A/N: Hey! How long has it been. Sorry! I'm really sorry you guys! I really thought I could get the next chap out a week after the poll ended but... gomen! I got distracted. Anyways, here, I hope you guys can forgive with this chap. I made it a bit longer.

A Chance?

Chapter 4: Team 7

"O-Osu... Kore wa... This isn't... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Naruto screamed his lungs out as he clutched his blonde hair desperately. How on earth could the great Uzumaki Naruto hate Ramen?! It's unthinkable! What kind of sick joke was this?!

The whole world seemed to collapse around him. Him and ramen go waaay back. How can he just... hate it like that? And the way Ayame looked and spoke to him... she clearly loathed him! How bad a review did he give them? Wait... since when did he give them a critique? He didn't remember anything like that. Whenever he went to Ichiraku's there was no need for them to ask if the ramen was alright. The number of bowls that he could stack upon the counter easily gave them the answer.

"I've... I've gotta fix this... I've really got to fix this..." Naruto muttered to himself. He let go of his hair and started running towards the direction that Ayame headed for a few minutes ago.

"This is bad. This is very bad!"

He quickened his pace and pushed past the group of people on the street. He had forgotten his purpose in going to town. He was supposed to look around and see if this place was the same as he remembered it and then, if he finds nothing, he would go to the gates where his team would be waiting for him for their mission.

But right now, ramen was more important. He didn't care as long as there's still ramen. He didn't know what he would do if his precious ramen would be gone. Life wouldn't be worth living... no wait... he still wanted to become Hokage... but it wouldn't be the same without Ichiraku's Ramen!

"Ayame-neechan! Ayame-neechan!" Naruto called throughout the street. There was still no sign of her. How could he lose her so quickly? Or... wait, how long had he been gaping there like an idiot?

He reached the end of the street and the crowd just seemed to thicken. Naruto decided to climb up the rooftops and decide to search for her from there. He hopped from tree to tree as he craned his head in every direction he could manage. Sadly, Ayame was still nowhere to be found.

Naruto sighed dejectedly and sank to the ground with a groan. 'My precious ramen... gone...'
He looked up at the sky and stared at it for a while. What was he supposed to do now? He didn't have his precious ramen. He was sure that when he found Ayame and apologized, he could win back their friendship and he could have his ramen. But she was easily lost in the crowds. Surely it wasn't that hard to spot a girl who wore white clothing? It was like she suddenly vanished. He never lost sight of old man Teuchi that quickly. Even when he left their shop-

THEIR SHOP!

How could he be so stupid? Oh... wait... Naruto slapped himself and hurriedly got up. He quickly traced the path towards the Ramen stall he knew by heart. He already set his mind. He would go in there, apologize, they'll accept it and be happy, and then, RAMEN TIME!

Mouth watering in anticipation, Naruto rounded a corner and prepared himself for the small stand that he was about to see.

His eyes suddenly widened and he was brought to a screeching halt. The place where he was accustomed to seeing Ichiraku's Ramen stand was gone. In its stead was a large, one-storey building with a sign on the roof saying, "Ichiraku's Ramen"

Naruto's jaw dropped. This is Ichiraku's Ramen? It was huge!

He collected himself and tentatively made his way inside. He could her loud noises like laughter and mindless chatter from inside. 'Wow... there must be a lot of customers today...' He pulled back the cloth that adorned the doorway and took a look at the building's interior. He was, once again, in shock as he took in everything. There were tables here and there were actually waitresses and waiters! He couldn't believe what he was seeing!

The moment he stepped inside the shop, everyone became deathly silent. Every pair of eyes inside the shop were trained on him. Naruto noticed this and he gulped. He took a few steps forward. Everybody kept staring at him. Nobody dared move a muscle so he continued moving forward.

As he passed a few waiters and waitresses, he noticed the look of disgust on their faces and he started to become nervous. Maybe coming here was a bad idea. If this was how they stared at him, then the critique he gave them must have been really bad. He found himself in front of the counter where a few civilians were eating at.

The man behind the counter had his arms crossed and he wore an expression of anger on his face.

Naruto gulped again and he said shakily, "A-Anoh... Oji-san, may I speak with T-Teuchi-san?"

The man didn't answer him immediately. Instead, he glared at Naruto. Naruto started to sweat now. 'This is a really bad situation to get into.'
Finally, the man uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on his hips. Every pair of eyes were trained on the both of them and the silence and tense atmosphere inside the room made Naruto's stomach squirm uncomfortably.

