mr. Teuchi, mind whipping up another serving for the kid?" Alfonzo asked without giving him a chance to reject. "It'll be on me."
Seeing that someone was showing kindness to the boy, Teuchi smiled while he worked.
"Sure thing." Teuchi replied.
Meanwhile, Kakashi looked at Alfonzo skeptically. In the village, the young man Alfonzo was being kind to was basically ignored. And in some cases, bullied. Helping him like that might bring Alfonzo some trouble.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea." Kakashi said.
"What are you talking about?" Alfonzo asked, seemingly not understanding what Kakashi was talking about.
In response, Kakashi explained the kid's situation and how it might bring Alfonzo trouble.
"And?" Alfonzo asked while looking at Kakashi as if he were an idiot. "I don't know why the kid is mistreated. And to be honest, I don't give a damn. But I do know that the only reason he plays all those pranks is because he needs attention. And I'll be damned if I'll let a child suffer just because I'm afraid of what people think of me."
Not only Kakashi, but even the blond boy was shocked by Alfonzo's declaration. Even Teuchi, who was still cooking, threw a thumbs up in Alfonzo's direction.
"*Sigh* I know you're right." Kakashi said while his impression of Alfonzo improved as he did so. "But this could cause you some issues. People who are either afraid or have bad intensions for Naruto might try to make things harder for you."
"Hmph! I wish a nig--- *Cough* I mean I'd like to see them try." Alfonzo said, correcting himself along the way after receiving a glare from Elicia. "And if they do, I'll show them why it's a bad idea to mess with an S-Class wizard from Fairy Tail."
'*Sigh* If I wasn't a member of the shinobi forces of the village, I would be so bold, too.' Kakashi said to himself with some melancholy. 'Still, at least Naruto will have someone who will show him some kindness for his last year at the academy. Sensei, I'm sorry I couldn't do more for your son.'
"Hey, Kid." Alfonzo said, not paying attention to Kakashi, who was internally monologuing. "Kakashi here said your name was Naruto."
"That's right, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." The blond boy, Naruto said. "I'm gonna be Hokage someday, you know! Then, everyone in this village will have to respect me. And they won't bully me or ignore me anymore."
"Damn if you don't aim high." Alfonzo said with a bright smile on his face. "But I like it. So, I tell you what, any time you find yourself hungry and don't have enough money, you can come to me. I promise, with me around, you'll never find yourself hungry again."
Hearing that, Naruto's eyes and mouth opened wide in surprise. A moment later, he lowered his head to hide the tears that were forming in his eyes. Then, he replied in a small, shaky voice.
"Thank you…"
In the next instant, Naruto found himself wrapped in a warm embrace, something he had never experienced before. And when he looked up, he made eye contact with a smiling Elicia.
"And since you're aiming to be the Hokage, we'll take care of training you, too." Elicia said. "Although we're not shinobi, I bet we can at the very least make you physically stronger. WE could probably help you with your chakra control, too. OH, and I'll make some new clothes for you, too. A bright orange track suit isn't exactly what I'd call stealthy, you know."
"Huh? But orange is my favorite color." Naruto said in a whiny tone.
"Oh, we can tell." Irene said while rolling her eyes. "You should just trust er, though. Her fashion sense is off the charts. I'm sure you'll have all the little ninja girls fighting over your attention when she's done with you."
"Really, does that mean Sakura will like me, too?" Naruto asked excitedly.
"I'm not sure who this Sakura girl is, but there's a chance." Elicia said awkwardly, even though she knew there was no chance of that happening.
"Orders up!" Teuchi said as he began placing the different orders in front of his customers.
"We can talk about that later." Alfonzo said with a smile. "For now, let's eat."
With that, everyone, other than Naruto, used their chop sticks to dig into their ramen. And while Kakashi did not react much, Elicia, Ikaruga, and Irene wore thoroughly flabbergasted expressions.
'It's just as good as Fonzie/Alfonzo/ Master Alfonzo's cooking.' Elicia, Irene, and Ikaruga thought simultaneously.
'If this [Soul Armament] Experiment doesn't work, then I'll kidnap this Teuchi, as well.' Irene thought to herself with a dangerous glint in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo was wearing a solemn expression while he ate. Then, when he eventually swallowed his first bite, he nodded at Teuchi.
"Teuchi, you really are amazing." Alfonzo said in a sincere tone. "If I could hire you, I would do so in a heartbeat. But my instincts are telling me that you'd never leave this place."
"*Sigh* And your instincts would be right." Teuchi replied in a proud tone. "This shop is my life's work. And I would never be willing to give it up. Still, I'm curious to know… just where would you like to hire me to?"
Instead of replying verbally, Alfonzo reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card before handing it to Teuchi. And when Teuchi saw what it said, his perpetually closed eyes opened wide. Then he looked at Alfonzo in surprise.
"Anyway, I would love the opportunity to talk shop with you in the future, Teuchi." Alfonzo said with a smile. "We might be able to push each other to new heights."
"Yes, I think I'd like to take you up on that offer." Teuchi replied as he stored away the business card.
With that, the conversation came to an end. Then, Alfonzo and the others continued to eat. Naruto eventually received his second bowl of ramen, as well. Then, after everyone was done eating, the group, including Naruto, left the shop and started travelling towards the Fairy Tail wizards' lodgings.