A/N: It has been an incredibly long time since I have written a piece of fan fiction. I have however kept up with my writing in the form of an original project that I am working on, so I am not super rusty. Hopefully.

Anyways, when I logged back on one day, I looked over at the stories that I had written, but never finished; only one seemed to pique my interest, and it was Mismatched Fragments. Perhaps it is because I have gotten older now, but that story seemed to have the most mature themes to it that stood out the most, which is probably why I am going to try my hand at re-writing it with the skills I have now.

The first few chapters up until the point I left off will mostly be about the same. I just corrected some spelling mistakes, re-worded some paragraphs, and threw in a bit of flair.

I hope you enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of these characters. I wrote this for fun.

Mismatched Fragments Redux

By Yangster

Chapter #1: A Chance Meeting

Yes.

That had been the word that he had so badly wanted to hear when he had gotten down on one knee and poured his heart out.

It had been a wonderful day. The beautiful, blue sky was filled with clouds that looked like fluffy strands of spun, white sugar, the breeze had been so gently pleasant, and the flowers were blooming, filling the air with the sweet smell of new life. What had stood out the most to him though was the vibrant sun, like a golden globe that shined most brilliantly down on the two of them on that early spring day.

It had been a great day; perhaps even the perfect day.

But, no matter how perfect that day may have been, its beauty to him was shattered the moment he heard those words.

No.

He had it all planned out: a trip to the coast on the top of a cliff with a gorgeous view, and a beautiful ring made of gold with an elegant emerald in it. He was going to propose to her, and she was going to say yes; they were going to then get married, and have a wonderful life together.

Except that did not happen.

Her rejection took him by complete surprise. He had been on his knees, the sea breeze running through his blonde hair, with a smile on his face that had lingered for a few seconds as his brain refused to acknowledge the truth of what she had actually said. There was no way, right?

I'm sorry, but I just can't.

The ring in his hand had felt like a weighted stone; its earlier gloss had all but remained as it faded away and became dull.

Why?

He wondered if he should have even asked. Was the additional pain gained worth learning her answer worth it?

I just can't see a future with you.

No. It was not. He had wanted to be fair and virtuous, to take her words as a lesson to be learned, but he could not. He would not. His mind wracked over it, replaying the scene over and over again, each time leading to him looking over his entire relationship with her, and to ask the eventual question.

What did I do wrong?

It was as if something had grabbed his heart, and began to squeeze. He had never choked as hard as he did back then; never in his life had he ever been rendered speechless. It had not even ended there as the universe seemed to have wanted him to suffer more by making the ride home extra awkward. There had been no happy conversation, no her resting her head on his shoulder, or anything of the sort. It was as if a stranger had walked into his car, and he was now driving them back to his home—their home.

The only thing that kept him distracted from the silence was the sound of the radio, but not even that was enough to clear the one thought in his head.

What do I do now?

Mustering up all the willpower that he had, he repressed that thought. It had been plaguing him for several days now, which he knew was unhealthy, but he was nearly powerless to stop it; a part of him even welcomed it, finding some strange comfort in wallowing in his own misery. He had noticed that he had been doing that a lot lately, burning away his vacation days by staying in bed, sleeping when he could, and crying or staring at the ceiling when he could not. He called it recuperation, but even he was not deluded enough to actually believe that.

He was just being pathetic.

Rolling over to face the blaring alarm-clock on his nightstand, he let out a long, drawn-out sigh, and turned it off before crawling out from underneath his sheets. Sliding his feet off of the bed, he sat there for several seconds before going to stretch, groaning as he did so; his back felt sore and his shoulder blades ached considerably, and it took much more effort than usual to stand up.

Why was it that after almost a full week of doing nothing, he just decided to get out of bed?

Sadly, it was because he had work today.

Trudging over to his bathroom, Naruto barely flinched as he turned on the lights; its overbearing glare barely fazed him as he took a step closer towards the sink, placed his hands onto the counter, and looked into the mirror. As for what he saw...

Well... He looked much better than he felt—that was for sure.

