"Are you serious?" Naruto couldn't believe his ears, was he hearing right? He held the phone excitedly and nearly dropped it due to his shaking hands. A huge grin was plastered all over his face as he smiled from ear to ear. This was just too good to be true.
The voice over the phone only excited him more, as he began to prepare items in his house. It had been a while since they had spoken, but now since she was going to be in town, he figured why not?
"Sure, I'll make an extra bed for you! A-And don't worry about food or any of that! I'll treat you to ramen!" he said, hanging up the phone and rushing around the apartment. He knew that she would be arriving soon, and it was his duty to come out and meet her.
It had been roughly three years since he had gone off to train with Jiraya, and now that he was back, he had gone on missions that were A Rank, and even some that were S Rank, although his primary missions were genin level rankings. He smiled when he picked up his old jacket.
"It's been three years… I wonder how she's doing now…" Naruto could almost feel the happy aura coming from her, that's how close they were. The other ninja didn't know about her, she was a friend that he had made while still young, and when he signed up for the chunin exams, she had gotten accepted into a private school. They had said their sad goodbyes, but now she was returning to the village. She understood him, and was his first friend, even before Sasuke. This was exciting.
"That's enough for today." The young girl panted, her long blue hair frazzled by the workout and her body sweating immensely. Her cousin gazed at her.
"Are you alright? You didn't push yourself too hard today, did you?" he asked, turning away. "Master Hiashi wouldn't want you to overexert your energy. Rest up, and we'll start again tomorrow." Hinata nodded at him, bowing to him. "Thank you, Neji."
The young man turned around, and bowed to her as well. "Let's go inside now, it seems supper is ready." He made his way hastily inside, waiting for Hinata to catch up.
The only jonin out of all the genin that had taken the chunin exams, Neji was above and beyond everyone else. He had creamed those who opposed him and even went so far as to lead an A-Rank mission up to the other villages. He had leadership skills, proper training, and the eyes of a hawk. With his Byakugan, he could see anything from anywhere. He was always in control of the situation, and no matter how bad it seemed, Neji would always pull through. He was the star among them, save for Shikamaru, who was clearly too bored to be expected to do anything other than sit around. But nevertheless, Neji was the man to look for if ninjas wanted to be trained.
He sat down at the table in the living room of the Hyuuga household, and as he sat there, Neji thought back to three years ago, and how young he was back then. He had been a genin all those years ago, and now he was a full blown jonin, ripe and ready for anything. It had all been so far back, and even now as he sat there eating his meal, he still remembered that one boy who changed his life forever.
"You can do it too because unlike me you're not a failure!"
"Oh boy, Oh boy!" he simply couldn't wait. The excitement of it all was just too much for him to bear. He wanted her to come right now, and even as he saw her over the horizon, he couldn't bear to hold it in. Naruto rushed over to her and nearly tackled her over in a hug, the girl he embraced laughing.
"Naruto! It's good to see you again too!" she said, patting him on the back. She gazed up at him, stepping back a bit. "Wow… you certainly grew." Naruto released his hold of her and his blue eyes looked down at her. She smiled up at him.
"I am taller than you!" he said incredulously, measuring himself to her. "I only come up to your chin! You're not the little Naruto I remember from three years ago!" the ninja blushed and took her again in his arms. "It's so good to see you again Akira."
"Oh wow really?" she put a finger to her lips, her brown hair falling lightly upon her shoulder. Naruto nodded, setting his tea back down. He sighed heavily, thinking.
"Sasuke was absorbed by the anger he had for his brother… and now he's after Itachi. He'll do whatever it takes to destroy him… even if it means destroying himself."
Akira gazed at him with brown eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. They had gone back to Naruto's apartment after they had said their hellos and they caught up, eager to see how each other were doing. She had to learn the hard truth about Sasuke, but seeing as he left three years ago, she figured that he wouldn't be coming back to the Leaf Village anytime soon.
"Well besides that, how've you been Naruto?" she asked, giggling. Naruto smiled and sat back in his chair. "I've been really great! I finally learned some awesome moves that I want to show you one day!"
Akira smiled and nodded. "I'm eager to meet all of your ninja friends and see some of your moves as well!" Naruto breathed and looked out the window. "There's so much that happened while you were gone… and now that you're back, I can really catch up on hanging out with you!" he said, looking back at her. Akira tilted her head and sipped at her tea, blowing it a little to let it cool off.
