That Time I Got Reincarnated As Rimuru

Same and Different

— Naruto Uzumaki's POV —

Mother gave me a mission so now... I'm in Konoha.

There doesn't seem to be anyone who recognized me.

Mother had taught me all kinds of sort of magic.

One of them is magic for illusion.

I am able to sense this thing called "magicules" now, and utilize it in a battle to a certain extent, believe it.

But anyway... Currently, I'm inside Ichiraku's.

It has been a long since I came here... Teuchi Oji-san doesn't seem to remember me though...

Well, it doesn't matter...

I've moved on from my fear in the past... A little bit.

So now I am able to eat ramen even though...

"Hic—"

"Oi oi... What's wrong, lad? Is something wrong with the ramen?"

I answered Teuchi Oji-san's question, "No it's... It's just it's so good." I smiled at him while remembering Iruka-sensei...

Mother said, Iruka-sensei can be brought back to life.

I don't know if that's true but...

For now, the only way for me to handle this feeling, is to engulf myself in battles.

Mother is right, it takes a fear to drive fear away...

But... I don't want to fear.

That is currently, the important thing I do not possess.

"You ordered so many Bamboo shoots" Suddenly came a voice beside me.

The owner of the voice is a boy my age. He has black spiky hair and his whole appearance screamed "EDGY".

He wore a grey-unzipped jacket over his white shirt and black pants along with black sandals.

"Do you like Bamboo shoots?" The boy suddenly asks.

It took me quite a while to respond since it has been very long since I've made a conversation with strangers...

"Eh- uhh... yeah! It's not really because I like it it's... " Iruka sensei's image came into my mind...

"It's just I used to eat it with someone I know... I sometimes complained about not having fish cake instead of Bamboo shoots and... We argued a bit." And I keep ordering seconds even though I said I hated the toppings afterward... Haha.

***
**
*

— Third Person's POV —

The boy with dark hair, is Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at the white-haired boy for a while before smiling a little bit, "Hn... And now that you taste it once more, you grow to like it since it reminds you of him, isn't it?"

It made Naruto widen his eyes a little before asking Sasuke, "Are you a telepath or something...?" He delivered that line with a skeptical face.

"Heh, I just reminded of something..." While saying that Sasuke raised his chopsticks, seemingly holding one of the toppings.

"Someone I know loved Fishcake so much that she ordered a full bowl of them" he stated whilst showing Naruto the circular toppings.

"I was thinking of her as a rival back then, just because I wanted my brother's attention."

Again, Naruto widens his eyes, he then asks excitedly, "T-then! You must probably know how it felt being scolded once you got their attention right? Like after playing pranks on them or, being so childish around them?!" Unbeknownst to him, a smile was plastered on his face.