"You've got some nerve coming here, you brat." the man spat at him.
Naruto flinched.

"I didn't think you'd show your face here, after that review you gave us." The man continued. "And now what? You want to speak to Teuchi-san? You're way in over your head."

"N-No... it's just that... I just wanted to speak with him." Naruto said, half-pleading.

The man scoffed at him. "And what? Are you finally gonna give him a heart attack? He almost had one when your statement reached the media and it was published all around the village. Don't you think you've done enough?!"

Naruto was shocked by that. He didn't know he had done that much damage. He didn't know where he was or what he was like in this crazy world but he felt obligated to apologize for all the wrongs he had done. Or... the things that the other him did. "G-Gomen..." Naruto muttered.

The man, who was about to start another round of an earful, stopped and he froze in his position. His words were caught in his throat and he can't seem to get them out. "G-Gomen? Did I just... did you just...? You... you... you apologized! Kami-sama! He... He apologized!" He raised his voice. "Minna! Did you hear that?! He said, gomen!"

A series of whispers and mutters broke out through the customers and workers. The man kept muttering to himself as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Wow... I... I didn't know you had the guts to say that... I always thought... " a worker said. He appeared beside the man and he stared at Naruto, dumbfounded. Everyone else seemed to have similar expressions and Naruto shifted his feet uncomfortably as he stuffed his hands inside his pocket.

"S-So... I can meet Teuchi-san, right?" Naruto asked them.

The two workers behind the counter looked at each other for a moment before they decided. They nodded at him and Naruto smiled inwardly. They led him towards a door at behind them and let him go inside. One of them followed after him and he knocked on the door behind him, just to notify the person inside that there were people awaiting him.

The man who was sitting behind a desk looked up. He saw his worker standing there with... with the Hokage's son. The boy who gave them a bad review. He looked at the young worker questioningly and said worker started to explain.

"Sir, Namikaze-san wanted to speak with you." he said.

Ichiraku Teuchi was surprised. He didn't expect the boy to come here personally, especially after the scene he caused here a week ago. He contemplated for a bit before finally nodding and signalling his worker to leave them alone. The young man nodded and closed the door.

Naruto was left by himself, standing there awkwardly as he tried his best to calm himself. Now that he was finally alone with the old man who he had cared for a lot since he was a small child, he didn't know what to do. It was possible that he might hate him-loathe him perhaps, for the horrible things he had said about his ramen. Well... he never said anything bad about his ramen. The Naruto that these guys seemed to know said it. He was confused enough as it is. He had to deal with this ramen issue and the people here seemed to think of him as a heartless bastard and he had a family.

"U-Um..." Naruto started.

Teuchi put up a hand to stop him and he gestured for him to sit down. "Please, Namikaze-san, sit."

Naruto gulped. "Okay..."

He sat down and twiddled his thumbs for a while before Teuchi decided to break the silence.

"Namikaze-san, I... I didn't expect your presence after... after what happened last week." he said as he folded his hands under his chin.

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Ehehe... yeah... I..." he cleared his throat and started over. "The thing is... the thing is, I've come to apologize, Teuchi-san-

"Ichiraku-san, please. I don't believe we're on first name terms."

Naruto froze for a moment and he stared at Teuchi. He had never been formal with the guy. He called him Naruto, and sometimes he called him Oji-san. Nevertheless, he cleared his throat and continued.

"Ichiraku-san... The thing is, my actions were... uncalled for... and... I'm really sorry. I really am."

Like the man from before, Teuchi was shocked. His eyes were wide and his mouth had opened slightly.

"A-Anoh... Teuchi-san?"

Teuchi regained his composure and he faced Naruto seriously. "Just like that? Just like that, Namikaze-san?"

"It's Naruto and yeah, it's just like that. I'm really sorry and I shouldn't have said that in the first place. I really hope you will forgive me..." Naruto said as he bowed his head.

Teuchi sighed. "You know, Namikaze-san... the past week had been a nightmare. After you gave your review we lost a lot customers. We suffered great losses that week... Do you honestly think I could forgive and forget that easily?"

