"Should we go in?"

"Let's go in!"

The Lost Days

a story by nychthemeron

I pulled up to the curb and parked my car, not minding how crooked it was in relation to the sidewalk, and Sakura ran ahead of me up the steps to the front door of Hokage Diner. As I locked the doors to my car, I took a good look at the outside of 'Kage. The building had aged quite a bit in the few years we were all gone and it seemed that in an attempt to improve the appearance of the building's exterior, they replaced the old light-up sign with the diner's name on it. Before I left, spotting this place at one thirty in the morning was a near impossible feat; now, the neon sign made the hidden diner more noticeable in the midst of all the trees.

"C'mon, Ten! It's fucking cold out and I'm starving," Sakura called. I snapped out of my reverie and ran through the door she held open for me. The familiar ring of the old bell was heard throughout the small building when we walked through the second door and into the nearly empty diner. The familiar scent of bacon and coffee wafted in the air and nearly made my mouth water.

"Hi, how many?"

"Oh, just two, thank you," I replied. Our waitress was an older foreign woman with a heavy, unidentifiable accent. She had been working here as long as I can remember but I wasn't surprised when she didn't recognize me—I hadn't been to 'Kage in five to six years and this was my first time back in Konoha in over four.

The thing about 'Kage is this: townies almost never visited the place but it remained a big part of the community. 'Kage was always there and always will be—it's a town staple and even when it was having work done due to the damage caused during a huge storm, we were all disappointed to hear it was closed for a few weeks.

We were handed our menus and poured glasses of cold water. I sighed, relaxed by the familiar atmosphere, and scanned over the breakfast options before I made my decision. I looked up and saw Sakura carefully studying the almost unfamiliar book and took a sip from my water.

I had lived in Konoha all my life up until four years ago when I was accepted to USuna. It was a great school and I had dreamed of going there for a long time. The only problem was its location and how far away it was from Konoha. I ended up moving to Suna for school and due to travel costs, I hadn't been able to return home to visit all my friends and eventually lost touch with most of them. I didn't really mind, though. I had already made great friends in Suna like the Subaku siblings and kept in touch with Sakura and Hinata—two of my best friends in high school—and somehow got closer to a mutual friend, Ino, even though we never really talked before I left.

Sakura and I were the only ones to leave for college. Ino stayed in town and attended a local university while working her family's flower shop and taking care of her widowed mother—she was stressed, that much I could tell, but she was doing great as a writer of children's books and even paired up with an artist named Sai to illustrate her stories. Hinata was the heiress of a large family-run corporation and was attending a university a couple miles away to study business. We had all planned to meet up next week once we had all graduated, but Sakura's previously used and beat up car had died the day before she was supposed to drive back to home. Her school was on the way back from mine and I swung by to pick her up a couple days ago. The next three days were spent driving from one side of the country to the other in a sort of road trip before we finally got back to Konoha.

And now here we are, having breakfast at one-thirty in the morning at 'Kage—two college graduates returning to their childhood home.

"Tenten, you have got to try this omelette. It is literally the best thing I have ever put in my mouth," Sakura moaned.

"I think I'm okay with my French toast!" I laughed. "You go ahead and enjoy your food."

"Oh trust me, I will," she replied, swallowing what she had in her mouth. I began to pour some syrup over my French toast when I looked around the diner and gasped.

"Sakura, you will never believe who is here. Casually look behind your right shoulder," I ordered. Sakura nodded and strategically dropped her ring on the floor and looked behind her.

"Oh my god is that Kin Tsuchi?" she asked, her eyes widening. I nodded and saw Sakura sink down in her seat as she groaned. "I never thought I'd see her again. After middle school, I thought she went to Juvie or something!"

"Sakura, she moved a couple towns away. She didn't go to Juvie!"

"Well she should have," she said, frowning.