Rubbing a hand against the stubble that had developed on the lower-half of his face, he took a mental note to shave before turning on the shower, and stripping off his sweat-stained clothes. As Naruto stood there awkwardly waiting for the shower to heat up, that particular thought began to make its re-appearance, dashing away what hope he had of putting himself in a good mindset before his first day back at work.

Really, what he would give for a break from his own mind!

Rubbing his temple with his fingers, he then slid the shower door open, and stepped inside. Immediately, he stepped back out before opening the adjacent shower door to adjust the water knob; the water had been too hot—how typical of him.

Stepping in once again, he let out a deep sigh as the perfect temperature water began to work its magic on his body. Tilting his head, he allowed some of it to drape over his blonde hair, causing it to slant downwards and to darken, and to run over his face. It was nice, but only for about a minute. Eventually the sound of the water hitting the tile floor turned into white noise, and he was once again alone with his thoughts.

He would have to be quick as he knew that there was no other place where one's thoughts were as pervasive than in the shower; usually that was a good thing, but not after a break-up.

Cutting his usual fifteen-minute shower down to five, he then stepped out onto the mat. Grabbing a clean towel, he began to wipe himself dry, spending extra time drying his hair as roughly as he could in the hopes that the feeling of it scraping against his scalp would help to distract him—it did not.

Sighing once more, he then grabbed his razor, and stepped in front of the mirror. Leaning forward a bit, he stretched skin around his chin to get a good look at what he had to get rid of before applying a layer of shaving cream, and began shaving. As he started, he had a passing thought that perhaps if he concentrated solely on his morning routine, he would be able to stop himself from thinking any further about what had transpired. He would just need to last until he got to work; once there, he would be able to just focus on keeping his customers happy.

Rinsing off, he left his bathroom, and began making his way to his dresser to grab his work clothes and an additional outfit to change into after. He paused however when he saw the open ring box on top—still open.

The glimmering emerald shined annoyingly in the dim light, almost mocking him with how perfect it was while his life was anything but. Frowning, he closed it, and placed it underneath a few pairs of his underwear. It was probably best to hide it before it caused him any more unpleasant thoughts, he figured.

Grabbing his keys, he closed the door behind him before heading down to the underground parking lot of his apartment complex. As he passed by the usual cars on his way to his own, he could not help but feel discouraged to know that every single one of them were better than his. Oh well, he thought, it was his fault for choosing to live so close to the local rich kid academy.

It kind of amused him though. While everyone living in his complex was driving automatic, he still drove manual; it was nice knowing he had at least that over them. Still, that was not much, and he would be lying if he said otherwise.

He hated lying—even to himself.

Sticking in his key and turning it, he took a quiet moment in the satisfying sound of his car revving up. At least that joyful part of his life was not missing, he thought, taking a deep breath as he placed his hands firmly on the wheel.

"One day at a time... You can do this."

Perhaps if he kept motivating himself with such phrases, he could get through the day. It was worth a try, at least.

The drive to work was as mundane as ever, which was to be expected as he had pretty much gotten used to living in his city. People walked through the streets, most of them wearing business attire or the uniform for the local school; almost all of them were busily looking down at their phones. It was a miracle how no one bumped into anyone else despite almost every single one of them having their eyes glued to a screen.

As a person that had never bought into the whole smartphone craze, Naruto felt as if he was a spectator, awkwardly watching as all of civilization became consumed by phone usage.

Just kidding. He also owned a smartphone. He just seldom used it.

It only took him fifteen minutes to arrive at the restaurant where he worked. It was a chic place that served avant garde Japanese cuisine. He liked it a lot because unlike some of the more pretentious restaurants, the head chef stuck to traditional ingredients instead of all the rich stuff like caviar or foie gras. It certainly helped that he was good friends with all the wonderful staff that worked there.

There was something strange about it though; that would have to be the fact that Naruto could never remember the name of the restaurant no matter how hard he tried. He would read the sign, and immediately forget it the moment he walked in. Fortunately for him, his employers overlooked this.

Parking his car, he stepped out, and made his way in. His presence was alerted to the entire restaurant when the person at the front greeted him.

"Good morning, Naruto!" exclaimed Temari, offering him a wave as she smiled.

He did his best to match her smile. "Morning', Temari."