"You've really changed Naruto." The girl said, setting her tea back down. The dog clock on the wall ticked and released them from the silence overcoming them. She got up and pushed in her chair, walking towards Naruto. "Remember when we used to watch the sunsets together back in the day?" she asked, putting a hand on him.
Naruto smiled softly and put a hand upon hers, dragging her down to sit upon his lap. "I remember it like it was yesterday." They gazed at the setting sun together, their hands becoming one as they grasped onto one another. A soft nose trickled down Akira's arm as she glanced at him, his eye sad. "I missed you."
She smiled gently at him, patting the hair that she loved her so much and ruffling it with her fingers. Slowly, she took off his headband. "I missed you too."
His eyes were set upon his target, and he attacked with almost blinding speed. His teammate looked on, observing his very movements and smiling at him. "That's the way to go Neji!" she cried out, waving her hand in the air.
Neji smirked as the logs he was aiming for were blown to pieces due to his palm strike movements. He had worked hard to improve and perfect those moves.
It was sunny that day, and the birds were tweeting loudly. It was a day that anything could happen, and often times, in the land of the Leaf Village, it did.
"WOOO! The fire that burns within you Neji is impressive indeed!" Neji turned to see his bushy browed companion's eyes aflame.
"Not again…" TenTen muttered, sighing. "Lee, when will you learn that you'll never be a match for Neji? He's just too good." Lee disregarded her comment almost immediately. "Is it not amazing how his movements are so precise and accurate? Fight me Neji as I am your opponent!"
Neji breathed and shook his head. "Not now, I have no time for sparring. Lady Hokage has asked me to attend a meeting today in the main hall, I must prepare myself." He turned to walk away only to hear Lee's protest.
"When you come back it is ten laps around the village and the first one to finish all the laps wins!"
Neji smirked as he heard the last of his friend's words dying out in the wind. Lady Tsunade had called him over on some important business regarding a guest in the village. He wondered whether or not it was actually worth his time to go and take a look at what had been planned for him. He shrugged and walked towards the Hokage's Mansion, and got a surprise when he got there.
"Good, you're all here." Neji glanced around him to see a few of the chonins as well as one particular genin in the room with him. Kiba, the dog of the genin was smiling from ear to ear. It was obvious he was happy about this event.
Next to the brown haired dog man was a face he was more familiar with. The pink haired girl stood at attention, her red dress as perfect as always and her eyes set upon the task at hand. A medical ninja, Sakura was force to be reckoned with.
Then of course, there was Naruto, the knucklehead and savior of the group. The believer of good will and the idiot of the bunch, Naruto was there as well, which came as a surprise to Neji. If they had been summoned, then why was he there?
The Hokage set down her brush and gazed at them all through red eyes. She folded her hands across her chest and her purple dressed assistant watched in interest. Both of them had smiles upon their faces.
What Neji couldn't understand was why another normal girl was here along with them. She had long dark brown hair that reached to her shoulders and wasn't wearing any ninja clothing. She was a normal citizen, and she had no business here. What the girl wore told Neji that she wasn't exactly a fashionable girl either. Wearing nothing but dark jeans, sneakers, and a black tee shirt, this girl was all business and no play. Her brown almost black eyes were excited, which made Neji wonder what exactly he had gotten himself into.
"Kiba, Sakura, Neji!" they were called to attention, and Neji focused upon Tsunade, who smiled kindly at them. "I'd like you all to meet Akira Koriyama, she's a friend of Naruto's who has returned to the Leaf Village from a three year departure."
All the ninjas turned to her and nodded their heads respectively. "Your mission today is," began Tsunade, who was obviously having fun with this. "Taking this girl on a stroll of the village, to show her how much the village has changed since the last time she's been here."
Naruto smiled and nodded. "Akira's familiar with it, but she wanted to see everything again to refresh her memory. It's a good thing we have such good friends accompanying us!"
Akira giggled and turned to them all. "It's so nice to meet you! I can't wait to see the village after three years!" Naruto took her hand and was already running out the door with her when Tsunade spoke. "Be sure to show her everything Naruto!"
They rushed out the door and Sakura sighed. "Our mission is to take this girl everywhere in the village?" she put a hand to her head. "I can't believe this…" she then smiled in satisfaction. "But at least we were considered."
