ABSOLUTELY. Thank u for this wonderful prompt, friend.

word count: 1,528

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These days, Naruto is a little more worldly. These days, he knows that Ichiraku has the best ramen in the Land of Fire not just out of a deep, personal conviction but because he’s been to all of the other ramen places and found them disappointing. Sure, there’d been some contenders on his travels with Jiraiya, some decent noodles, passable broth…. but nothing beat the hometown stuff. 

Naruto even wrote it all down, which according to Shikako-chan made it science. 

Shikako will be impressed, he’s sure, as soon as she gets a minute free to talk to him — she’s busy doing something but no one will tell Naruto exactly what which means either they really don’t know or Baa-chan has Shikako doing something important. Sasuke is also suspiciously completely absent, so that means it’s probably a Secret Thing, but on the other hand it could be that Shikako is deep in the Nara clan archives and Sasuke is being a bastard. Naruto still isn’t a very good at tracking and hasn’t learning any escape or evasion beyond what Shikako got out of their sensei before the chuunin exam.

(”Why worry about that?” Jiraiya had asked when Naruto had brought it up. “You’ll be able to just flatten the whole area. And you’ll have teammates. Teammates are great.”)

Yeah, knowing Sasuke he could be hanging around just outside of Naruto’s perception. That seems like the kind of thing that he would have been taught by Kakashi since Naruto last saw him. Naruto will have to drop by their team’s training ground when he’s done here and see if that lures anyone out. 

Also, it will just be nice to see the place. Naruto feels like he needs to slap eyes on every square inch of the village to see what’s changed. And then start tracking down everyone he knows, to see how they’ve changed. To see if he still knows them.

He knows that Sasuke and Shikako will have all kinds of new things. Lots of it sneaky, probably. Naruto learned a lot too, and he’s on good terms with Kurama, and he’s not afraid that he’s fallen behind, no…. but his teammates have had years of extra time training with Kakashi-sensei and all their friends in the village and going on missions. Naruto made a lot of friends, but none of them were good for sparring, or learning to sneak, or getting smarter.

But Naruto isn’t feeling bad for himself! 

He’s having a good time. Ayame even kept him company while he waited for his ramen, because the counter was a little slow. And Shikako and Sasuke will turn up eventually, and they’ll teach him anything he really needs to know.

“Naruto-taichou,” says someone behind him as Naruto puts his third bowl of ramen down. 

Naruto spins around on his stool. 

“Sai!” If there was ever a time for Naruto to leap to his feet, it would be now, so he does. He also tugs Sai into a hug, no time for second-guesses there. Sai had always looked like he was in desperate need of hugs on the missions Naruto had had with him, and he still looks like that.

Sai doesn’t really hug back, but the hug was definitely a good idea: Naruto is pretty sure he feels Sai relax into it and everything.

When it’s over, Naruto steps back enough to give Sai a really thorough once-over. He’s still got that crop top thing going on, and his sword, and everything else he’d need to be mission ready right away, assuming he’s got supplies in a storage seal. But he’s definitely not fresh from a mission (unless it was a really easy one) and he’s definitely not in a hurry. Also, he’s still a chuunin, which Naruto is very pleased about. He’d been kinda worried he’d come back and all of his friends would be jounin.

Of course, Sai’s got that spook stuff going on, probably, like Shikako and Sasuke had worked out, but whatever.

“I have come to ask you about the progression of your training,” Sai says, “and any notable events from your travels.”

That’s a weird way to ask how Naruto’s trip has been, but Naruto doesn’t mind. Sai is just kind of a weird guy all around, but Naruto knows all about not quite knowing what the right, normal way to say things is.

“Oh, heck yes, I’ll tell you all about it,” Naruto says. “But only if you sit down with me and stop calling me taichou, okay?”

Sai sits down, but there’s a bit of a frown on him now. A wrinkle to his brow. 

“Sai, don’t tell me you didn’t want to sit down at Ichiraku with me,” Naruto says. “You can’t not like Ichiraku. I’ll even pay. They have buns with mushroom or pork if you don’t want noodles!”