"How's it going?" she asked, canting her head a bit to the side.

"Oh, just the usual," he answered, the corner of his lips twitching ever so slightly as he tried to fake normalcy.

She looked at him for a second.

"Well, alright then. Get yourself familiarized with the main course today, and make sure to tell my brother to stop threatening the line cooks." She gestured over to the main hall.

"Alright," he said. "Take care, Temari."

"You too, Naruto."

Nodding his head, he then walked past her before making his way to the main hall. There, the head chef along with the restaurant manager were speaking to a line of waiters and waitresses. Shuffling beside one of them, Naruto managed to slip in without being noticed.

"Today's main course will be grilled octopus with a sweet miso sauce as the appetizer, seared mackerel with a garnish of spring cabbage puree, drizzled with a light soy reduction, and miso poached salmon in a light fish broth with spring vegetables as the two entrees," began Gaara, the head chef, making sure everyone had written what he had said down before continuing. "For dessert, we have a simple coffee jelly topped with whipped cream."

Naruto's stomach rumbled quietly—a reminder that he had not eaten breakfast.

He watched as Gaara's gazed turned from the line to him for a quick second; perhaps his rumbling stomach was not as quiet as he first thought.

"You may now all start your duties," stated Kankuro, adjusting his silk tie to emphasize his words. "Let's all work hard today!"

With that said, the line dispersed. Naruto followed suit, and began walking to his station only to stop when he heard Gaara call his name.

"Naruto."

He turned around. "Yes, chef?"

Gaara blinked a bit at the formality in Naruto's voice. "I was just wondering if you wanted to test out the dishes."

"Oh, sure," he replied with a shrug. "I have a question though?"

"Which is?"

"How come you always ask me to test out new dishes?" he asked. "You never ask anyone else."

"I've told you this multiple times, Naruto," stated Gaara plainly.

He lifted a brow. "You have?"

"Yes." Gaara nodded. "I've told you before that you have a very sophisticated palate, Naruto. You just always get me to repeat myself because you like being flattered."

"Heh." Naruto snorted softly as he raised a hand to scratch the back of his head. "Guilty."

"Yes, well, come with me," replied Gaara, the corners of his lips curving upwards to form a subtle smile that quickly vanished.

"Alright."

Following Gaara into the kitchen, Naruto was quickly seated at the counter in the center of the room. Within seconds, all the dishes that his friend had listed off earlier were placed in front of him. They all smelled absolutely amazing, and Naruto was sure that they would taste even more so; this was Gaara's cooking after-all—some of the best in the world.

"Enjoy." Gaara placed a pair of chopsticks in front of him before going to wipe his hands.

Naruto swallowed quietly in anticipation. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said as he took a seat opposite of him. "Tell me what you think about them once you finish."

"Alright," replied Naruto as he picked up the chopsticks.

Deciding to start off with the appetizer as that was things were done properly, Naruto brought the dish in front of him. Looking at it, he could see that the octopus was beautifully grilled, and that it was wonderfully plump and tender. Picking up a piece, he dipped it into the sweet miso sauce for taking a bite.

His eyes widened as he began chewing. A delectably crispy layer had developed from the fiery heat of the grill, creating a wonderful contrast to the delicate flesh underneath it; that part of it was so soft that he almost confused it for lobster. The sweet miso sauce was nothing to scoff at either. Its delicate sweetness and smoothness, and the umami it brought to the dish was the perfect compliment for the delicious octopus.

"How was the first dish?" asked Gaara, his voice carrying a bit of mirth to it.

"It's fantastic." Naruto slowly looked over at him. "Your food is amazing, just like always, Gaara."

"Try the next dish." He gestured towards the mackerel.

Naruto chuckled quietly. "I don't know if I'm ready for it."

"You'll be fine. It's just food." Gaara shrugged. "Now come on. We've only got a half hour until our first guests arrive."

"Alright, alright, I get it."