In middle school, it was known by everyone that Sakura and Kin hated each other. Sakura was always a huge nerd; everyone knew it and bullied her before class to let them copy her homework. After a while, she got sick of it and when Kin Tsuchi asked for her notes one day, Sakura handed her a fake copy with all the wrong answers. Once Kin saw she had failed a science test but Sakura had aced it, she swore revenge and during gym class, stuck a wad of gum in Sakura's pink hair.

At the time, Sakura was devastated by the destruction of her gorgeous pink locks and was forced to cut the formerly waist-length hair to her shoulders. After a day or two, she realized she liked it better than her long hair and started taking martial arts classes to build up her confidence. Everybody, including Kin, stopped bullying her after that.

Towards the end of our eighth grade year, Kin moved and we thought we would never see her again so spotting her after almost nine years hit me like a nostalgia bulldozer. I laughed.

"Oh man, middle school. Were those the Dark Ages or what?"

"I refuse to believe I was a human being before the age of seventeen," Sakura groaned. "I was such a little shit in middle school… why are we even talking about this?"

I chuckled and bit off a piece of bacon. "C'mon Sakura we're almost twenty-two years old, don't you think we're old enough to look back on how stupid we were ten years ago and not feel too bad about it?"

"I guess," she replied. She took a sip from her coffee before laughing into it and making a very unattractive spitting sound. "Remember when I was completely in love with Sasuke Uchiha?"

"How could I not remember? I didn't even talk to you much back then and I knew! Hell, everyone and their mothers knew!" I said this loudly and burst out laughing. God, we were so pathetic when we were kids.

"Oh I bet you didn't know this," she whispered. We lowered our heads together until our foreheads were nearly touching and she smiled. "He called me a few months ago."

"WHAT?"

Sakura shushed me and continued. "I have no idea how he got my number but it was, like, midnight and I got this call from a blocked number so I answered. I heard some mumbling and then he said 'hey' and I immediately recognized his voice."

"So what did you say?" I asked with curiosity apparent in my voice.

"I hung up on him!" she giggled. My jaw dropped and eyes widened in disbelief.

"You didn't."

"Oh, I totally did," Sakura confessed, flipping her hair dramatically. "He was such an asshole in high school and once he moved to Oto I didn't think to hear from him again. I seriously can't believe I was disgustingly infatuated with him when I was younger."

"Remember that time our freshman year of high school you thought he sent you roses on Valentine's Day?" I teased. Sakura nodded her head and I grinned. "I know who actually sent them!" Sakura choked on her home fries and glared at me.

"You knew who did it and you never told me?" she nearly screamed. I tried to hide my grin and failed as I nodded. "Who?"

"It was Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki!"

"I fucking knew it!" she exclaimed. "Remember when he was pretty much in love with me?"

"Holy shit, dude, what was up with everyone being in love with each other in middle school and early high school? We were all ridiculous."

"And what about you?"

I blinked and tilted my head to the side. "What about me?"

"Who were you disgustingly in love with during the Dark Ages?"

"Well… okay, this was a long time ago anyway. Do you remember Neji Hyuuga?"

"Hinata's cousin?" I nodded and Sakura's green eyes glowed with interest. "Oh, do go on!"

"Okay, well, we were lab partners for sophomore chemistry and he was just really attractive and really smart and so I kind of had this huge crush on him for that year… and most of junior year."

"Aw, that's cute! What stopped you from making a move? I mean, I never tried anything with Sasuke because he made it obvious he wasn't interested in anyone but himself, but what about Neji?"

"I honestly don't know," I admitted. I took another bite of bacon and swallowed it before I continued. "I guess I thought he was out of my league. It's funny; we worked really well together and even hung out a few times. Oh well, that was a long time ago so who cares? We're adults now, right?"

"Right!"

We ate in silence for a few minutes and were close to finishing when the waitress brought us our check.

"No rush," she informed us. "I just want to make sure you get this before I forget to give it to you."

"Thank you so much, this place is excellent!" Sakura chirped. I smiled at the kind waitress as she walked off with a grin on her face. "Coming here was a great idea, Ten. It brings back a lot of memories."

