12, Teuchi

Ayari said she would introduce Makoto to a girl, and she brought one over the very next day.

Makoto was called to her home and saw a Byakugan girl with short brownish-green hair sitting in the living room. She was pretty and adorable, and looked very well-behaved.

Ayari said excitedly, "Makoto's here."

The Byakugan girl stood up the moment she saw Makoto, looking at him with curiosity in her eyes.

She had only heard of this person within the clan and had never actually interacted with him.

"This is Natsu. You should know her," Ayari said to Makoto.

Makoto nodded. He did have some impression of the girl. There were only so many people their age in the clan; even if they did not interact much, they still knew of each other.

Harucha, Hyuga Ayano's attendant, was her older sister.

"This is Makoto."

"Hello."

"...Hello."

"So? Don't you think our Natsu is adorable?" Ayari said with a smile. "Who knows how many boys usually go out of their way to curry favor with our Natsu."

Hyuga Natsu grew a little embarrassed and could not help stopping her. "Sister Ayari."

"She is pretty cute," Makoto said.

"...Thank you," Hyuga Natsu replied politely.

Makoto noticed that she kept glancing at him now and then, only to hurriedly avert her eyes whenever their gazes met. She was probably curious about his eyes.

Makoto saw Ayari giving him meaningful looks and said helplessly, "It's almost noon. How about we go eat together?"

"Now that you mention it, I am a little hungry," Ayari immediately chimed in, shooting Makoto a look that said, At least you know what you're doing.

Makoto was slightly helpless. He only did not want to disappoint Ayari because she was so enthusiastic about this.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked casually.

"Anything is fine with me. What about Natsu?" Ayari asked.

"Anything is fine," Hyuga Natsu said softly.

Makoto: "..."

Realizing he had asked the wrong question, Makoto made the decision himself. "Let's have ramen."

"Ra... ramen?" Ayari froze, staring at Makoto in disbelief. Her expression practically said, Is this your first time inviting a girl out to eat? You're taking her for ramen?

Hyuga Natsu was also a little surprised. When other boys invited her to eat, they chose carefully selected restaurants, dessert shops, barbecue restaurants, sushi restaurants, and the like. Makoto was the first to invite her out for ramen.

"You..." Ayari furrowed her brows and thought for a moment. "Do you want to reconsider?"

"No need. We're having ramen," Makoto said.

Ayari was utterly speechless. She had thought the boy could be taught, but now it seemed she had overestimated him.

Hyuga Natsu did not think there was anything inappropriate about it. Apart from being curious about Makoto, the person in the clan who had lost his Byakugan, she had mainly come today because she could not refuse Sister Ayari.

It was just meeting a boy. At most, they would have a meal together afterward.

Makoto paid no mind to what the two of them thought. All he could think about was the Ichiraku Ramen shop he had seen in the village a few days ago. He had not expected Ichiraku Ramen to have already opened in Konoha at this point in time, and he simply wanted to try it.

The three of them left the Hyuga Clan Compound together.

"I heard Makoto-kun is already a Chunin."

Along the way, Hyuga Natsu noticed Ayari constantly making eyes at Makoto, but he seemed not to see them. Finding it amusing, she thoughtfully took the initiative to start a conversation so Ayari would not be put in an awkward position.

"Yes. I got lucky and passed the Chunin Exams."

"I heard the Chunin Exams are very strict. Passing them could not have been luck," Hyuga Natsu said. "I'm still only a Genin."

"Being a Genin is fine too. Becoming a Chunin is only a matter of time. It does not mean much," Makoto said.

No one in the Hyuga Clan remained a Genin forever.

"Makoto-kun is too modest. I heard you rendered great service on the front lines," Hyuga Natsu said softly, her words pleasant to hear.

Makoto merely smiled faintly. "I was just lucky not to die."

Ayari suddenly interjected, "He had already gone deep near the enemy camp. Even Jonin might not have been confident they could retreat safely."

Hyuga Natsu was surprised. "Was it that dangerous?"

"Of course it was," Ayari said matter-of-factly. "Otherwise, how could he have brought back useful intelligence?"

She said this to improve Makoto's image, and it did work. Hyuga Natsu's impression of him changed considerably.

Though she was a ninja, she had never been to the battlefield. Most of what she knew about war came from hearsay, as well as the wounded who returned from the front lines. Only then could she feel some of war's brutality.

She still held a great deal of respect for people like Makoto, who had been to war.

But Makoto did not take pride in it. He did not interrupt while Ayari talked about the front lines, instead becoming a listener, as though the story was not about him at all.

Before long, they arrived in front of Ichiraku Ramen.

It was merely a somewhat shabby little shop. Seeing it, Ayari let out another sigh.

She felt that all her efforts today had been wasted. When they returned, she would have to give Makoto a good scolding.

"This place is actually pretty good," Hyuga Natsu said with a small smile, without showing any disdain.

"I think so too," Makoto said with a faint smile. For some reason, he felt a little sentimental before lifting the curtain and walking inside.

"Welcome." The owner was a young man wearing a white chef's hat and an apron. His eyes looked as though they could barely open, and when he smiled, they disappeared entirely.

"What would the three of you like?"

"One house special ramen," Makoto said.

"I'll have the same," Ayari said listlessly.

"I'll have a tonkotsu chashu ramen."

"Please wait a moment."

The three sat down. Hyuga Natsu sat between them, mainly because Ayari had taken a seat one spot away from Makoto first, and Natsu felt it would be impolite to sit on Ayari's other side.

"I came here when the shop first opened. There were so many customers that you had to wait in line for a long time," Hyuga Natsu said.

"It's a shame I did not come then," Makoto said.

"That's all right. You can come often from now on," the ramen owner said with a smile as he stretched the noodles. "Regular customers can get a discount, depending on the situation."

Ayari curled her lips beside him, thinking, What's so great about a ramen shop?

"Looks like Makoto-kun really likes ramen," Hyuga Natsu said with a smile.

"No." Makoto propped his cheek on one hand against the table and glanced sideways at Hyuga Natsu.

"As long as it tastes good, I like it. If I only loved one kind of food and gave up all other delicacies, wouldn't that be a terrible waste?"

He then caught Ayari looking at him. When their eyes met, she glared at him, and Makoto understood that she was dissatisfied with how he was handling things.

Hyuga Natsu was slightly stunned by his words before nodding. "What Makoto-kun said... makes a lot of sense."

The steaming ramen was quickly brought over. A faint sheen of oil floated atop the broth, and the rich aroma filled their noses.

"Let's eat."

There will be more tonight. Things held me up these past two days, and I'll also make up for the chapter that was missing yesterday.