Naruto clenched his fists. "I know you can, Oji-san. It isn't like you to hold a grudge-"

"-C-Chotto! It's Ichira-"

Naruto continued. "-against people. I know you. You're kind. You have a big heart, Oji-san. You helped me through those tough times. I think the reason... I said those things... were because your ramen was even more delicious than I had originally thought... a-and I thought that I could keep my word to my friends. Y-You see... I sorta told them that your ramen is just ramen. Sorry! I thought that back then. It doesn't really matter now." he said. He had no idea on what he was saying right now. Still, he should provide a good enough excuse right? Swallowing hard, he said, "Dakara... I think you'd find it in you to forgive me."

Still, it wasn't too far for the truth. When he was eight, he met Teuchi for the first time. He was roaming the streets, looking for food to eat. The money that the Sandaime-jiji gave him was lost to the landlady. She took it all, insisting that he had to pay the rent, when in truth, the Sandaime had already paid for it. She just took the money from Naruto. Naruto was left with nothing. That money was supposed to be for his food for the month.

And now, he was on the streets, searching for some food. He bumped into Teuchi, who was making deliveries at that time. Teuchi knew who he was. He was the nine-tails' container. He had lost his wife to the beast when it rampaged on their village. Still, one look at the child's pitiful state tugged at his conscience and he brought him to his shop. There, he fed him a bowl of ramen.

At first, Naruto was reluctant to touch it but his hunger got the better of him and he down the bowl in, literally, one gulp. Long story short, Teuchi had taken a liking to the boy and sometimes offered him free meals when he didn't have enough money to buy a bowl.

Naruto smiled at the memory and looked back at the man sitting across from him.

Teuchi was silent for a while. Sweat had formed on his forehead and he looked like he was deep in thought. Naruto let him be and he sat on the chair silently awaiting his answer. After what seemed like a lifetime, Teuchi looked at him and his eyes no longer held anger at him. It had softened, somewhat but that was enough to make Naruto smile. He knew he could get through the old man. He was such a softie!

"So... you forgive me then?"

"Eh... something like that..." He said with a smile.

"Hontou?! Yosha!" Naruto yelled and punched the air with his fists.

"But..." Teuchi cut him off. "You'll have to declare it for the entire shop to hear. Over a bowl of ramen."

Naruto grinned at him. "No prob!"

"Uh... that was horrible..." Naruto told himself as he dragged himself out of the shop. He could still hear cheers from the inside.

Just an hour ago, Teuchi made him sit on a table and had everyone inside the shop gather around him. He served a bowl of ramen in front of him and he gestured him to start eating. Of course, Naruto was almost too happy to comply. However, the first spoonful immediately made him regret that decision.

THE RAMEN TASTED HORRIBLE!

He almost barfed it out if it wasn't for his hand that had automatically placed itself over his mouth. He really didn't want to voice out his thoughts and turn everything back again. He had made progress today. But Kami-sama, this ramen was an abomination to all ramen! He couldn't believe that this was a creation of Teuchi himself!

Not wanting to anger the old man, he forcefully swallowed it and gave Teuchi a forced smile.

Teuchi was over the moon about it and he urged Naruto to finish the entire bowl. Needless to say, he felt like he was going to die any moment now. That ramen felt like poison. He ran as fast as he could to the nearest trash bin and emptied his stomach.

He pulled himself up and grabbed a nearby post for support.

"Kami, that's horrible..." He took deep breaths for a while and leaned on the post. "It was like Oji-san lost his talent at cooking. Eurgh..."

"OY! NARUTO!" he heard a voice from behind him. He looked around and what he saw nearly made him faint.

A few meters away from him was Team 7. His team... His... wait... that can't be right...

There was Kakashi, with his mask and silver hair. He almost seemed normal.

To his left was Haruno Sakura, she looked timid and her pink hair was just as it was in their Academy Days. It was long. She was unnaturally quiet and she kept looking at the ground. Okay, that really wasn't right! Sakura was loud and annoying and she was never... well... that!

And if that wasn't enough, Sasuke's appearance shocked him the most. He was literally jumping up and down with endless energy as he grinned from ear to ear. His normal blue, high-collared shirt and white shorts were gone. Instead, he was... Naruto's eyes bulged when he saw it.

SASUKE WAS WEARING HIS ORANGE CLOTHES!

A/N: DUDUDUDUNNNNNNN! HA! Take that! Er... ehehe sorry for the cliffie you guys. I was looking at the reviews for this fic and I saw KiyumiArahi's review about Sasuke wearing orange so I just had to put it in. :D And yeah, Kakashi's still Kakashi... sorta...

Let me know what you guys think!