Kiba nodded and chuckled. "Wait until she gets a load of Akamaru! She's gonna love him!" he said, following behind Naruto and Akira. Neji was the only one who wasn't exactly happy with his assignment.
"Why did I have to be here? This is ridiculous." He retorted, folding his arms. "I have no interest in showing the village to a girl from the outside."
"For your information Neji," Naruto stopped in his tracks and gazed at Neji, confronting him. "She lived here once, but she got offered a place in a prestigious private school a little ways away, so just deal with it okay?" he turned to Akira. "I'm sorry about that."
The girl only smiled. "It's alright Naruto. That was Neji right?" she turned to him and smiled. "Neji Hyuuga of the Hyuuga clan? No wonder you have such brilliant eyes." Neji snorted as Akira took Naruto's arm and walked with him out the doors. This was going to be a long night.
"Oh wow! Look at how big you are! Who's a good doggie huh? Who's a good doggie!" Akira was more than impressed with Akamaru, and the dog was equally as delighted to see her. Kiba smiled as he watched Akira pet his own ninja dog. "Isn't he great?" he asked. "He's got a fantastic nose for when we out on missions! He's just awesome!"
Akira laughed as she let Akamaru lick her. They had shown her around the village and now they were stopping to rest in the training area that Neji was just at a few hours earlier. Naruto had explained the differences in the village since she had left, and it never ceased to amaze Sakura how much Naruto gazed into her eyes.
"Hey, you guys want to go out tonight? I know this little place down by the local fish market that sells really great ramen!" Akira said, nuzzling Akamaru once again. Kiba's stomach growled in response. "I say yeah! Want to come Akamaru!" the dog gave a loud bark and wagged his tail. Sakura smiled.
"Yeah, that sounds good! I think I could go for some ramen right about now!" Naruto chuckled. "Alright, then it's settled!" he held up a hand to the sky. "Ramen it is!"
Neji sighed and tried not to run away. He really shouldn't have been there, he was bored as heck and even though he was getting paid for this, this girl reminded him too much of Naruto. She was happy all the time, always smiling, and it never crossed her mind that they honestly didn't care whether or not she got her little tour. It was obvious to him.
At the ramen shop, everyone ordered their favorite ramen, and as they sat down to talk, Akira told them her story.
"So, I got sent off to a private school, and now I'm studying to be a music therapist!" Sakura lit up almost immediately. "Oh wow! So you're helping people too! That's so cool!" Akira shook her head. "What's cool is that you're such a great medical ninja! Naruto told me all about your powerhouse kicks and punches! How can you be so rough when you're so pretty?"
Sakura blushed when she said this, not knowing that Naruto was blushing as well. Kiba slurped his ramen. "What I don't get is how you can get along so well with dogs and not have one of your own!"
"Akamaru's great, but I'm more of a cat person. I'm sorry, but I'm sure Akamaru is an amazing hound dog!" Kiba snorted. "You got that right!"
Neji kept silent during this conversation, and ate his ramen quietly. She was paying, so why not have a little snack?
"And what's with mister silent over there?" Neji glanced up from his food. Akira was smiling at him. "What's your story Neji?" she asked.
Neji chuckled and ate more of his ramen. Akira tilted her head. "Did he just ignore me?" Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "What do you expect from the almighty Neji?"
Kiba laughed. "Right, he's always like that. He hardly ever talks to anyone, including us."
"It's because I'm too busy going out on important assignments that I don't associate with you." Neji replied, setting down his chopsticks. He glanced at Akira. "And for your information, I happen to take my role as a jonin very seriously."
Akira's brow furrowed as she smiled at him. "Well, I've had enough for tonight." She set down her chopsticks and picked up her keys. "Come on Naruto, we're leaving."
Naruto could only watch as Akira bid farewell to both Sakura and Kiba, giving them a little token of her appreciation. To Kiba she gave a little dog collar to put on Akamaru and to Sakura she gave a bag of medicinal herbs.
"Oh wow, thank you!" both of them thanked her profusely. Akira took Naruto's hand as he stood up and walked out of the shop.
"Oh, and Neji?" the jonin lifted his head to see Akira's eyes burning into him. "I had a gift for you too, but seeing as your attitude matches your ninja level, I will give you nothing but my warmest wishes."
Neji flustered as she left, nearly biting off the other ninja's heads. "Did she just call me a genin?"