Looping, oh the fun! (Naruto)

Ch23 A New Friend

"Stupid boss, slaving us poor clones to do his stupid work," grumbled Naru as he scuffed on the sandy track, kicking small pebbles as he went.

For a clone, everyday's routine was practically the same: wake up, or rather, come into existence, read and reply the fan letters, then one clone would have to deliver a children's story to Playhouse. Today unfortunately was this clone's turn. The job wasn't tedious, but the fact that he couldn't stay indoor and laze around irked him.

Naru let out another string of grievance but was cut short as a familiar scent halted him in his track. The aroma was absolutely divine. The pungent soup base mixed with the aromatic smell of freshly cooked meat filled up his nostrils. His body shivered with excitement as his olfactory senses immediately identified the smell as his favorite food, ramen, the only food in the entire multiverse that he'd prefer over his second favorite, cup of noodle. It had been a long time since he tasted anything ramen-like. The last time was when he had a cup of noodle competition with Kohina and emptied her stock, and that was 16 loops ago (1).

The pedestrians walking after him grumbled in annoyance as they skirted around him. The street was filled with merchants on their way home after a tiresome day. The sun was setting and the shop owners were closing their shops. Naru wasn't worried though, because he knew that Ichiraku Ramen opened till late at night.

With anticipation bubbling inside his chest, the clone darted his way through the throng easily, leaving a faint silhouette behind for the stunned passersby to goggle at. He mentally thanked Hiruma for making, aka forcing and blackmailing, Naruto do the agility ladder exercise. The ability to change directions quickly without losing momentum during a sprint was one of the only practical skill he learned from being on Devil Bats (2).

"Woah!"

The scene he was seeing shifted and a second later, Naru found the sandy ground inches away from his eyes. He promptly extended his arms and planted his hands onto the ground. Kicking his legs up and swinging it down, he pulled himself into a crouching position.

"What just happened?" He found the answer rolling a few feet away from him. It was a bouncy ball about the size of a volleyball. The clone picked it up with one hand and threw it into the air. Mud and broken pieces of grass separated themselves from it before it landed on his other hand.

He squeezed it.

It was soft, but not at a tomato's level where it could burst in one squeeze. It was more like a...

A ghost sting on his cheek pulled him out of his reverie. He'd rather not delve into his dark past...at least not yet. Now wasn't the time to regain his gynophobia.

Naru focused his attention back onto the item in hand. There was a brand imprinted on the ball, which he could barely see due to it's being hidden under the dried mud. It was the brand of Konoha's biggest toy shop, where most children bought their toys at. Next to the brand was a barely visible word written in a childish messy scrawl. Squinting his eyes, the clone could barely make out the name 'Aki' (autumn).

"Hold him down!"

A yell came from a nearby playground. A group of boys were huddling together.

Through the gaps in between the useless fats, Naru saw a bruised up child been held in a headlock by his more tough-looking tormentor. His wobbly legs seemed ready to give out under him if not for the muscular arm encircling his scrawny neck, which looked as if it could be snapped in half with only two fingers.

The group of boys looked to be about 9 or 10 years old. But physically speaking, the red-haired child looked much younger. His limbs were like branches while the bullies' were like trunks. Through his stained, torn t-shirt, which looked way too small for his size, one could see his rib cage protruding his skin.