"There's somethin' strange, in the neighborhood..." Naruto sang to himself as he strolled around the village, before humming the rest of the lyrics.
If people truly knew of the extent of the things they had inside the firehouse...
He and Sakura had found much inside the dusty and partially ruined walls of the ancient building. Most of it was beyond them at the current point in time, others it was just a matter of figuring out how they worked.
Some of the devices they were able to patent as their own. Like phones. The Hokage Tower, the firehouse, the academy and the different Clan compounds were all set up on the phone network, as well as having a network all on their own. It wouldn't be ready for mass production for the rest of the civilian and shinobi populace for another year or so.
Others, they still hadn't managed to reproduce- namely stereo with the tape deck and CD player which is where Naruto had heard the rather catchy tune. In all honesty, it was probablly his favorite song and the chosen jingle for the new business once he and Sakura FINALLY got it off the ground and securely out of the black.
The ghost logo and the song was how Naruto had coined the phrase 'Ghostbusters' and decided that it was going to be the name of the company. Sakura had wanted to veto the name, opting for something more formal, despite Slimer's support of the name.
Unfortunately for her, they had found some old newspaper clippings that only reaffirmed Naruto's stance on the matter. And as if it were destiny or fate (which despite his heavy belief and studies in the paranormal, Naruto did not believe in), the Ghostbusters were reborn.
Humming the tune, he temporarily put his search for Gaara on hold as he spotted the gift of the Gods. A ramen stand.
Naruto sat down as he waited for the waitress to take his order, Slimer floating over the chair next to him. Other patrons at the stand eyed Slimer warily, but said nothing. The Konoha Genin sat lost in thought when he heard a shrill scream.
"What the heck is that!" she shrieked pointing at Slimer.
"He's Slimer, and he's my friend," Naruto answered her. "Listen, we've had a long day and we just got into town, could you get us both three bowls of Miso Ramen?"
Had Sakura been there, she'd have been impressed at the display of manners, no matter how small, despite the shortness of his reply.
"H-hai..." she answered hesitantly.
Three minutes later she returned with the ramen.
As they began to dig in, Naruto decided to get some information. "I was wondering if you could help me find someone."
Still eyeing Slimer with suspicion, the young waitress replied, "Sure..."
"I'm looking for the son of the Kazekage. Sabaku no Gaara." said Naruto. The entire stand fell deathly silent. The waitress immediately dropped the bowl in her hand, which promptly shattered sending broth and ramen all over the floor.
"Wh-what do you want w-with G-Gaara..." she asked nervously.
"You must have a death wish," said one of the patrons. "No one who goes looking for Gaara lives for very long."
"I'm not known as Konoha's Number One Unpredictable Shinobi for nothing you know," responded Naruto with a smile.
"Yeah!" Slimer back Naruto up, before digging into Naruto's ramen, his own ramen was all over the stool underneath him covered in Ectoplasm.
"And a glory seeker," said a shinobi customer, "Your type dies the quickest."
"Hn," Naruto grunted, "How about you take me to Gaara and we'll see from there."
"We already have enough problems with your village with the ambassador he killed two weeks ago," said the shinobi disapprovingly, "We don't need to compound our troubles because you were too cocky for your own good."
"Why don't you let me worry about that," replied Naruto, "I was hired to... deal... with Gaara anyway."
"And what could a stupid looking kid like you do?" asked another patron mockingly.
"Uh-oh..." said Slimer as he saw the smirk on Naruto's face. He flew around to the other side of the counter and hid behind it. Naruto, meanwhile, pulled the proton accellerator wand from his pack. Hitting the blue button on the wand, everyone heard the ringing sound emitted from it as it warmed up and the red button right next to it lit up.
"Who wants to see a demonstration?" asked Naruto cockily. Many at the stand grew unsettled at the look on Naruto's face.
The patron who had mocked Naruto was looking nervous, but never-the-less, boldly asked to see Naruto's "great and unpredictible" power.
Pointing the wand at the man's stool, he hit the red button. The wild proton beam shot from the wand as the man jumped off his stool only a split second before it exploded.
"Anyone else doubt me?" Naruto asked looking around to the astonished faces.
"What is the meaning of this!" demanded a rather angry female voice.
Deactivating his proton pack and reholstering the proton accellerator wand, Naruto grinned at Slimer, "Looks like it's my lucky day."
Sure enough, he was greeted by the sight of a rather angry blonde who wore her hair in four pony tails.
"I truly am blessed that a goddess like yourself would grace this lowly commoner with her with her invigorating presence that could rally armies with her gorgeous looks alone," Naruto announced as she stepped into the ramen stand. He then bowed deeply towards her, taking her hand once more and kissing it.
His act was a bit over the top, but he enjoyed her reaction none the less.
Despite her blush, she pulled her hand away from the blonde Konoha Shinobi. "Shameless flirt..." she mumbled, unknowingly mumbling a phrase he had only heard from Sakura thousands upon thousands of times before. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Looking for your brother, Oh Beautiful Goddess of the Sand, when some of your lowly servants decided to doubt my mad Shinobi-Ghostbusting Skills," Naruto responded.
The Suna kunoichi rolled her eyes, and then looked around at the chaotic destruction around her, "I see... My name is Temari, Sabaku no Temari, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto only grinned wider. "You remembered my name, that must have been some impression I left on you, Temari-chan."
"Don't flatter yourself," Temari scolded him, "If I were interested in you, it wouldn't matter as you seem rather focused on getting yourself killed. Approaching Gaara alone is suicide."
"But I wasn't alone, Slimer is here with me," he replied pointing at the green specter who was currently STILL hiding behind the counter.
"Yes... I'm sure he would be of great help in dealing with my brother..."
"Well if you are so sure I'm going to die, why don't you fullfill a dying man's last wish and join him for his last meal?" Naruto asked.
"Persistant, aren't you?" Temari asked with a slight smile of her own. "If I say 'yes', will you leave me alone?"
"Only until after I talk to your brother," replied Naruto honestly, "Then I'll be back to harassing you for dates in no time."
"Confident, aren't you?" she asked. "What makes you so sure you can deal with him alone, without your team?"
"Because I can't do my job very well working under the opposite assumption," Naruto said with a smile before turning serious, "Besides, I think it's best I speak with Gaara alone before the rest of my team meets him."
"Fine, since you're so dead set on going to see Gaara, I'll go to dinner with you," Temari said with a sigh, "And if you manage to survive I'll CONSIDER going on a second date with you."
"That's all I can ask for," said Naruto grinning once more. "I'll even pay for this date and the next one."
"What makes you think there's going to be a second one?" asked Temari, "Even if you survive meeting Gaara."
Naruto pulled her close and whispered softly into her ear, "Can you keep a secret?"
Temari, her heart beating wildly as she felt his hot breath on her ear and neck, only nodded in response.
"So can I," he whispered, before pulling away from her. He then left the Ramen Stand, Slimer reluctantly trailing behind him. Meanwhile Temari stood rooted in place unable to bring herself to move. Seeing this Naruto smirked as he turned back to her, "Coming Temari-chan?"
"O-of course..." she said absently before walking out of the stand with Naruto and Slimer.
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