He quietly grumbled as he chunked off a small piece of mackerel, creating a wonderful crunching sound as his chopsticks broke through the perfectly crispy fish skin. Pausing to admire the overall presentation of the dish, he then picked up a puree, and spread it atop the glistening fish meat. Not only did it smell wonderful, but it also looked beautiful; the light green of the puree provided the perfect contrast to the brown mackerel meat. Placing the piece he had picked up into his mouth, Naruto felt the corners of his lips curve upwards instinctively as the pure taste of spring filled his palate.

"Woah." Naruto placed a hand over his mouth. "What's in this puree?"

"I added in a little bit of vinegar," answered Gaara. "Mackerel's a heavy fish. It needs something cut through the oily fat."

Naruto nodded his head as he swallowed. "That was really good."

"Hah." Gaara snorted. "Leave it to you to describe something like this with such simple words."

"Didn't you always say that simple was best?" he asked, lofting a brow.

"Only when it came to food."

Naruto chuckled quietly. "Alright. Next dish, right?"

Gaara nodded.

Cutting himself a piece of salmon from the next dish, Naruto managed to squeeze in a piece of bok choy between his chopsticks before taking a bite. Such wonderful texture and flavour; it was enough to elicit an appreciative hum from him. This was definitely his favourite by far. Just everything about it was perfect: the fish was marvellously cooked, the vegetables tender and flavourful, and the broth just wrapped everything up so nicely. The dish as a whole was warm and soothing—which was exactly what he needed at the moment.

So, he had a bit more of it, finishing off about half the plate before stopping. Placing his chopsticks down, he then slid the dish away.

"I like it," he stated quietly. "It's good."

Gaara lifted a brow. "Something wrong?"

"No." He shook his head. "It's nothing."

There was a moment of silence.

"You sure?" asked Gaara, pressing his lips together when he saw Naruto frown.

"Yeah. I'm sure," Naruto answered, sighing quietly before he turned his attention to the last dish on the table. "I'll just quickly sample that last one so I can start setting up my station.

He winced inwardly after he said that. It was not like him to brush Gaara off whenever he asked about him. Usually, he was much more open to discussing his problems; not just to Gaara, but pretty much to anyone else he was close to. This was not like him, and if he noticed—then so did his friend.

Gaara let out a quiet sigh before sliding a spoon over. "Okay. Enjoy."

Naruto nodded his head before picking up the spoon. Pressing the back of it against the coffee jelly, Naruto felt himself relax a bit as he played around with the bounciness of it for a few seconds. Slowly pressing the edge of the spoon against the jelly, he found some satisfaction as the jelly gave way, and sprung back up as it was cut into. Sometimes, one just had to play with their food; and with jelly, there is no real excuse not to.

Anyways... Getting some of it onto his spoon, he then took a bite.

It was refreshing. And it was a good way to end a meal after eating all those savoury dishes, he thought. He really liked how simple it was, just coffee jelly, and some whipped cream. It was a combination that worked both as a drink and as a dessert, but there was a bit more to it than just that. Licking his teeth, Naruto hummed quietly as he tried to figure out just where this delicious coffee had come from.

"I'm going to guess Portugal."

"Correct." Gaara offered him a smile.

"You always did like coffee from there the best," remarked Naruto as he took another bite.

"That is because they are the best."

"Some might argue."

"Then they are wrong."

Naruto chuckled before placing the spoon back down on the counter. "So, when are you ever going to make a ramen dish, huh?"

"This isn't a noodle bar, Naruto," he replied as he leaned forward, and placed his elbows on the table. "Plus, it'd take too long to make a broth good enough to fit my standards while also having to make other dishes."

"Yeah, yeah. You've told me that before." The blonde waved a dismissive hand.

"And yet, you still keep asking."

Naruto smiled softly. "A man can hope, right?"

"There shall be no hope in my kitchen; only cold, brutal efficiency, and delicious cooking," stated Gaara firmly.

"Oh, that reminds me," began Naruto. "Temari told me to tell you that you should stop threatening the line cooks."

Gaara groaned. "Ugh. It is not my fault that threatening them is the only way to get them to do what I want."

"You could always try asking nic—"

"No."

Naruto blinked once, twice, before shrugging. "Alright then."

