2Chapter 1: Taking the Jump
Dick Grayson stepped off the bus, fresh to Jump City, a City attached to San Francisco. As he walked out into bright evening sunlight, his stomach growled. He took a look around and found himself near an old ramen stand. Checking his miniscule amount of earnings, he decided to get a small meal, so he sat at the bar next to an old man who was slurping up noodles with at least six bowls emptied beside him. "A small miso ramen please," Dick said to the ramen chef who nodded in acknowledgment. The slurping sounds continued next to him as the ninth bowl of ramen was emptied… 'wait, ninth?' the Boy Wonder was confused by this as the old man was on his seventh bowl not mere seconds ago. Unbeknownst to him, the Old man noticed his staring.
"Well, hello there gaki. You never seen an old man take his time eating ramen before?" the old man said as Dick's ramen was set before him. Dick ignored the ramen, mouth still agape and staring at the old man, who he noticed had three whisker-like scars on his cheek and graying blonde, spiky hair. He was in an orange three piece suit. The old man tapped his walking stick on the ground trying to get Dick's attention.
That snapped Grayson out of his shock, "Wait, swallowing three bowls in less than ten seconds is considered taking your time, old man?" He looked at the old man incredulously. The man chuckled at that.
"Gaki," the old man said, still smirking, "compared to how much and how fast I can put away the food of the gods, that ain't shit." He gave a final chuckle. "Name's Naruto by the way, what's yours?" He extended his hand to Dick for a greeting.
Dick gripped his hand and shook it, "Dick. A pleasure." He stared at Naruto, "so you love ramen so much you named yourself after the fishcake topping?"
A tick mark appeared on Naruto's head, "Oi, gaki, it means 'Maelstrom' not 'Fishcake.' Get it right!"
"Whatever old man. With those whiskers, you look like a catfish." Grayson chuckled as he turned to his bowl and started eating, leaving Naruto with multiple tick marks on his forehead. Before he could respond a group of three thugs came up to the ramen stand and started badgering the old chef for protection money. Grayson, with his sunglasses on, slurped loudly on his last of his noodles, interrupting the gangsters. He gave a contented sigh before whipping his bowl into the face of the first thug closest to him.
A moment of surprise was all Robin needed as he proceeded to kick the second guy in the solar plexus, driving the air out of him, knocking him out. The third thug, and their leader pulled out a pair of knuckle dusters and was about to attack Robin before Naruto used his cane to whack him upside the head, knocking him unconscious. As the first thug got up he saw his buddies out cold in a matter of seconds. Naruto then spoke up, "if I was you, I'd highly suggest you take your buddies and never return to this stand. This stand is protected by the Uzumaki clan."
The man paled at that and grabbed his buddies and retreated. Naruto breathed out his nose with satisfaction. "That takes care of that," Naruto tapped his cane on the ground before turning to Dick. "Well you ain't to shabby gaki. You seem to know your stuff. You want dinner?"
"I'm pretty sure I just ate my dinner, while you ate ten dinners," Dick stated in disbelief. "How much can one old geezer eat?"
Naruto chuckled at that, "you'd be surprised, gaki, especially since my wife is the best damn cook this side of the Rockies. No offense to your godly ramen Ayame."
The old woman cook just chuckled at that. "I've had Hinata's cooking, the fact that my ramen comes second in your eyes is a major achievement in my eyes. Tell her I said hello."
"Will do! Come gaki, I'm sure a kid like you wouldn't mind some place to stay too." Naruto started walking off leaning on his cane while at it. Dick was a bit wary, but decided no harm considering the old man seemed nice enough. Plus he did need a place to stay. After that fallout with his adoptive father, he wasn't thinking too far into the future for things like shelter and food. As he followed Naruto to his home, a feeling of shame crept in which was squashed immediately by rage at being relegated to second string in what was supposed to be his team.
After about ten minutes of walking through the Japanese district of Jump city, the pair came to a small Japanese castle style mansion. Holding enough space to contain five average American families. Two Yakuza type thugs guarded the entrance and bowed to Naruto and his guest as he passed by. Naruto gave a quick acknowledgement before moving on. Seeing the Yakuza types put Grayson on edge, his years of training as Robin made him tense as he took in the details around him. The pathways, the guards, the rooftops, and the dimensions gathered in young Dick's mind. "Relax, gaki. You're a guest. If I wanted you dead, Ayame would be dealing with your body as we speak," Naruto stated matter of factly without even looking at him, "so take it easy. Besides, I'm curious about where you learned to be a shinobi. You remind me of myself at that age." Naruto laughed.
Dick didn't fully relax, but did take himself off of high alert. "Sorry, I just am not used to being welcomed into a family's home," he said, with the undertone not lost on Naruto, who nodded at that explanation.
The two walked up to the door that opened to reveal an elderly woman, with long blue hair tied up into a bun with two senbon needles keeping it together, and lavender eyes that seemed blind, almost blank. Laugh lines and wrinkles covering her face as she welcomed her husband Naruto with a smile. "Hello dear. Dinner is ready." Hinata stated before spotting the young Robin. "Oh? Who might this be dear?" She said, giving him a kind smile.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Funny story really. The gaki was eating ramen and the Lorenzo family's thugs came to shake Ayame down. So the gaki over here attacked them and knocked one out while the other was forced to retreat after we got through with his buddies." Naruto chuckled, "so I thought I'd invite him over."
Hinata shook her head at that. "You never change Naruto." She kisses his cheek. "Make sure you never do," she said in a sultry tone before kissing him on the lips. Robin coughs to interrupt them before they go further. "Oh, where is my manners," Hinata turned to Dick, "would care to join us for dinner and stay the night, young…"
"Grayson. Dick Grayson. A pleasure to meet you ma'am," he responded politely. The old lady was very nice and Dick was reminded of a grandmotherly figure.
"Welcome Grayson-san. I'm Uzumaki Hinata," Hinata gave a small bow in welcome, "pleasure to meet you. Like I said, you're welcome to join us and stay the night." He accepted mainly because he had nowhere else to go and his funds were low enough to be worrying.
The group made their way to the dining area, which had two guards posted in there. Hinata brought out the food and served it first to Grayson then to Naruto before going back to get more. She knew her husband better than anyone and knew that it would take more than a meal fit for a king to fill him up.
As they had dinner, they learned more about each other, though both parties kept things vague. Dick learned that Naruto and Hinata had three kids, a boy named Boruto (Dick sniggered at that name), and two girls, named Himawari and Fuyuto. Boruto is a typical office working family man with a wife and two kids. Himawari is a company executive for LexCorp's Jump City branch (Hinata laments not getting grandchildren from her). While Fuyuto remains here training to take over the family business. As to what that business is, Naruto simply calls it insurance and community service (Dick narrows his eyes at that but lets it go).
Meanwhile, Dick talks about him being a runaway due to an argument with his adoptive father about trust and responsibility. How he's from the East Coast and how he's low on cash and decided to head as far west as possible simply just to get away. He was still angry at Bruce for involving his friends in a hidden mission without letting him in on it to help. It almost cost Artemis and Caeldor's life. Dick may have no idea what exactly he'll do next, but he assures the elderly couple that he'll figure something out.
Naruto and Hinata look at each other coming to a decision. "Hey," Naruto started, "how'd you like to earn a bit of a living wage and learn some cool moves?"