Their awkward mood did not lift, even later, and Neji found himself becoming the silent tour guide, which made her nervous. They had tried to engage in small talk a few times, but each time it would fizzle out into long strange silences. Each time these silences stretched, unbidden thoughts crept into her mind, and much as she tried to shake them off, they would always just appear without warning. More disturbing, were the flashbacks that would shadow a surge of emotion, like shadows that crept into her mind's eye and taunted her, just out of her reach.
After what seemed like an hour of walking, she stopped to admire the delicious smell wafting out of a store front that made something called Ramen. To her surprise a bubbly youth in a bright orange and black jumpsuit came bursting out from under the cloths that covered part of the entrance. The youth looked straight at Neji, who had come to a halt beside her,
"Yo Neji!" he called loudly as he draped his arm around Neji's shoulders. Neji looked seriously disgruntled with this turn of events, as the boy with the yellow hair pulled him closer and asked him if she was... not ending the sentence, but with a finger motion, sticking his pinkie straight up in the air. She frowned as Neji's cheeks lightly coloured pink, she did not understand what the yellow haired boy had meant, but Neji was obviously discomforted and roughly pulled out of the boy's embrace.
"Odd" she thought" obviously that has significant meaning, but I will never know what it means"
Feeling a bit lost and lonely, she turned her back on the boys, and with her stomach growling, headed towards the small ramen store, where she was promptly joined by the boy with the yellow hair.
"Oh hai yo Naruto!"came the greeting from the other side of the counter top that separated the kitchen from the front of the small store. The counter had two levels, eacha t a different height, lined up in front were several bar stools, one of which the boy named Naruto plopped himself down on. The greeting had been uttered by an elderly man wearing a paper chef's hat, who seemed to be accompanied by, she guessed, his daughter. It was obvious the Naruto was a regular, but not because of the greeting he had received, but also because he had not said a word about food, when a bowl, of what seemed to be soup, was placed before him. When the older gentleman looked at her, she had no idea what to do, she did not even know what kind of food this was, having eaten only what had been provided for her by the mansion staff. She opened her mouth, but hesitated, "two ichiraku ramen specials please", she jumped as the deep voice of Neji came from her other side, he had sat down on the stool beside her. His proximity made her quite uncomfortable, she felt the heat radiating from him, and the clean smell of grass and dirt gently floated over to her, he must have gotten in some morning practice out in the woods before they had gone on their excursion. She smiled softly as she imagined him out in the middle of nowhere, moving in the graceful manner she had seen him use when he was sparring with his uncle, the sweat running down his body. She started as she realised that in her imagination, that Neji was not wearing a shirt, and she became very aware that he had been sitting beside her, looking intently in her direction. She cocked her head to the side, and with her cheeks colouring slightly she asked snappily, "what?", going straight into the defensive. His face instantly took on a stony look, "all I wanted to know is if you liked spicy food or not", oh face palm, she had not even realised he had been speaking to her. Then a second realisation hit her, what foods did she like? She shook her head, keeping her eye contact unbroken.
"what!?" came the exclamation from next to her, the orange clad boy with the mischievous face lent over, "you don't know?" he glanced at Neji, "then we have to find out! No better place to start the Ichiraku Ramen!" He turned back to the elderly gentleman and yelled "one of each old man!" Neji spluttered, who was going to pay for this? "Oh come one Neji! She HAS to try it, she cannot miss out on the flavour! Besides, how does she not know what she likes?" Neji glanced at her, trying to shoot her a warning look. There was a reason why she had been kept hidden up until now. Clearing her throat " I think I was climbing tress just outside of town, when I fell and hit my head. Now I remember nothing of my past" He starred at her for a moment, then slapped his hand down on the counter.
"This is not right!" he leaped off his stool and sauntered over to Neji, put his arm around him and said : we will help you find your memories no matter what!"While Neji looked slightly disgruntled, he did not motion a complaint. They were interrupted by the arrival of several bowls of food being placed on the counter.
A few hours later they emerged from the Ramen shop, feeling happy and well fed. The atmosphere between the three more relaxed, as they walked side by side in the growing dusk, watching as the lights were being turned on, one after the other, the atmosphere around them a soft warm caress, just the beginning of summer, sneaking through the light warmth of spring. Together they strolled along the main street that ran down the centre of Konoha, Naruto walking with his hands clasped behind his head, Neji walking just a step to the side of them, trying, probably subconsciously, to keep a certain amount of distance between them, as if wishing not to be a part of their company, but the relaxed way her walked suggested he was actually enjoying their conversation, being a part of the group. He did not speak much, but was obvious, by the way that he and Naruto behaved around each other, that they were very comfortable with one another, that they had shared many experiences. Feeling a bit like an outsider she walked quietly between the boys but the calm atmosphere put her at ease as she took in the bright surroundings of the evening life in the village. People were walking amongst the colourful stores, the smells from the restaurants wafting around them.
They walked in silence for quite some time, just letting the sounds and sights of the village pass by as they wandered from street to street, the lack of words was not awkward, for each seemed content to just be there. When they came to the parting of their ways, they stopped as if by some unspoken signal. Naruto leant back, and with his now characteristic gesture, he once more put his hands behind his head and grinned. Neji kept his stoic expression and nodded; both turned on their heels and walked in opposite directions. She stood frowning for a few seconds, then moved to catch up with her escort, who was stubbornly on his way home. She smiled softly to herself as she watched his almost perfectly straight back, his long curtain of dark brown hair tapering into the band holding the ends together, "a man on a mission" she told herself, and sped up to walk at his side.
Seconds later they were walking side by side, into the sunset, and with a startled blush she thought how romantic this looked. The soft, warm, light cast a golden highlights all around them, almost setting the world a glow in orange and red hues. The lights played in Neji 's pristine hair, and she could not miss that despite the soft breeze, that his hair hardly moved, just lightly brushing against his face, enhancing his handsomeness. The same breeze made cherry blossoms dance across the sky in a wash of colours, "how cliché" flashed across her mind. She frowned, what on earth? What was cliché? Where had that thought come from? For a second, a memory flashed through her mind and she grabbed at it. As quickly as it had come, it leapt beyond her grasp, leaving just a shadow behind, one that was dull and blurred and frustrated her to no end. A soft pull at her hand brought her back to the present and her green eyes focused on Neji, concern in his eyes, standing right in front of her. Slowly her eyes dropped down and with a tingle of electricity, she realised, he was holding her hand. Goosebumps erupted up her arm, their trail causing the hairs on her body to stand up. It felt as if she had touched a very low charge of electricity, and she liked it.
He stood there staring at his hand. No sure what to make of the contact he was experiencing, looking up, he found she too was frozen, and, as if he had been burnt, he released her hand, pushing it towards her, more roughly than intended, and for a split second he thought he saw hurt and disappointment flash across her face, before it was replaced with that self-same placid expression she wore as a mask.
The rest of their trip back was one of silence, neither saying a word, each looking everywhere but the other. Reaching the sprawling Hyuuga estate, they mumbled their good nights and left in a hurry, each dying to get back to their rooms.
She moved as fast as she could, straight into her room, sliding the door hastily shut behind her. Why on earth did he affect her so? The night grew dark and she cleared her mind. If she wanted this nightly excursion to be successful, she could not have njei crowding her mind, his rippling muscles, his luscious hair, his pale eyes... no, he had to be locked away, and she had to have absolute focus.