Standing up from his seat, Naruto went over to wash his hands. Though he was generally lighthearted with most things in his life, hygiene was not one of them; he cleaned his hands properly. Drying them off with a paper towel, he then made his way to the door. Just as he was about to leave however, he stopped when Gaara spoke up.

"It's Sakura, isn't it?"

Naruto stiffened, prompting the redhead to narrow his eyes. Just what could have happened to turn his usually perky and cheerful friend this solemn and moody?

"Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't," he answered vaguely, turning his head to look at Gaara from the corner of his eye.

"It is," stated Gaara, sighing as he walked up behind him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Naruto took in a shaky breath, his shoulders heaving a bit as he did so. "Look. I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Naruto," said Gaara reassuringly as he offered him an uncharacteristically friendly smile. "Just know that your fellow employees here at this restaurant have your back. Especially me."

Naruto slowly nodded and smiled back. "Thanks for that, Gaara."

He then cleared his throat.

"Well, I gotta go prep my tables," he said as he turned around so that he could get a more proper look at his friend. "I'll talk to you later."

"Take care, Naruto."

"See ya, Gaara."

Jogging over to his station, he quickly made sure that they were all prepped with the proper number of utensils and glasses. Having overstayed his little visit to the kitchen, he now paid for it by having to rush through everything; fortunately, he was an expert at this, so setting up was like second nature to him. Placing the last wine glass on the last table, Naruto let out a quiet breath. Now, all he had to do was wait for the first wave to arrive.

Great. Waiting. Maybe there was something he could do to distract himself—spoiler, there was not.

"Fucking fantastic..."

It certainly did not help that he had barely gotten any sleep the night before, so on top of his unpleasant thoughts, he was also mentally exhausted. The latter he could handle. As for the former... He would rather get hit by a car than deal with that.

Glancing out through the windows, Naruto gazed at the amazing scenery outside, and took note that it had just began to rain. It was an immense, sudden downpour, which was not all that uncommon in the region of Japan where he lived. While he hoped that they would not get as many typhoons this year as they did the last, he knew he was just kidding himself.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he concentrated on the quiet pitter patter of rain on the roof of the restaurant and on its windows, allowing it to lull him into a weak, meditative state. Today was just any other normal day, he thought. He would work hard, and he would make the guests smile. Maybe he would be able to cheer himself up by immersing himself in the happiness of others.

"Alright..."

Taking a deep breath, he then opened his eyes before exhaling. Whether he was actually or not, he told himself that he was ready; he was going to forget about everything, and just focus on creating the best dining experience he could possibly provide for everyone eating at the restaurant.

Now, he had just one question.

Who was he going to be serving first?

Just a few moments he asked himself that, he heard the front door open and close, followed up by Temari's usual enthusiastic greeting. Stretching his neck a bit and tilting his head, he tried to see who had just arrived. Usually the first guests would be sent over to his section because he was closer to the entrance. It also happened to be closest to the windows and the amazing view outside. Nothing like dining on amazing Japanese food whilst looking at an amazing garden where seasonal vegetables were grown—even if it was all covered in rain.

Narrowing his eyes, he managed to hear a bit of the conversation between Temari and the guests before they finally revealed themselves.

Naruto widened his eyes.

It was a family, but not just any family. No, no. It was probably the most important family he would ever serve in his career.

They were known for their immense wealth and staggering monopoly in the eyecare and eyewear industry in Japan, along with every other country in the Group of Seven. Not only were they famous for that, but they were also known for their bold, red eyes; traits that were entirely unique to them, that almost every member of their prestigious family had. They stood out quite a bit because of that, especially since most people in Japan simply had black hair and brown eyes.

He thought it made them look like vampires—especially with how pale they all were.

Naruto swallowed quietly in anticipation as Temari directed them over to his station. Their combined gaze was intimidating, especially as they all turned to look at him. Breathing as steadily as he could, he steeled his nerves before putting on the most welcoming smile he could muster.

It was not everyday that one got to serve the Uchiha.

He would do his best to impress.

And to hopefully forget in the process.

A/N: There we go. For those that wish to compare, I am keeping up the older version of this story up. Maybe I might finish this one. Hopefully, I do. Anyways, if you enjoyed, please favourite, follow, and review. I love feedback!