“You do not have to pay,” Sai says.

“I insist,” Naruto counters.

“…Okay,” Sai concedes. “But it is not the venue of our conversation that caused my expression.”

He looks over at Naruto, and blinks in that I’m-thinking-about-something way that Shikako does sometimes. She and Sai kind of look alike, but maybe that’s just because neither of them have pulled out super dramatic looks?

Naruto waits, because waiting for Shikako to finish thinking is always rewarding and it probably will be with Sai, too.

“In these situations…. Shikako has suggested that I simply ask how people would prefer to be addressed,” Sai says slowly. “Would you prefer Naruto-san?”

“Aw, dude, yeah, she’s really good at explaining that stuff, huh?” Naruto reaches out and gives Sai a few sympathetic pats. Real quick ones, so Sai doesn’t think it’s pity or anything. No it’s, what’s the word, commiserating. “Don’t worry about it too bad, I used to have to get corrected by her tons, and these days I’m mostly only rude when it’s on purpose! You can just call me Naruto.”

“Alright,” Sai says.

They have to turn back to the counter for a moment to order, and Sai does actually ask for some ramen from Teuchi-ji. He gets the same thing Naruto asks for, and Naruto isn’t sure if Sai just has really good taste or if maybe he’s never been here before. 

Sai turns towards Naruto when they’re done ordering. 

“Is it that you desire to minimize our professional relationship and therefore the degree to which others might think you influence or control my actions and conduct, but don’t want to seem to outwardly disapprove of me, possibly because of my continued acquaintance with Shikako, leading to you selecting an informal term of address?”

Naruto had been watching Teuchi-ji prepare their stuff, but he whips around to look at Sai now. “What?” he demands. Then, when his brain catches up with that train-wreck of a sentence, “No!” because definitely not.

“I apologize for upsetting you,” Sai says, but he says it weird. Not exactly like resignation, but maybe like he doesn’t expect apologies to do much?

But it’s not like Naruto is actually mad. Not at Sai, anyway. Definitely at the jerks that made him think this way.

Naruto looks at him seriously. “That’s not what’s happening at all. We’re friends, okay, I’m not your captain or anything, not really. Baa-chan only put me in charge because she wanted me to get all that experience before I went to train with Jiraiya, y’know? You’re not my subordinate in every day life, jeez.”

“I see.” There’s a pause. “So it’s a sign of our emotional intimacy.”

“Uh, it sounds super weird when you say it like that, but yeah, I guess?”

“Am I really the weird one here?” Sai asks.

It’s rhetorical, because he ignores Naruto’s very emphatic answer of, “Yes, you are, you weirdo.”

Sai goes on, “We only met a few times, and then you left the village for several years. I believe the expected trajectory of relationships would frame us as acquaintances, or even strangers.”

“I mean yeah, I guess,” Naruto says. “But you came to my birthday slash going away party! That means friends. No takebacks, no taicho.”

“You do have more experience than me in this interpersonal matter, so I will concede to your knowledge of the subject.”

“Damn straight you will, I’m the best at friendship.” Naruto takes his chopsticks back up and gestures at Teuchi-ji. “Look, our ramen is coming! Just in time. Man, let me tell you, Sai, I crunched the numbers and this place is the best.”

“Is it?” Sai asks, picking his own pair of chopsticks up, snapping them neatly.

“Oh, yeah, I wrote it down and everything. Solid fact.”

“I see. So you’ve approached your analysis of ramen stands as a science, then. I would enjoy hearing all about it.”

Naruto laughs at that, long and loud and hard. People on the street look. Teuchi-ji smiles at him. 

“Oh man, Sai, you’ve definitely been spending time with Shikako-chan,” Naruto says. “It’s blasphemy to talk about other ramen places in front of Teuchi-ji, though, he might think I don’t love him anymore. How about we go find someplace to spar after we eat, and I’ll tell you on the way?”