"It really does, doesn't it?" I stuffed the last bit of French toast in my mouth and was about to down the rest of my coffee when I heard the old bell ring. Out of curiosity I turned my head to see who was walking in at two in the morning when I heard Sakura gasp.

"Oh my god, Lee!" she squealed and threw her arms around the man's neck. "How are you? I haven't seen you in years! I never thought I'd run into you here of all places!"

I broke out into a smile. "Lee! I haven't seen you since graduation, dude! Come sit with us, we were just about to leave but we should totally catch up!"

The young man gave a hearty laugh; the years had treated him well. He used to be a really weird looking guy but since I last saw him at graduation, he had grown up. He was still kind of dorky, but it was cute rather than weird now. He had always been a really nice guy and we did track together in high school—talk about people I never thought I'd see again.

"I'm all for catching up… but I didn't come here alone," he admitted. "I don't know if you remember Neji Hyuuga, but he and I just got back from school in Kumo. He is outside parking the car and he will be here in a second."

Sakura shot me a wink and a smile before turning back to Lee. "Oh, is he now? I'm sure we all have something ridiculous to look back on—oh, Neji, over here!"

I chuckled and looked over my left shoulder and saw Neji Hyuuga standing at the door to the diner. His eyes widened in surprise and he walked over to the table where he sat down next to me.

"Well, I never thought I would see anyone from high school here," he said. "Hello Sakura, hello Tenten."

"Neji, it's been quite a while, hasn't it?" I asked. "How's life been treating you?"

Without him telling me, I could see he had been doing great. He was always very attractive and he had certainly grown up since high school. His hair was longer now and his muscles toned—still attractive indeed.

"Everything has been excellent," he replied. "I graduated last week and am planning to travel before I head to grad school in the fall."

"Wow that's fantastic!" I praised. He smirked at me and signaled the waitress to come to our table. "What about you, Lee?"

"Oh, well, do you remember sophomore year when I broke my leg doing some parkour?"

"How could anyone forget? I'm sorry if this sounds terrible, but that was actually kind of funny," Sakura admitted. Lee smiled and gave an awkward laugh.

"It wasn't exactly my proudest moment, to be honest. But when I was recovering, I had to go to physical therapy and I met my mentor Gai—he really inspired me and helped my leg get better. Because of him I decided to study physical therapy. We still keep in touch and once I finish my studies, he even has a job lined up for me!"

"Lee, that's so great! You know, Sakura's on her way to becoming a doctor," I said. Sakura nodded and Lee grinned.

"I always knew you would go into the medical field! I know you're going to do a great job!"

Sakura blushed. "Thanks, Lee. It's feels great to hear someone say that!"

"And what about you, Tenten?"

I turned to face Neji and smiled. "I just got back from USuna and majored in hospitality and tourism. I've always wanted to own my own bed and breakfast! I'm also heading back to school in the fall—but for business."

"Oh man," Sakura sighed. "It's so crazy seeing how much we've grown up since graduation. I'm actually starting to feel like an old hag."

"What's even crazier is the fact that we're not old at all," Neji said. The waitress swung by our table and took the boys' orders before collecting the menus and refilling our glasses with water.

"Holy shit you guys. Do you remember the play we put on in middle school?" I asked. A groan came from everyone else at the table and I burst out laughing. "Was that terrible or was that terrible? And Ino's solo—oh man, don't even get me started!"

"Oh no, no, no, you forgot how awful the dance ensemble was," Sakura interrupted. "I don't know why the hell I was cast as a dancer instead of, like, a tree or something. I can't dance!"

"You weren't all that bad, Sakura!" Lee exclaimed. Sakura stared at him in disbelief before he also broke into a fit of laughter. "Okay, that was a lie! I'm sorry but you were so bad."

"Lee, you jerk! That's so mean!"

"I'm sorry Sakura but it's true!"

As Sakura and Lee playfully argued, I turned my attention back to Neji who was taking big gulps of his coffee.

"Long trip, huh?" I asked. He put his mug on the table and nodded.

"I am ridiculously tired. And while Lee is a good friend of mine, being in a car with him for hours on end is a bit… mentally exhausting."

"I can understand why! Um, so where exactly are you travelling to this summer?" I wanted to keep the conversation going no matter what. Neji had always fascinated me and I was determined to see how much he had changed over the years.

"I don't really know," he answered. He threw back the last of his coffee and sighed with satisfaction. "I don't have a single destination in mind. I just want to drive around the country and see new things, meet new people… I find it fascinating how different we all are despite living in the same country."

"That is so cool, Neji. So are you going with family or friends or something?"

"Well, the original plan was to go with Lee, but he forgot to mention he got himself an internship for the summer. It's great for him and I guess it works out in my favor—I get to travel at my own pace rather than his," he admitted. I giggled and leaned back in my seat.

"I seriously cannot get over the fact that we ran into each other like this. I was convinced I would never see you again after high school and now look at us. It's been four years, we've all graduated college, and we're all adults. It's absolutely insane, isn't it?"

"I'm glad it happened, though," I blushed and he took a bite of his philly steak and cheese. "Have you seen anyone else from high school around?"

I shook my head. "No, not yet; I don't know if I mentioned that Sakura and I are literally just getting back. We've been driving almost non-stop for a few days and once we got home, we were starving and decided to stop by. We're planning to meet up at Hinata's place next week, though… I assume you know that already?"

"Of course; she seemed very excited about it when we last spoke," he replied. I felt my heart beat just a bit faster as I struggled to ask my next question.

"And… will you be there?"

Oh shit, what was I doing? I haven't seen the guy in years but here I was trying to make a move or something. There was always something about Neji that lured me in; maybe it was his cool demeanor that set him apart from the rest. But even more frustrating than the want to see him again, was the ton of feelings I could feel flooding back into me.

"Naturally."

…

We spent the next hour and a half talking and by the time I looked at the clock on the diner's wall, I realized it was almost four in the morning.

"Oh gosh, don't you think we should leave soon?" I asked. The other members of our small group turned their heads to their cell phones or watches and seemed almost shocked by the time.

"I didn't realize we had been here this long," Lee admitted. "We should probably leave before we become too much of a burden to the employees."

"I'll get the check, Ten. I still owe you from lunch two days ago," Sakura said. She swiped the check from the table before I could protest and brought it to the front register by the door. Lee followed suit and left me alone with Neji at the table.

"We're going out tonight," I heard Neji say. I turned to him after I finished yawning and blinked at him questioningly. "Lee and I are planning to meet up with a few friends for drinks. You and Sakura should come along; I think it would be nice for all of us to see each other again."

"Um, yeah that sounds like a lot of fun. Hang on, let me get your number," I reached into my bag to dig out my cell phone before I realized I had left it in the car. "Oh, sorry I don't have my pho—oh, wait." I pulled out a green felt tip marker from a side pocket and handed it to Neji before rolling up the sleeve of my sweater and offering him my left arm. "Here, just write your number down and I'll be sure to call you when I'm not half asleep!"

Neji smirked and grabbed my wrist. He had a firm yet comforting grip and I could feel my heart race again. In his neat penmanship, he wrote his cell phone number on my forearm before sliding my sleeve back into its place and capping the marker. "I'm looking forward to seeing you later. Have a good night and be careful driving. Make sure to get some sleep."

"Y-you too," I nodded dumbly as he gave me a small smile and said a polite goodbye to Sakura. I waved and grinned at Lee before he enveloped Sakura in a large rib-crushing hug goodbye and followed Neji out the door. I sunk into my seat and pressed my cold hands against my warm face.

Tonight.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Quick backstory—this is (very) loosely based off true events! It was a Saturday night and my friend who had just come back from school went to see a movie with me. When we were on our way back home, she spotted a diner we hadn't been to in years so I pulled up to it and we got some breakfast at 1:30 AM when a good friend of mine from high school who I hadn't spoken to/ seen since he graduated a year before me walked in. This inspired the story along with the song "Little Numbers" by BOY (look it up, it's FANTASTIC). Thanks again!